Need help with cycling

[Solarris]

I am currently trying to cycle my first tank, a 55 gal. The ammonia is at 1.0, my nitrites are at 0.1 and nitrates are 2.5 and the temp is 75. They have remained at these levels for the past 3 days. I started with 5 goldfish (my lfs told me that was plenty) and have since lost 2 and have 2 more that I think might not make it with 1 that is looking as healthy as ever. Is that enough fish or should I add more goldfish? I've read articles that said 2 or 3 fish is enough but i've also seen one that says you need 2 - 3 per gallon. Also, this tank has been running for about 3 weeks now and I was wondering if those numbers are about where it should be? I stopped by the lfs this morning and asked these questions but the girl there just suggested a water change, which didn't sound right to me, before admitting that she didn't know anything about cycling.

 

[DragonFish71]

Since you're cycling with fish, you will need to do daily water changes. The girl was right, sort of. Fish don't do well with high ammonia. If you can keep it at .25 until the cycle finishes the remaining fish should survive. Make sure when you do the water changes you treat the refill water with dechlor, and treat for the tank size, not what you're replacing. Don't clean the gravel though. Just skim over the top of it with the vac. The beneficial bacteria that you want is in that gravel, so right now you don't want to disturb that.

 

[Solarris]

How much of a water change would you suggest? And do you mean that I need to add the same amount of dechlorinator as if i was putting all 55 gallons in?

 

[DragonFish71]

I would start with a massive change, 50%. Check it in 24 hrs, see if you need to do it again. The main goal at this juncture is to keep your seed fish alive and from suffering from ammonia burn. The cycle can slow down with water changes and take longer, but it keeps the seed fish going.

Yes. Add the same amount of dechlor as if you are putting all 55g in.

 

[Blueiz]

Don't put any more fish in the tank. Putting to the side you are cycling with fish for the moment. Your cycle sounds as though it is progressing fine. If the ammonia has been at 1 for the past 3 days and you have nitrites showing, that shows that you do have the bacteria that consumes ammonia. Next you will see your nitrites rise as your ammonia decreases, after this you will see your nitrates start to rise. I wouldn't take into account your reading on nitrates just yet, they could have easily came from your tap as well.

Ok, now back to the cycling with fish. You probably, at least I hope, that you were not aware that you are torturing these fish by making them live in a toxic enviroment. You should be doing water changes on this tank to keep the ammonia at/under .25 and the same for the nitrites, until your tank is cycled.

You could take these fish back to the lfs, and do a fishless cycle using pure ammonia.

 

[Solarris]

How could I go from cycling with fish to a fishless cycle?

 

[dkpate]

Just use pure ammonia, as in no surfactants. Most people on here have found it at an Ace hardware. Do NOT put the ammonia in with the fish though! If you are able to take them back, use the ammonia. If you can't take them back, do 50% pwc's every day. If you use Seachem's Prime water treatment, it helps with the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, and use enough to treat the whole 55G. If you have to keep the fish in there, you will be doing A LOT of water changes! Trust me, I just went thru all of this about 2 weeks ago. But stick with this forum and you will get along just fine! People on here are fantastic!!! Good luck!

 

[Solarris]

Thanks for the info! I really wasn't planning on using fish at all but my mother in law bought my 6 year old son 6 goldfish and a 1 gallon fish bowl. At first he seemed attatched to them but it got to where the water was getting dirty in under 12 hours so I was changing the water twice a day at least and I figured putting them in the aquarium couldn't really be that much worse. I also felt really bad for them every time I saw them all in that cramped bowl which I knew was WAY too small for them. Luckily now he's not so attatched to the ones we have left so I should be able to take them back to the store tomorrow.

 

[dkpate]

Well I wish you luck! And you will find that once you have a cycled tank, you will have some happy fish! My fish make me laugh every day!!! Glad you decided the 1G was not big enough for them lol. As far as I know, goldfish are really dirty, and you would be doing pwc's all day long in that 1G! Good luck with your tanks and keep us posted!!!

 

[Blueiz]

How could I go from cycling with fish to a fishless cycle?

You can also use fish food to cycle the tank, put some in and let it decay. If you use this method, I recommend putting it in a piece of unsued panty hose or a media bag so it doesn't get all over the tank

 

[dkpate]

Yes, agreed. It is VERY messy and VERY hard to clean up!

 

[DragonFish71]

You can also use a piece of uncooked shrimp along with the stocking full of seed gravel. I've read that other have great success in cycling that way.