Trouble cycling, not sure where i am (help again)

[Ezzie]

It seems i have been through A LOT with this tank and its getting rather frustrating

Based simply on these results from my water test today, where do people *think* i am in my cycle (if any)

Ammonia: 0.50
Nitrite: 0-.25(Just a little darker blue, but NOT purple)
Nitrate: 0-.25 (not yellow but not orange)

I'm close to just giving up on this tank, honestly, i cannot work out why when the first time i had no idea what i was doing, set it up, it cycled perfectly, now its been out of the cycle for more then 2 months after a big rescape and i'm struggling to get it back normal.

I have multiple threads / updates made from previous questions and after my last guppy died i simply left the tank with plants and let it grow for a month. Even with NO FISH in the tank/ NO FISH FOOD simply plants and the filter running my ammonia was high and my cycle was going no were.

So, what now?
I currently only have 2 small blue ram cichlids in there that have been in the tank for one day..

 

[Khuligirl93]

Probably not a good idea to add those rams when your ammonia is .5...
Do you have any other established tanks? Or know anyone who does? My suggestion would be to borrow a piece of their filter media and put it in with yours to get that bacteria to grow.
When your ammonia is that high you have fish in there, you should do an 80% water change go lower them. Those rams will not last long with that much ammonia.

 

[Galligak]

When you had no fish and no fish food did you put ammonia in there? If not I would check your tap water and see if there is any ammonia in there. In the mean time I would go to the grocery store and get some of those water jugs filled with RO or RO/DI water. Those for sure don't have any ammonia in them. I'd do a 50-75% PWC on the tank as well. Like what Khuligirl93 said, those rams won't last too long with that ammonia as they are very fragile fish, or so I have heard.

Another good thing to do is to get some more stem or floating plants. They can help your situation out as well as the PWCs.

Also, what kind of substrate do you have? I have a dirted tank and the ammonia seemed to spike a little when I rearranged a plant.

 

[Ezzie]

The tanks been totally running with already seeded filter material since February, should I add more or what?

It's a pretty decently planted tank, not sure what other plants to add at this point.

I tested my tap water and it was .25 so I will def look I to bottled RO water (if I can find it)

I do have a 3ft tank with a large Oscar (the rams will be a snack and I don't want to risk putting them in a breeder net) and a 5 gallon tank with my betta I guess I could move them there temporarily, do you think this would be okay?

 

[Ezzie]

My substrate is small gravel and fluval stratum mixed. Could this be contributing?

 

[Ezzie]

This is my tank

 

[Toad]

I'd rinse some of the filter material from the Oscar tank and put it in the filter of this tank. Instant Bacteria.

 

[Mebbid]

What filter are you running on your tank? Also, what is your pH. What is the temperature you keep your tank at? What do you treat your water with? It would also be a great idea to test the levels on your tap water to check and see if there is any residual ammonia in there.

The statement about the Rams is correct, those are very fragile fish and will have a difficult time living through any ammonia or nitrite.

I also strongly advise against the use of ro/di water in a fresh water tank as it will just wreak havoc on your pH levels.

 

[Ezzie]

I'll do that tonight, move more material into the new tank.

The ph was low when Iast tested, I can't remember 100% but it was in the low 6's ill test again when I come home.

The tank temperature is 25-26 degrease Celsius I know a warmer tank can help increase bacteria levels.

I treat the water with normal tap water conditioner, I used to use prime but I felt it was just over dosing the tank with too many chemicals. Should I go back to using this?

Will it be okay to keep the rams temporarily in my 5 gal with my betta? His tank is very stable and the readings are far better then this one currently..

The filter is the fluval mini one, the kind that comes with the fluval EBI and flora tanks. It hasn't had an issue the first time cycling, just when I changed everything. Do you believe it will be beneficial to move the whole filter into my Oscar tank with seeded material and let it run there for a week? This is what I did last time to kick start the cycle.

 

[Mebbid]

Like was said previously, it would probably be best to add some of the filter media from the oscar tank to the cycling tank. You could either add it in with the current filter media or hang it in front of the flow, either would work out pretty well.

I would say probably not to the 5g tank. It might cause some aggression to the betta due to the close quarters.

 

[Ezzie]

Okay thanks!

What should I be doing with my tap water since is had traces of ammonia? Use prime again?

What if I set up the breeder net in the tank with the betta? He's a pretty laid back guy and I rarely see him showing off or flaring infanct he swims away from his reflection! Haha!

 

[Mebbid]

Okay thanks!

What should I be doing with my tap water since is had traces of ammonia? Use prime again?

What if I set up the breeder net in the tank with the betta? He's a pretty laid back guy and I rarely see him showing off or flaring infanct he swims away from his reflection! Haha!

I would be more worried about the rams being aggressive towards the betta and each other than the other way around. Fish can get pissy when they are cramped.

How high of an ammonia level does your tap water have?

 

[Ezzie]

Also what kind of media should I put into the filter? The black sponge / ceramic noodles/ filter wool?

 

[Ezzie]

It was .25 this was tested with a new test kit

 

[Rodeo one]

Ezzie, nice tank!

 

[Mebbid]

I would add whatever is easiest for you to use. It shouldn't rally matter since there should be such a high concentration of bacteria on the surface.

 

[Ezzie]

Thanks!


Okay, i go with filter wool so I don't have to cut the black spongy thing, where should I put it? On the intake / inside the middle of the filter?

 

[Ezzie]

I'm also going to add a second light and then more plants! Hopefully I can get some baby years carpeting going

 

[Mebbid]

Thanks!


Okay, i go with filter wool so I don't have to cut the black spongy thing, where should I put it? On the intake / inside the middle of the filter?

Inside the filter with the other filter media would be most effective.

 

[Ezzie]

Great ill set that up tonight


Last time I moved some of the ceramic noodles to the smaller filter, would changing some to the ones from the oscars tank again be good as well as adding some sponge?

I made the decision to divide my 5 gal at least for the week so I can get this under control, it will be tight for the little guys but better then suffering ammonia for the cycle, I shouldn't have bought them so soon but they were on special and I couldn't resist!