Ammonia Level

[tibby25731]

Well my fish all seem fine after the emergency the other day! Phew.... still no sign of nitrites yet, but ammonia keeps going up to around 0.50 or a little over, no spikes though. I am 50% changing every day. Any ideas how long this is going to take?
Also i have a question regarding my filter. It is a Tetratec internal filter. It came with a big green sponge theat slots into it and also a smaller black thing which I assume is carbon, I have taken this out. I keep seeing threads mentioning filter media and I have seen floss in the lfs, but what do I do with this exactly? I know I won't be changing the sponge any time yet as I am still cycling, but I'm wondering what exactly I need! I know to start with I will replace a small bit of the sponge with new media but how? Do i just pack the floss in???

 

[tibby25731]

Still, my ammonia rises every day, enough to warrant a water change. No sign of nitrites still. Someone please reassure me that this is normal, I am starting to think this cycle will never complete! Is there anything I can do to speed things up? I am feeding the fish a little less so that less waste is produced for the filter to deal with. I am doing a 50% water change every day.

 

[waterdrop]

Tibby,

As the others said, Well Done! You have discovered the basics and started doing them and that's a lot more than most.

It just sounds like you haven't tuned in to the timing of these things yet. You are looking for changes that -might- happen in a day but sometimes can take weeks. Every tank is different.. the sponge materials can be different.. the situation provided for the bacteria to grow is just different, no getting around it.

Same thing the day the air pump was not on - too much worry! Things move a little slower than that.

What seems good is that you are attentive and willing to do things on a daily basis and are willing to learn. These TFF folks give great advice and sooner or later you will no doubt have a sparkling tank with happy fish!

From another learner... waterdrop

 

[tibby25731]

Thanks Waterdrop! I am just impatient I guess, also worrying a little because I will be away for 4 days from 21st March so I won't know if the levels have gotten to a dangerous level...... I just want it to have cycled by then! Shame I am not in the States cos then I could have got some refrigerated bacteria to speed things up a little..... I am just going to have to wait and hope i guess! I'm used to daily water changes now, it will seem odd when I don't have to do so many! My fish are used to it now though I think, and the guppies love it! Funny little things they are... lol. They give me so much joy but also so much stress right now!

 

[st24rsap]

They give me so much joy but also so much stress right now!

i know the feeling well lol

not sure what to suggest about your time away apart from doing some large changes just before you leave to try and get the ammonia to 0, dont feed them for a day or so before and hopefully the ammonia level wont rise too much whilst your away...... thats unless it cycles before you leave then there wont be an issue

 

[waterdrop]

You might find a pre-teen who would be excited to get paid but also showed interest in your tank. You would have to have them do some along with you to be sure all the details were learned. Its a long shot I guess.

 

[Mikaila31]

Have You tried to get any mature media from someone who has a tank that has been running for couple months or a LFS. If you can get some it will make your tank cycle much quicker, or it could instantly cycle your tank depending on how much bacteria the media contains.

 

[LosC519]

Tibby, I was in your situation not too long ago. I used a product called Seachem Stability to speed up my cycling process and it cycled my tank in 8-9 days. I recommend you try it, it's easy and cheap. Get yourself a small bottle. Goodluck

 

[tibby25731]

I guess I should try for the mature media option - where abouts on these forums should i ask? And I can't say I have seen Seachem Stability - does anyone know if this is available in the UK?

 

[st24rsap]

mature media is by far the best option. if i was you i would stick a thread up in the tropical section asking if anyone in manchester would be nice enough to help you out, theres bound to be someone that will be willing to help locally.

either that or pop to your local fish store and ask them very nicely if they could help you out

 

[tibby25731]

asked lfs for this when I started, they looked at me like I was mad....

Will ask around for a donation! Wish me luck!

 

[st24rsap]

asked lfs for this when I started, they looked at me like I was mad....

Will ask around for a donation! Wish me luck!

why doesnt that surprise me

Good luck