Ammonia & Bacteria

[DJ_$ure$hot]

If I add in mature filter media to my filter with ammonia measuring @ 0.50-1ppm in my tank, will this kill the beneficial bacteria in the media?

 

[iankent]

If I add in mature filter media to my filter with ammonia measuring @ 0.50-1ppm in my tank, will this kill the beneficial bacteria in the media?

no - the bacteria would feed on the ammonia, and would help it multiply

edit - i assume you mean theres already 0.5-1ppm ammonia in the tank, not that you'll be adding more? if you have fish in the tank, never add any ammonia, and you'll need to do a large water change because 0.5ppm is way too high (you need 0ppm!)

 

[DJ_$ure$hot]

If I add in mature filter media to my filter with ammonia measuring @ 0.50-1ppm in my tank, will this kill the beneficial bacteria in the media?

no - the bacteria would feed on the ammonia, and would help it multiply

edit - i assume you mean theres already 0.5-1ppm ammonia in the tank, not that you'll be adding more? if you have fish in the tank, never add any ammonia, and you'll need to do a large water change because 0.5ppm is way too high (you need 0ppm!)

Well surely if I lower my ammonia to 0ppm, there'll be nothing for the bacteria to feed on & go into the next stage of the cycle?

& yeah, thats currently the readings Im getting with my fish stock

 

[Miss Wiggle]

add the media, if you've got fish in it'll hopefully get the ammonia and nitrite down to 0 within a few days which should sort out your problems.

 

[iankent]

Well surely if I lower my ammonia to 0ppm, there'll be nothing for the bacteria to feed on & go into the next stage of the cycle?

& yeah, thats currently the readings Im getting with my fish stock

if you have fish in your tank, stop thinking about your cycle and GET THE WATER CHANGED - any readings of ammonia or nitrite will be hurting your fish, so even if it means the cycle will take a month or a year, you need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0!

i.e., you need to do a large water change NOW!!

 

[DJ_$ure$hot]

Well surely if I lower my ammonia to 0ppm, there'll be nothing for the bacteria to feed on & go into the next stage of the cycle?

& yeah, thats currently the readings Im getting with my fish stock

if you have fish in your tank, stop thinking about your cycle and GET THE WATER CHANGED - any readings of ammonia or nitrite will be hurting your fish, so even if it means the cycle will take a month or a year, you need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0!

i.e., you need to do a large water change NOW!!

I did a water change (20%) 3 hours ago... Did a 60% change 3 days ago & 20% changes everyother day.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Well surely if I lower my ammonia to 0ppm, there'll be nothing for the bacteria to feed on & go into the next stage of the cycle?

& yeah, thats currently the readings Im getting with my fish stock

if you have fish in your tank, stop thinking about your cycle and GET THE WATER CHANGED - any readings of ammonia or nitrite will be hurting your fish, so even if it means the cycle will take a month or a year, you need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0!

i.e., you need to do a large water change NOW!!

wow nothing like steaming in without knowing the full situation is there!!! lol

DJ Sure Shots put a few posts up now, he's cycling with fish on bad advice from the lfs, he's doing his daily water changes as per common advice but he's also looking for ways in which to expediate the cycle to minimise risk to the fish.

what you want is the media mate, if you can get hold of any then get it in your filter ASAP. Make sure you take care of the media in transit, it needs to be kept wet in tank water and needs some oxygen too.

 

[iankent]

wow nothing like steaming in without knowing the full situation is there!!! lol

sorry for coming across a bit OTT my concern was for the fish, which by the sound of it had been living in ammonia for a few days! after the water change, I was going to suggest coming back to find out more about cycling with fish, but got distracted by my own tank

i'm no expert, so was just trying to give the best advice I could in the absence of the real experts (e.g. Miss Wiggle )

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lol no probs, just see it a fair bit, people will come on here and have a handful of posts sorting out their cycle, if you don't know the back story it's best to look at the OP's previous posts and find out what's gone on, or at least ask the OP, rather than just steam in with a paniced statement that's only gonna scare newbies off. nothing to do with how much experience or knowledge you've got or how much you post on the forum, just make sure you have the full story before going off on one!! lol

 

[iankent]

lol no probs, just see it a fair bit, people will come on here and have a handful of posts sorting out their cycle, if you don't know the back story it's best to look at the OP's previous posts and find out what's gone on, or at least ask the OP, rather than just steam in with a paniced statement that's only gonna scare newbies off. nothing to do with how much experience or knowledge you've got or how much you post on the forum, just make sure you have the full story before going off on one!! lol

i did have a quick scan of his previous posts, but with a half dead brain I wouldnt expect me to remember much (feels a lot more dead after watching frogs for half hour lol), but I did go off on one! will try remember next time

 

[DJ_$ure$hot]

lol no probs, just see it a fair bit, people will come on here and have a handful of posts sorting out their cycle, if you don't know the back story it's best to look at the OP's previous posts and find out what's gone on, or at least ask the OP, rather than just steam in with a paniced statement that's only gonna scare newbies off. nothing to do with how much experience or knowledge you've got or how much you post on the forum, just make sure you have the full story before going off on one!! lol

i did have a quick scan of his previous posts, but with a half dead brain I wouldnt expect me to remember much (feels a lot more dead after watching frogs for half hour lol), but I did go off on one! will try remember next time

Haha, its all good Miss Wiggle, I know what Im on about & thats the main thing Im just double checking on things & making sure Ive got all the bases covered!!

P.S- 1 other good thing is that Im getting my 1st ever reading of Nitrites (tested about an hour ago)

 

[Miss Wiggle]

glad to hear it