Hello everyone, I could really use some information. Here is my original post, to give you the back round of what has been going on...
{Hello everyone. I am hoping I can get some advice from the pro's. I have a 55 gallon tank that has been established for well over three years. I have 2 goldfish in it. I had been dealing with a green algae bloom for quite awhile. It started when my light blew and it took me a few days to get it replaced. I tried covering the tank and it cleared it up for a few days only for it to come back. A couple of weeks ago, I began to do small water changes to try and rid the tank of the algae bloom. I done this every other day for over a week and the water was looking great. The numbers in the tank were fine. I vacuumed the tank and did another small water change and had a power loss right after. A couple of days after the power loss, I noticed my smaller goldfish, just sitting on the bottom of the tank. Not being active. I tested the water and got a ammonia reading of 1 ppm.The nitrites were 0 and nitrates 0 also. I immediately done a water change (about 50%) and it brought the numbers down to .50 ppm. The next day I done a smaller change of about 10%, it came down to .25 ppm. I haven't done anything today and I got a reading of around .25 ppm of ammonia. The nitrites and nitrates are still reading 0. I am not sure what I should be doing at this point. Should I do another water change? I think I (and the power outage) may have gotten rid of too much beneficial bacteria. I am not sure what to do in this case. Do I clean the tank (as in vacuuming) I know goldfish produce a lot of waste or do I leave it be? I am really at a loss in this situation. I have never really dealt with a mini cycle and not sure what to expect. HELP me and my fish???}
I have continued to do small water changes to keep the ammonia down. I placed an order for Prime (the one pet store near me did not have it) The ammonia has been staying around .25 ppm with the daily water changes. Nitrites and nitrates are still 0. I decided not to do a water change yesterday and see what happened. This morning the ammonia is back up to .50 ppm. Here is my question. If my cycle was interrupted by the cleaning and the power outage, how will it ever regain beneficial bacteria if I keep the ammonia down? Sorry, I am not familiar with this problem in an established tank. I want to protect my fish. I have had them for years now. I am not sure what to do in this situation. I feel like I am doing "too much" one minute and "not enough" the next. Advice??
{Hello everyone. I am hoping I can get some advice from the pro's. I have a 55 gallon tank that has been established for well over three years. I have 2 goldfish in it. I had been dealing with a green algae bloom for quite awhile. It started when my light blew and it took me a few days to get it replaced. I tried covering the tank and it cleared it up for a few days only for it to come back. A couple of weeks ago, I began to do small water changes to try and rid the tank of the algae bloom. I done this every other day for over a week and the water was looking great. The numbers in the tank were fine. I vacuumed the tank and did another small water change and had a power loss right after. A couple of days after the power loss, I noticed my smaller goldfish, just sitting on the bottom of the tank. Not being active. I tested the water and got a ammonia reading of 1 ppm.The nitrites were 0 and nitrates 0 also. I immediately done a water change (about 50%) and it brought the numbers down to .50 ppm. The next day I done a smaller change of about 10%, it came down to .25 ppm. I haven't done anything today and I got a reading of around .25 ppm of ammonia. The nitrites and nitrates are still reading 0. I am not sure what I should be doing at this point. Should I do another water change? I think I (and the power outage) may have gotten rid of too much beneficial bacteria. I am not sure what to do in this case. Do I clean the tank (as in vacuuming) I know goldfish produce a lot of waste or do I leave it be? I am really at a loss in this situation. I have never really dealt with a mini cycle and not sure what to expect. HELP me and my fish???}
I have continued to do small water changes to keep the ammonia down. I placed an order for Prime (the one pet store near me did not have it) The ammonia has been staying around .25 ppm with the daily water changes. Nitrites and nitrates are still 0. I decided not to do a water change yesterday and see what happened. This morning the ammonia is back up to .50 ppm. Here is my question. If my cycle was interrupted by the cleaning and the power outage, how will it ever regain beneficial bacteria if I keep the ammonia down? Sorry, I am not familiar with this problem in an established tank. I want to protect my fish. I have had them for years now. I am not sure what to do in this situation. I feel like I am doing "too much" one minute and "not enough" the next. Advice??