Help with Ammonia

[Gonzo1683]

ok so i had my 10gallon tank for like a month now or maybe 1 month and a half but anyway.. my ammonia lev is at 2.0 i know i gotta keep it low to 0... but i was also fighting ich on my 2 swordtails.. thats all i have right now only because i was gonna wait a bit n see if it cycles n then throw another one in before the week was over i saw that i had a few spots of ich so i treated it with the 82-86degree water and coppersafe.. their fine now ... anyway so the ammonia is at 2.0 i gotta do a water change to lower it but i still dont see any nitrites or nitrates they are both reading at 0 and my ph is 7.2 im using the api drop kit tests not the strips cause i heard the strips were not as accurate ... i also have 2 live plants...but they had to be removed until all copper is out.. other then that.. i think i hit it all the temp is still at 82-84 by next week ill start removing the coppper im giving it like 2 and a half weeks to make sure no more ich then im gonna do probably 30% water changes to remove all copper but does anyone know what im doing wrong on the cycleing i dont have the filter carbon in cause like i said i was treating it.. can the copper be killing any kind of good bacteria that was trying to grow?.. any help would be awesome thanks in advance

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

Hello! I was also having problems getting my ten gallon tank to start cycling. I got to the point where I took my fish back to the fish store and continued with fish less cycling. Much easier.

No matter what... Keep ammonia levels down. No gills no fish. Fish in cycling can be long time coming sometimes because of the low levels of ammonia required to keep your fish alive. I had to jump start my tank with an active filter from Angelsplus.com I put the filter in my ten gallon with an airline hooked up an the next day I started to nitrites. My tank had been going for a month or so also with no nitrites... I even tried bacteria in a bottle to no avail.

Copper in the tank will not kill off nitrifying bacteria. Keys to successful cycling... Minimal light, warm water, oxygen in water and seeding material. Seeding material... Gravel or filter from disease free established tank. I would set temp around 80-82 and order a 3" active filter from www.angelsplus.com hook it up to your airline and watch the progress. You will have to keep a close eye on your water parameters so your fish don't get effected by spikes in ammonia or nitrites. Water changes... Do them... Match water temp to tank water temp so your fish and beneficial bacteria don't get stressed. Use "Prime" as your water conditioner... It converts ammonia from the highly toxic NH3 to the not as toxic NH4. Keep an eye on your ph as well. A big drop in ph can stress your fish and possibly stall your cycle. If your ph drops... Water change to bring it back. If it consistently crashes... We will need to look at natural solutions to stabilize your ph... No chemicals. Bacteria use buffers in the water to break down ammonia, nitrites... Low buffers cause unstable ph issues.

Keep track of your water parameters and be prepared to list them with each post on the forum... You will be asked! Water temp, ph, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, tank size and fish species/quantity. This is a great forum with some very experienced people. You should start your own thread though with this question... You would get A LOT of responses then. If you need any more help... Feel free to ask!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Moved this post...and the reply..to it's own thread.

 

[HeatherW]

HI Gonzo!
you need to keep on your water changes even though you are treating your tank for ick. do a 50% PWC - maybe even two back to back to get your ammonia down. then just redose the amount of medicine you took out. yes, it means using more medicine, but you still have to do the water changes. on the other hand, if you have your temp up, the ick is gone, why not just do the PWC and not worry about adding more meds. the temp should take care of your problem on its own.

about your nitrites - did you remove all of your filter or just the carbon part of it while you are medicating? the filter holds all you BB so if it is not in there it is not working right now. that is ok, just do your water changes anyway - the important part of what you are doing is saving the fish right now - don't worry about the cycling part. that is going to happen eventually.
remember - temp matched and treated water for your PWC...

make sense?

 

[Gonzo1683]

yeah makes sense..yeah i took out the whole filter cartridge but today i did a 50% water change im not worried about adding more meds... but i dont think im gonna cause like i said i dont think i have it anymore.. so i added the water in id say about 2-3 hours ago.. i just tested the water again im at .50 or 1.0 ammonia so i just read ur post now ill do another 50% wc Nitrites and trates are both 0 ph looks about 7.6 if i use the regular ph test and for the high ph range id say it would be 7.4 so im gonna assume its right in between 7.5 the temp i kept it the same around 82degrees and everytime i do the water change i make sure its the same temp i use the api tap water conditioner dechlorinates the water and removes heavy metal....i should probably get the stress enzyme .... oh i also just added the filter cartridge in when i did the wc earlier..im gonna do a few errands like the dishes n do another water change...thanks for your help... not sure if i mentioned it all i have in the 10gal now is 2 swordtail fish 1 male 1 female

 

[HeatherW]

you don't need to get the stress enzyme. all you need is water conditioner. the one everyone reccommends is prime. that is what I switched to. just use fresh water and prime and you will be set. no other additives needed!

I have 1 platy in my 20gallon. I want to get 2 more so I have one male / 2 female, but I think I need to get rid of some of my molly fry before adding more fish in there... what colors are your swordtails? love those guys

 

[Gonzo1683]

all black.. then i was gonna get another that was orange and like a little yellow and a little black cause it looked cool but they only sold them in pairs n since i have a 10gal. i didnt want a tank full of swords lol .... im actually thinking of getting like a 46 gal tank tonight.. not sure if i should go bow style or rectangle the price difference makes me wanna get a rec. but the bows are nice

 

[Gonzo1683]

YAY so i went out priced out a tank and got a 56gal.. lol ill get this started soon enough.. and ill do the fishless cycle.. it shouldnt take too long to do fishless... ive been reading up on htat way... they make it sound easy but if its faster doing it with fish any suggestions i know people dont like doing it with fish cause its hard on them... maybe ill just use like 1-3 feeder fish... i heard that way is good too cause they produce alot of crap..
ill have to look on here for the cycling thread and see what people say on that... i know its all preference or opinions but eh im easily persuaded lol

 

[HeatherW]

go ahead and do the fishless on the 56 gal. it is fun and besides you are still doing water changes on the smaller one. i did fishless on the 90 gallon and fish in on the other two. glad I did the fishless on the big one and I don't regret doing the fish in on the smaller ones. it is fun to do both.

when you do the fishless start a new thread for it and people will help you through it

oh and you will be having babies soon... how long have you had them in there?? gestation is about 28-30 days i think. be on the lookout. cute little things

 

[Gonzo1683]

lol i was wondering when they were gonna pop some out lmao... cause i think the black male has a bit yellow in him unless he got dyed by the copper treatment....umm id say i had them for like 3 weeks or 2 1/2 weeks
well when i get the big tank set up n cycled the 10gallon is going bye bye...

should i start a new thread or just look for one thats open already about fishless cycle.. cause i know on some forums the head guy or master... gets mad about reopening something thats already there... i dont do forums much.. so far i spent the most time on a forum is now..lol reading all this

 

[Gonzo1683]

the new set up now time to learn how to cycle the tank the fastest way

 

[HeatherW]

I like it!
And yes start a new thread- that is preferred

Good luck!

 

[Gonzo1683]

well update tank is going well.. and its cycled... ... found a helpful thread already on here for cycling and doing the water changes to keep the nitrites n nitrates down... all fish are happy except for one who had a slight incident with a gravel vac..hes not doing to well...but all in all its going great...