Dual 20 gallon and 55 gallon fishless water cycle and builds

[graphicpunk]

Did a 50% water change last night, on the two 20 gallons out in the garage, after the water tests and I upped the ammonia back to 4.0ppm before I went to bed. Did the water testing tonight and here are the results:

Tank1
Nitrates: 80ppm
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
pH: 7.6 a little darker blue then 7.6

Tank 2
Nitrates: 80ppm
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
ph: off the chart over 7.6

I am wondering if I do another water change to get the nitrates down and I might be close to cycled?

 

[eco23]

Did a 50% water change last night, on the two 20 gallons out in the garage, after the water tests and I upped the ammonia back to 4.0ppm before I went to bed. Did the water testing tonight and here are the results:

Tank1
Nitrates: 80ppm
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
pH: 7.6 a little darker blue then 7.6

Tank 2
Nitrates: 80ppm
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
ph: off the chart over 7.6

I am wondering if I do another water change to get the nitrates down and I might be close to cycled?

I think you're cycled . If you dropped 4ppm down with zero no2...you're good to go. Trying to tell the difference between 0 and .25 on the API kit is a borderline impossibility, and even if it is .25 it's no big deal. So I agree...reduce nitrAtes and add fish

 

[graphicpunk]

Well there is no doubt about it dropping from 4.0ppm down to 0.25ppm. Last night I am pretty sure it was at 0 Ammonia in tank 1 that is why I did a big water change. Should I dose up the Ammonia again tonight and test tomorrow for any nitrites? I am thinking the water changes lowered the levels of the nitrites but they are at 0. They were off the charts before the water change.

So should I go one or two more days before changing the water to reduce the nitrates to make sure there are no nitrites or ammonia build up?

 

[eco23]

Well there is no doubt about it dropping from 4.0ppm down to 0.25ppm. Last night I am pretty sure it was at 0 Ammonia in tank 1 that is why I did a big water change. Should I dose up the Ammonia again tonight and test tomorrow for any nitrites? I am thinking the water changes lowered the levels of the nitrites but they are at 0. They were off the charts before the water change.

So should I go one or two more days before changing the water to reduce the nitrates to make sure there are no nitrites or ammonia build up?

It doesn't hurt to test it a couple more times...but I'm guessing you're good to go. I skipped over the pwc part...so I agree it's a good idea to dose back up and test this time tomorrow to be sure

 

[graphicpunk]

Yeah I dosed it back up to 4.0ppm and both tanks will have no problem getting the ammonia down to 0.25ppm by this time tomorrow. I will just watch to see if the nitrites hold steady at 0. If they do I will start doing water changes until I get the nitrates down to 10ppm-20ppm.

My 50 gallon has been holding steady and I need to get the other fish out of the pond. I don't think it is supposed to get any warmer than 50degrees this week and I can imagine it is getting in the low 40s at night. I don't know how cold the fish can take but I know I probably should get them out of there soon. I put to goldfish in the 50 gallon this past weekend (Saturday) and the water hasn't changed since. So I could probably put another one in there maybe tomorrow and then hopefully by the weekend I can get them all out of the pond.

Too bad I didn't find out about goldfish before I bought those two 20 gallon tanks. They are probably good for only 2 goldfish but I might have to put 3 in each one. I guess they will be fine it will just be more work for me with the water changes more often. Maybe I will stick it out this winter and sell of the 20 gallons next spring then try to get a couple bigger tanks.

 

[eco23]

You've got a good plan.

Not that overstocking is ever good...but if you were gonna do it, a tank which had been fishless cycled is the best possible case scenario. The beneficial bacteria colonies are massive...and if they can't handle the Goldfish, nothing can.

If you test during the day tomorrow don't be surprised if you see no2. It's normal to watch the conversion of ammo > no2 > no3 with your test kit. The important thing is that it's zeroed out by this time tomorrow. I'd so, time for the fish to have a new home

I'm just not sure the best way to acclimate them from cold water to the tank. Maybe bag them and float them for a while? Or drip acclimate so it's a very slow transition?

 

[graphicpunk]

Yeah I did notice in my 50 gallon that the nitrites went up to 0.25ppm for one test then the next day they were back to 0. Just looking at my log it looks like on 10/15 they I recorded 0.25ppm Nitrites after I added two fish but then on 10/16 I recorded 0 nitrites.

I think all my tanks will be overstocked by at least one fish but nothing I can do now. I will just have to make sure to test the water every now and then and also do a small water change maybe once a week.

As for transferring them I might take some water out of my 50 gallon and let it sit in the garage without heat for a night to cool it off. Then the next day take a couple fish out of the pond. I don't want to use any of the pond water as it is really bad. This past weekend my plan was to take a 5 gallon bucket of the pond water out and put two fish in it. Then bring it in the house to slowly let it warm up. Well that water was so nasty it was probably toxic isolating two fish in that small amount of the water. So I just put them from the cold water into the 50 gallon and prayed haha. The 50 gallon wasn't over 70 degrees so it probably wasn't that much of a temp change. I will have to figure something out over the next couple days. I think I am just going to take some water from the 50 gallon and put it in a large tub then move that out to the garage to cool off. Then I will transfer the fish, from a 5 gallon bucket of water from the pond, into the tub.

 

[graphicpunk]

So ran a water test on all three tanks and they were all the same as the night before. More importantly the 20 gallons in the garage recorded 0 Nitrites again. Should I dose the Ammonia back up to 4.0ppm or just do a major water change and get the Nitrates down to under 20ppm? The Nitrates in both tanks are like 80ppm but everything else reads where I want it to. Actually tonight I might dose the 20 gallons back up to 4.0ppm because I am tired tonight and don't feel like doing water changes tonight.

I did add a third goldfish to the 50/55 gallon and he is much bigger than I thought he would be but he has a beautiful tail. This isn't even my biggest fish but he is roughly 6"s.

A couple pics to boot
A little blurry. Hard to keep them still

Here he is in comparison to my thermo:

His nice looking tail:

I have noticed he has a few white spots around his gills? Could that be from changing habitats? You can kind of see the spots in the first pic.

 

[eco23]

So ran a water test on all three tanks and they were all the same as the night before. More importantly the 20 gallons in the garage recorded 0 Nitrites again. Should I dose the Ammonia back up to 4.0ppm or just do a major water change and get the Nitrates down to under 20ppm? The Nitrates in both tanks are like 80ppm but everything else reads where I want it to. Actually tonight I might dose the 20 gallons back up to 4.0ppm because I am tired tonight and don't feel like doing water changes tonight.

I did add a third goldfish to the 50/55 gallon and he is much bigger than I thought he would be but he has a beautiful tail. This isn't even my biggest fish but he is roughly 6"s.

A couple pics to boot
A little blurry. Hard to keep them still

Here he is in comparison to my thermo:

His nice looking tail:

I have noticed he has a few white spots around his gills? Could that be from changing habitats? You can kind of see the spots in the first pic.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Goldfish...but those are beautiful. I love their color, very vibrant.

I think you've got a good plan. If you're dropping your ammonia down to zero with zero no2, you're cycled

I said this before (I think), but if you have to overstock, starting with a fishless cycle at 4ppm is a great tool to help. Just make sure you keep a healthy water change schedule for them and they'll be fine.

I can't tell you about the spots, hopefully it's nothing. Keep us up to date .

 

[graphicpunk]

Yeah I think it is this nasty *** water in my pond that gives them their vibrant colorization. When I fished that one out tonight the water seriously smelt like dog crap. Not sure how they survive but the goldfish seem to love it!

I will keep an eye on those spots and make sure it isn't transferring to the other fish. I think after this winter I might try to see if I can get a much larger tank for inside. I might also sell off a couple of the bigger goldfish and start with some smaller ones. It is quite fun to go from this:

To this

In a couple years. Now I had to restock so that is why there are still some smaller ones in that second picture but they all started as 13cent goldfish from Petsmart

 

[graphicpunk]

Actually to add some contrast that second picture was taken back in April and none of those fish have died. You can already see how big three of them are and there are at least 3 bigger ones then all of them.

 

[graphicpunk]

So I did 75% water changes in the two 20 gallons tanks and after doing a water test the Nitrites went up from 0 to 0.50ppm. The Nitrates are in between 10ppm and 20ppm so that is fine. I drained the pond and all the rest of the fish are in some buckets in the garage. Can I put fish into the 20 gallons or do I have to wait until that the nitrites get to a lower level? Also I turned off the heaters and put in cold cold water to get it as close to the 50 degree water temp from the pond.

 

[eco23]

So I did 75% water changes in the two 20 gallons tanks and after doing a water test the Nitrites went up from 0 to 0.50ppm. The Nitrates are in between 10ppm and 20ppm so that is fine. I drained the pond and all the rest of the fish are in some buckets in the garage. Can I put fish into the 20 gallons or do I have to wait until that the nitrites get to a lower level? Also I turned off the heaters and put in cold cold water to get it as close to the 50 degree water temp from the pond.

You're hopefully just seeing the residual conversion from the last time you added ammonia. Obviously I'd like to see it parked at zero...but I think it's manageable. I'd do another large pwc to get it down to zero...then add the fish. Ideally you'd want to wait until it zeroes out on it's own, but we can only leave fish sitting in buckets for so long. Just makes sure you're vigilant with your testing in the near future and do water changes if necessary.

 

[graphicpunk]

Well i didn't test it before I did the water change but remember I did have some weird Nitrites testing from my kit. Should I just do a small water change and test it later? All the other tests are pretty much right on where they need to be. Or do I just put the fish in and then test the Nitrites before I go to bed?

 

[eco23]

Well i didn't test it before I did the water change but remember I did have some weird Nitrites testing from my kit. Should I just do a small water change and test it later? All the other tests are pretty much right on where they need to be. Or do I just put the fish in and then test the Nitrites before I go to bed?

Are you putting the fish in tonight? If so, I'd do a pwc to get the no2 down as low as possible, preferably zero. Then test it every day for a while to make sure we didn't jump the gun and you have any toxin spikes (which some Prime and pwc's will handle easily).

 

[graphicpunk]

Well I did a pwc, not quite a 50%, and the nitrites are still up. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the water to go through the filter and I will give it an hour and check it again. Otherwise I am just going to have to take my chances and hope for the best.

 

[eco23]

Well I did a pwc, not quite a 50%, and the nitrites are still up. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the water to go through the filter and I will give it an hour and check it again. Otherwise I am just going to have to take my chances and hope for the best.

If you used Prime during the water change the no2 will temporarily be non-toxic (up to 1ppm for 24-36 hours I believe). It does concern me a wee bit though that we're seeing any level at all after it's been dropping down to zero within a day. Hopefully it's just an issue with the test, otherwise you'll just have a few more water changes to do over the next few days or so.

 

[graphicpunk]

Yeah I have always used Prime for water changes. I will give it a bit more time and test it one more time then if it hasn't changed I will just put the fish in then make sure tomorrow that is one of the first things I do when I get home is test the water. I have no problems with the water changes just done one too many tonight and I am tired.

 

[graphicpunk]

Good news

So all the fish survived the night, and today, in the tanks in the garage. I am doing some water testing right now and things are looking to be back on track.

Tank2
Ammonia:0.25ppm
Nitrites:0 (which is where I want them )
Nitrates: Between 10ppm and 20ppm
ph: 7.6 a little darker than 7.6.

Tank 1
Ammonia:0.25ppm
Nitrites:0 (which is where I want them )
Nitrates: Between 10ppm and 20ppm
ph: 7.6 a little darker than 7.6.

50/55gallon Tank:
Ammonia:0.25ppm
Nitrites:0 (which is where I want them )
Nitrates: Between 10ppm and 20ppm
ph: 7.6

All the fish are in their tanks and the pond is drained. I will test the water over the weekend to make sure it is stable. I will add some pictures of all the fish later on this weekend as well.

 

[eco23]

Great! The levels are where you want them...and the fish are right where they want to be

The ammonia level is probably zero, it's virtually impossible to distinguish between 0 and .25 on those test kits. You can always test some bottled water as a control to be sure.