Cycle w/ Fish

[sharkiegirl94]

Long time no see fellow aquarists...it has been exactly 6 weeks in my cycling of my 30 gallon Freshwater tank. I tested it as of July 14th and here are the results (I currently have two fish, a smallish Comet Goldfish and a Chinese Algae Eater):

Ammonia: 0->.25ppm
Nitrate: 80 ppm
Nitrite: 5.0 ppm
pH: Neutral
Temp: 72-74 F (Yes I know goldies prefer colder waters, but my algae eater does not...I'm planning on taking the goldfish out and replacing with tropical fish.)

a.My nitrite and nitrate are very high, which is normal for a in-cycle tank, correct? My question is, is there anything I can do to reduce them, or should I just wait for the cycle?

b.I also noticed some odd looking brown-ish stuff in my filter tubing, as shown in the photos. Are these diatoms? Are they bad? What do I do about them?

c.In the other photo it appears there's a brown ring/line around my heater, does this mean it's burned out or something? Does it need replaced?

Thanks guys~

 

[jlk]

Have you been doing water changes? Your nitrates are very high but your nitrites are lethally high. You should be testing your water daily & doing water changes anytime your ammonia/nitrites are .25 or higher. Nitrites are just as poisonous as ammonia and they do damage at the cellular level by depriving a fish of oxygen to its organs & tissues. The damage will not be immediately obvious. Start doing water changes with temperature matched, properly conditioned. Please ask if you have any questions!

 

[sharkiegirl94]

Have you been doing water changes? Your nitrates are very high but your nitrites are lethally high. You should be testing your water daily & doing water changes anytime your ammonia/nitrites are .25 or higher. Nitrites are just as poisonous as ammonia and they do damage at the cellular level by depriving a fish of oxygen to its organs & tissues. The damage will not be immediately obvious. Start doing water changes with temperature matched, properly conditioned. Please ask if you have any questions!

No i haven't because there is extremely high levels of ammonia and chlorine in our tap water, even if i did a water change and added prime, would it be enough?

 

[jlk]

I forgot this! I believe you have 4ppm of ammonia in your tap? The chlorine can be neutralized (i have very high chlorine levels as well) but the ammonia is a big issue. If your going to keep fish with this tap water, I would highly suggest investing in an undersink RO unit. I believe they run anywhere from $150-300. You may be able to find one used on here or craigslist/classifieds. You can consider in the meantime using plain, bottled spring water (not distilled or purified) because you really need to bring your numbers down. Another option would be to get water from friend/relative etc that has water outside of your vicinity. A third option would be to collect rainwater & cut your tap with it to reduce your taps ammonia level down to 1ppm & use lots of Prime. You will need to figure out a system that works for you if you want to keep fish with the tap water you have.

Have you contacted your water authority in respect to this matter? I dont believe its even legal to have this much ammonia in drinking water supplies. If your in the US, you can call the EPA's safe drinking water hotline for further help: 800-426-4791

 

[sharkiegirl94]

I forgot this! I believe you have 4ppm of ammonia in your tap? The chlorine can be neutralized (i have very high chlorine levels as well) but the ammonia is a big issue. If your going to keep fish with this tap water, I would highly suggest investing in an undersink RO unit. I believe they run anywhere from $150-300. You may be able to find one used on here or craigslist/classifieds. You can consider in the meantime using plain, bottled spring water (not distilled or purified) because you really need to bring your numbers down. Another option would be to get water from friend/relative etc that has water outside of your vicinity. A third option would be to collect rainwater & cut your tap with it to reduce your taps ammonia level down to 1ppm & use lots of Prime. You will need to figure out a system that works for you if you want to keep fish with the tap water you have.

Have you contacted your water authority in respect to this matter? I dont believe its even legal to have this much ammonia in drinking water supplies. If your in the US, you can call the EPA's safe drinking water hotline for further help: 800-426-4791

How much bottled water would I need? Do they sell large enough bottles? I would need about 10 gallons right? Or maybe a little more?

 

[jlk]

On a 30g, a 50%wc would be 15g but because you havent changed the water at all, I would suggest changing 10g in the am and another 10g in the pm so you dont shock your fish with a sudden change in parameters. This will get expensive fast unfortunately. Start looking into other options asap. Good luck!

 

[sharkiegirl94]

On a 30g, a 50%wc would be 15g but because you havent changed the water at all, I would suggest changing 10g in the am and another 10g in the pm so you dont shock your fish with a sudden change in parameters. This will get expensive fast unfortunately. Start looking into other options asap. Good luck!

Not necessarily expensive~ At 15c a gallon and a whole big bottle of prime i have....