Cycling After Fish Have Died

[NerdfaceKillah]

I've had a tank going for about 3 months now. At the onset there were two goldfish in the tank. Unfortunately I was not aware of water conditions and the like. About two weeks ago one of the goldfish died. I then went out and bought 3 mollys. Now all fish are dead and I've learned about properly cycling a tank before adding fish. I now know what I should do but since I already had fish in the tank and there may be some bacteria is there anything else I should do?
 
As of 3 days ago my ammonia testing was off the charts, literally an 8 on the API test scale. After treating the water, doing a partial water change and testing today it is about 0 to .25 with nitrites being 0ppm.
 
Should I add ammonia to the tank? What should I do? I am not going to buy anymore fish until the tank is properly cycled. Thank you!
 
The right vial is nitrite and the left vial is ammonia.
 
PH tested as 6
 
Nitrate just tested at 160ppm
 

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, you should add ammonia; as you have no fish, just follow the instructions for a normal fishless cycle. If you do have some bacteria built up, your cycle will go faster.
 
I would do a 100% water change before you start though. That nitrate level is very high, and could cause a cycle to stall.
 
It would also be a good idea to test your tap water for nitrate. That'll give you a baseline level to work with later.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Good luck on the fishless cycle. Post back here with more questions if you have trouble. If your normal pH level is 6.0, you will also want to consider which fish to stock once the tank is cycled. Some fish do better in 6.0 than others.
 
Other questions for later follow up:
1. What size is the tank?
2. Are you running a filter and heater?

 

[NerdfaceKillah]

Good luck on the fishless cycle. Post back here with more questions if you have trouble. If your normal pH level is 6.0, you will also want to consider which fish to stock once the tank is cycled. Some fish do better in 6.0 than others.
 
Other questions for later follow up:
1. What size is the tank?
2. Are you running a filter and heater?

Tank size is I believe a 10 or 20 galloon from Walmart. I initially thought 10 but when I went into Petco the 10 didn't look like my tank so it might be a 20 galloon.
 
Filter, yes
Heater, no
 
I'm in Hawaii, temp right now in water is 78-79 degrees. Would you still recommend I get a heater? Temp here is pretty constant, we don't go through the very cold or very hot like the continental USA does.
 
Also where do I buy ammonia for the tank? I could not find ammonia at my local Petco. I haven't tried mom and pop pet stores but I don't believe I saw ammonia when I checked the last time.
 
I bought the pH level up from API and per the instructions did it yesterday but it only upped the pH by maybe .5.

 

[Gvilleguy]

No, as long as your temps don't fluctuate much, no heater needed! Hawaii would be a great place to have a tank. Do you have Ace Hardware in Hawaii? Their Janitorial Strength Ammonia is good (10%). You want to find ammonia that just has water and ammonia - no other additives like detergents or scents. 
 
Depending on the fish you want to stock in the tank, I would not recommend doing much to change from your natural pH levels. A lot of fish keepers do it, though, for specific reasons. There is just a higher chance of your pH levels fluctuating, and fish like pH to remain fairly constant.

 

[NerdfaceKillah]

Sorry, my web browser wasn't showing the post went through.

 

[NerdfaceKillah]

Yes, you should add ammonia; as you have no fish, just follow the instructions for a normal fishless cycle. If you do have some bacteria built up, your cycle will go faster.
 
I would do a 100% water change before you start though. That nitrate level is very high, and could cause a cycle to stall.
 
It would also be a good idea to test your tap water for nitrate. That'll give you a baseline level to work with later.

When you say 100% water change would you recommend I actually clean the tank, remove the filter, add a brand new filter and start the cycle like a brand new tank or do you think there is still good bacteria that could be used to speed up the cycle?

No, as long as your temps don't fluctuate much, no heater needed! Hawaii would be a great place to have a tank. Do you have Ace Hardware in Hawaii? Their Janitorial Strength Ammonia is good (10%). You want to find ammonia that just has water and ammonia - no other additives like detergents or scents. 
 
Depending on the fish you want to stock in the tank, I would not recommend doing much to change from your natural pH levels. A lot of fish keepers do it, though, for specific reasons. There is just a higher chance of your pH levels fluctuating, and fish like pH to remain fairly constant.

We do have an Ace Hardware, I will go and check them out today. Thanks for all the help!

 

[NerdfaceKillah]

I called my local Ace Hardware and explained to them what I want to do and they said they don't sell that type of ammonia. We have Lowes and Home Depot as well, also a company called City Mill which is similar to Ace.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, you should add ammonia; as you have no fish, just follow the instructions for a normal fishless cycle. If you do have some bacteria built up, your cycle will go faster.
 
I would do a 100% water change before you start though. That nitrate level is very high, and could cause a cycle to stall.
 
It would also be a good idea to test your tap water for nitrate. That'll give you a baseline level to work with later.

When you say 100% water change would you recommend I actually clean the tank, remove the filter, add a brand new filter and start the cycle like a brand new tank or do you think there is still good bacteria that could be used to speed up the cycle?

No; don't clean everything or change the filter. The filter is where nearly all the bacteria, if you have any, will be living. Just change all the water.

 

[NerdfaceKillah]

 

 

Yes, you should add ammonia; as you have no fish, just follow the instructions for a normal fishless cycle. If you do have some bacteria built up, your cycle will go faster.
 
I would do a 100% water change before you start though. That nitrate level is very high, and could cause a cycle to stall.
 
It would also be a good idea to test your tap water for nitrate. That'll give you a baseline level to work with later.

When you say 100% water change would you recommend I actually clean the tank, remove the filter, add a brand new filter and start the cycle like a brand new tank or do you think there is still good bacteria that could be used to speed up the cycle?
 

No; don't clean everything or change the filter. The filter is where nearly all the bacteria, if you have any, will be living. Just change all the water.
 


Thanks again. This morning I emptied the water and re-filled it with new water. I'm still looking for a place I can purchase ammonia from.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Lets get you started on the right foot. You will have issues cycling a tank with a pH of 6.0. However, unless you have started by testing your tap water, it is difficult to know what is going on in your tank. What you had happen is easily a way to deive down the pH in a tank, so I am not at all conviced you have 6.0 water. So lets find out.
 
Step one is to determine your tap water parameters. To test for pH you need to agitate a water sample. I prefer to fill a clean glass with water and then put in a small airstone and run the air pump for an hour and then test. Others prefer to fill a clean small jar about 1/3 of the way and put on the lid and shake for a a bit. What you are doing is getting the gasses in the water in balance with the air- usually this mean getting out or letting in co2.
 
It would also help if you know the KH of your water. Your local fish/pet store should be able to test this so you don't need to buy the test kit. While it is not real important for cycling, you should also have them test the GH as this will be relative in determining what fish you can keep.
 
Also, put the PH raising junk on the shelf or in the garbage. You really do not want to use it. There are more effective ways to change one's pH in those few cases where it is necessary.