Ammonia & Nitrate

[tylapollyanna]

Hi there. I’m fairly new to the hobby (about 6 months in).
I recently purchased a 56L tank and I thought that I had cycled it before. I waited 2 weeks and parameters were all perfect. I added my Betta fish into it a few days ago and noticed he was started to clamp his fins.
I immediately put him back in his old tank and got the water tested. I had high nitrate which I got rid of by water changes and high ammonia.
I recently tested it again and the nitrate has come back and ammonia is still present.
I went to pets at home to test my water so I thought I’d ask them questions even though I know half the time they don’t really know what they are talking about. One woman told me to add pure aquarium balls in which I did. But today another woman told me to remove my dragon stones (I have 2 big ones) as they might be the problem. Is this true? I did soak them before I put them in. She also told me to do water changes every 3 days. I did them daily but haven’t been able to this weekend because I went away.
What do I do? Because all pet shops are telling me different things.
Also how long are you meant to cycle a tank before adding fish? I was told 2 weeks hence why I added my Betta. But different websites say different things.
of course I won’t add him back in there until it’s healthy water but considering he’s only one fish I didn’t think nitrate/ ammonia would go up high. (I did add 3 Corydoras but having done research after I realised it’s best to have my Betta alone - my friend who has a 90L took them off me).
So anyways… what shall I do? Just keep doing water changes? Shall I take the rocks out?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part I

RESCUING A FISH IN CYCLE GONE WILD Part I If you are reading this it means you have tried to cycle your tank using fish and have run into problems and don’t know what to do. Before we begin to discuss the potential solutions, we would like to make it clear that we do not recommend to...

www.fishforums.net

Above link is the fish-in cycle thread, read it thoroughly, and post any questions you have back on this thread.

Get one of these ASAP, you need to be testing your own water, so that you can act promptly with water changes: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

You need a good water conditioner, get either Seachem Prime or API Tap Water conditioner

Test your water with the test kit, and post the results here...in the meantime, do a large WC with whatever water conditioner you have on hand

 

[sarabarton76]

Hi - you probably need to read the cycle your tank threads. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

A tank doesn't cycle just from being left alone - you need to replicate a bioload. You can do this by adding ammonia or allowing food to rot. You need to grow 2 new colonies of bacteria so they can break down the fish waste and this can take many weeks. 2 weeks sounds way too soon.

You can speed it up by adding filter media from an established tank. You can also use fast growing plants to do it a different way. I'm pretty new to all this but by following the posts in the link I managed to do a cycle with ammonia and a silent cycle with plants both with success.

Good luck x

 

[tylapollyanna]

Hi - you probably need to read the cycle your tank threads. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

A tank doesn't cycle just from being left alone - you need to replicate a bioload. You can do this by adding ammonia or allowing food to rot. You need to grow 2 new colonies of bacteria so they can break down the fish waste and this can take many weeks. 2 weeks sounds way too soon.

You can speed it up by adding filter media from an established tank. You can also use fast growing plants to do it a different way. I'm pretty new to all this but by following the posts in the link I managed to do a cycle with ammonia and a silent cycle with plants both with success.

Good luck x

Hiya!
I added an old cycled filter when I first set up the tank and I added food to allow it to rot as well. The pet shop told me I might have added too much food. Is that correct?
thank you xx

 

[tylapollyanna]

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part I

RESCUING A FISH IN CYCLE GONE WILD Part I If you are reading this it means you have tried to cycle your tank using fish and have run into problems and don’t know what to do. Before we begin to discuss the potential solutions, we would like to make it clear that we do not recommend to...

www.fishforums.net

Above link is the fish-in cycle thread, read it thoroughly, and post any questions you have back on this thread.

Get one of these ASAP, you need to be testing your own water, so that you can act promptly with water changes: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

You need a good water conditioner, get either Seachem Prime or API Tap Water conditioner

Test your water with the test kit, and post the results here...in the meantime, do a large WC with whatever water conditioner you have on hand

I have an ammonia testing kit but not for nitrates and nitrites. I’ll get into buying them! I have a tetra water conditioner but I will get the API one.
I have this API thing that gets rid of cloudy water shall I use that after I do a water change because my water goes cloudy after a water change.
thank you so much

 

[Slaphppy7]

No, you don't need the anti-cloud stuff, that's a bacterial bloom you are seeing, which is a GOOD thing

The less chemicals we add to our tanks, the better...all most tanks need is water conditioner

Priority for you now is getting that liquid test kit and some good quality conditioner

 

[tylapollyanna]

No, you don't need the anti-cloud stuff, that's a bacterial bloom you are seeing, which is a GOOD thing

The less chemicals we add to our tanks, the better...all most tanks need is water conditioner

Priority for you now is getting that liquid test kit and some good quality conditioner

Okay! Thank you for your help

 

[Slaphppy7]

More than welcome

 

[Byron]

I have a tetra water conditioner but I will get the API one.
I have this API thing that gets rid of cloudy water shall I use that after I do a water change because my water goes cloudy after a water change.

No, never use water clarifier chemicals especially if fish are in the tank (or soon will be), as other members have also advised.

There may be something unconnected with "cycling" going on here. I fully agree with you that a lone Betta in a 65 liter (15 US gallon) tank should never cause cycling issues because of the small bioload in a largish volume of water. If you have or can add floating plants, you certainly will eliminate any cycling issues immediately.

The cause of the Betta not responding to this tank may be something else...what are the parameters of both tanks, and your source water on its own? Parameters refers to GH, KH, pH and temperature, not "conditions" which are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate factors.

Nitrate should be done around 0-5 ppm in this tank with one fish. Have you tested the source water alone for nitrate?

 

[tylapollyanna]

No, never use water clarifier chemicals especially if fish are in the tank (or soon will be), as other members have also advised.

There may be something unconnected with "cycling" going on here. I fully agree with you that a lone Betta in a 65 liter (15 US gallon) tank should never cause cycling issues because of the small bioload in a largish volume of water. If you have or can add floating plants, you certainly will eliminate any cycling issues immediately.

The cause of the Betta not responding to this tank may be something else...what are the parameters of both tanks, and your source water on its own? Parameters refers to GH, KH, pH and temperature, not "conditions" which are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate factors.

Nitrate should be done around 0-5 ppm in this tank with one fish. Have you tested the source water alone for nitrate?

I did have 2 Corydoras as well maybe that’s why?

and I’m not sure about any of the parameters I need to buy testing kits! But I do use the same water for both tanks. Once I get testing kits I will let you know everything.
When I put my Betta in there he was okay but I noticed he was hiding and then he started to clamp his fins and that’s when I realised I had nitrate in my tank.

also about the floating water plants. Which do you suggest? I used to have duckweed but it gets stuck in my filter so I want something a little bigger but not massive.
thank you for your help

 

[tylapollyanna]

No, never use water clarifier chemicals especially if fish are in the tank (or soon will be), as other members have also advised.

There may be something unconnected with "cycling" going on here. I fully agree with you that a lone Betta in a 65 liter (15 US gallon) tank should never cause cycling issues because of the small bioload in a largish volume of water. If you have or can add floating plants, you certainly will eliminate any cycling issues immediately.

The cause of the Betta not responding to this tank may be something else...what are the parameters of both tanks, and your source water on its own? Parameters refers to GH, KH, pH and temperature, not "conditions" which are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate factors.

Nitrate should be done around 0-5 ppm in this tank with one fish. Have you tested the source water alone for nitrate?

Also what is GH and KH? Never heard of these before!
I feel bad I was adding a lot of that water purifier stuff with my Betta in there. Could that have harmed him?

 

[Byron]

I did have 2 Corydoras as well maybe that’s why?

and I’m not sure about any of the parameters I need to buy testing kits! But I do use the same water for both tanks. Once I get testing kits I will let you know everything.
When I put my Betta in there he was okay but I noticed he was hiding and then he started to clamp his fins and that’s when I realised I had nitrate in my tank.

also about the floating water plants. Which do you suggest? I used to have duckweed but it gets stuck in my filter so I want something a little bigger but not massive.
thank you for your help

No, not likely related to the cories.

Parameters refer only to four things, GH (general or total hardness, which is the measure of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water), KH (carbonate hardness, also termed alkalinity), pH (ions determining acidity or basic (alkaline) water, and temperature. We can obviously regulate the temp, so GH is the most important as this does affect how fish live, their regular daily life processes; related to this is pH. Knowing the GH of your tap water is important as this rarely changes in an aquarium (that's another story), and you may be able to find this value from your water authority, check their website. A pH test kit is well worth having, but GH/KH tests may never be needed again once we know the source water values.

Duckweed is helpful, but messy. More substantial plants include Water Sprite--this is native to Betta habitats, and they really do like this plant, Water Lettuce and Frogbit. Some stem plants do well left floating, esp Pennyworts, but the other three are better. They will grow rapidly once settled, but are easy to keep thinned out.

 

[Utar]

Here is a link to a website with a good read to help you better understand GH & KH and the importance this has for aquarium water and the health of fish. Aquarium Water Quality: Total Alkalinity and Hardness

Carbonate hardness (KH or CH) refers to the ability of the water to maintain a stable environment and subsequently, the health of fish. The carbonate hardness is the 'buffering' ability of the water.

General hardness (GH) refers to the 'hardness' of the water caused by calcium and magnesium ions. Different aquatic species prefer different environments, some prefer 'hard' water and some prefer 'soft' water. The hardness of your water is often dictated by the source of the water.

 

[Byron]

Also what is GH and KH? Never heard of these before!
I feel bad I was adding a lot of that water purifier stuff with my Betta in there. Could that have harmed him?

I explained GH above. As for the clarifier, this might have been the issue, it depends upon how much and the type, some are worse at binding fish gills together than others. Just avoid them. There is always a reason for water not being clear, usually bacterial (microscopic floating bacteria that feed on organics in the water, and you would be surprised at the level of organics in most tap water, chlorine/chloramine does not deal with organics, just bacteria; ironically, using a conditioner to detoxify the chlorine/chloramine in public water systems allows the organics-consuming bacteria to flourish, and they multiply very rapidly, in a matter of minutes compared to the hours it take nitrifying bacteria to establish. bacteria allows the

 

[tylapollyanna]

No, not likely related to the cories.

Parameters refer only to four things, GH (general or total hardness, which is the measure of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water), KH (carbonate hardness, also termed alkalinity), pH (ions determining acidity or basic (alkaline) water, and temperature. We can obviously regulate the temp, so GH is the most important as this does affect how fish live, their regular daily life processes; related to this is pH. Knowing the GH of your tap water is important as this rarely changes in an aquarium (that's another story), and you may be able to find this value from your water authority, check their website. A pH test kit is well worth having, but GH/KH tests may never be needed again once we know the source water values.

Duckweed is helpful, but messy. More substantial plants include Water Sprite--this is native to Betta habitats, and they really do like this plant, Water Lettuce and Frogbit. Some stem plants do well left floating, esp Pennyworts, but the other three are better. They will grow rapidly once settled, but are easy to keep thinned out.

Oh yes I remember GH because I did have testing kits for those (alongside other stuff).
I cannkt remember the exact number but I know my water is very hard. It was the second to last colour on the spectrum. But my Betta has been thriving in that type of hardness for around 6 months now.
I will buy those kits tomorrow and update you on everything else.
thank you so much for your help. This is a lot of information I didn’t even know I needed (I honestly thought I knew a lot as well LOL!)