Yet another cycling question...

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Screwylui

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Messages
40
Location
Toronto, ON
Hello! I'm sure you are all used to the common cycling questions by now.. i didn't want to have to ask this but after much searching i could not find the answers i was looking for so here goes: .. i've had my tank since Mid Jan. '05 i started the cycle with some zebras but i am impatient and do not know how to cycle properly so i quickly started adding fish to my tank. It's a 21 gallon and all my fish are listed in my profile. Everything looked like it was going alright, i had an ammonia spike, followed by a huge nitrite spike, the nitrates are there now but no more then 10-20 mg/L. I am concerned that the cycle got screwed up or something because there is still a presence of ammonia.. it is barely there with a reading of 0.6 mg/L but i thought it should be at 0. The nitrites are also not going away while they are lower they are around 0.3 -0.8 mg/L. i am concerned as to whether or not my cycle will ever finish.. will i have to just be patient? i do 25% partial water changes weekly and i clean my filter about every 2-3 weeks. i try to touch it as little as possible but the sponge in the AC150 gets clogged with this sludgy brown and green stuff very quickly. i have recently put in Green-X into my filter media.. it's a phosphate remover.. should i remove it? the rest of my media consists of activated carbon and that white pebble stuff that removes ammonia.. should i dump it all and just put some ceramic rings in there with the sponge?

sorry for the jumbled nature of my message.. i just have so many questions thanks for the answers in advance!


Luis
 
8O To start, you have a hefty bio-load in this tank and are way overstocked. The Cory's should be in groups of at least 4 so if you plan to keep those, get at least 2 more. The loaches are going to get huge and outgrow that tank, but you already know that. I'm not exactly sure on your Zebra's what you are referring to. Zebra Cichlids, Danios, Angel, and so on. So you'll have to be more specific on that. Your Cardinals alone are going to be taking up 24 inches in your tank. Not to mention the Keyhole Cichlids. If I were you, take your fish back to the lfs EXCEPT a couple that you really want to keep. I'd say keep the Cardinals for now and get rid of the rest. But that is just preference and it's entirely up to you. You could keep the Corys or loaches (if they are small) but not both because the Cory's need to school and require at least 4, preferably 6.

Whatever you do, do not touch the filrtation unit unless there is a major problem. Do not clean it, do not change the cartridges, nothing. It needs to build up bacterial colonies. If you must clean it, lightly rinse it in used tank water. When you change or clean it, you are tossing away the bacteria. While you tank is cycling with fish, it is recommended to do 1 water change per day, not per week. The ammonia levels and Nitrite levels will kill the fish.

I'm not farmiliar with your filtration unit, but if you can toss the carbon and put ceramic rings in its place, do it. The carbon is useless after a week anyways. The only time to use the carbon is if you are removing meds.
 
I would toss the pebbles that remove ammonia. They wont do anything to help your cycle. Replace it with ceramic rings. I would keep the carbon for now. It wont hurt to have it there and chances are there is beneficial bacteria on it. After your tank is cycled you can slowly remove it if you wish. And as already mentioned, more water changes and less fish.
 
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