Cycling problems

[Valkyrie]

I found this post on a very small forum that I am a part of. There's no other people on there to really help her out much, so I was hoping you guys could give me a few answers:

Hi,

About 3 weeks ago i set up a new aquarium and did what everyone said not to, got too many fish-too fast.
initially things were fine then the ammonia crept up, i used ammo lock which makes the ammonia non toxic to the fish, then the nitrite levels rose as they should & then slowly the nitrate level rose with the nitrite level decresing, i thought things were going well and the tank was cycling, i had also initially added a product called cycle which adds bacteria to the tank & reduces cycling time.

However the other day the tank became very merky & smelly, the nitrite & nitrate levels were at 0 & ammonia had gone extremely high, i have since had 2 silver sharks die &a 3rd is on its way.

What could this be? It appears that the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite have died? Is the filter not working? Is it to do with the plnts or the light? Is it temp/ph/water hardness?
I have been doing frequent water changes to reduce ammonia/nitrite, about 25% everyday or every few days, can this take out the bacteria? I was told they live in the filter which is an external filter.

Any advice/help would be great

 

[WILDER]

Need to no full stock of tank which fish and which type, how many gallons is the tank,have you added anymore fish once it cycled.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ammo lock destoys ammonia, but your bacteria in your filter need ammonia to survive and convert and this is why ammo lock is so bad because its messes with your bacterial cycle and prevents the tank from cycling properly.
Tell her to imediatly stop using the ammo lock and to start doing large 40% water changes with dechlorinator asap followed by a 30% water change every day until the ammonia is under 1 at least, water changes are by far the best means of lowering harmful ammonia and nitrite levels.
Also the "cycle" product only works when it has been refrigerated in the fish shop and in transport otherwise the cycle bacteria in it dies and doesn't work.
Silver sharks also grow quite massive and aern't a very good beginner fish to start off with, better she rehomes the remaining shark and gets 3 or so mollys(2female 1male or all female, make sure not pregnant) or 3 or 4 platys(same as mollys) as they are much hardier and don't grow massive.

 

[tttnjfttt]

the nitrite & nitrate levels were at 0 & ammonia had gone extremely high, i have since had 2 silver sharks die &a 3rd is on its way.

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Even though they are just havign a problem with ammonia at the time, having zero nitrate in the tank is also looking very alarming.

I would quiz the person about their water change schedule, (like do they do 100%), using dechlorinator, and if they cleaned their filter in tap water. My bet is the answer lies within there.

 

[IMCL85]

Best is to reset up the all tank. Use q tank for any fish that survive. This is the best way to do it. Ur tank cycle is totally screw. Rather do it all over again. This time plz do not use any chamical they tend to do more harm then good. I my self dont use medicine unless its a must. And you should never use amo lock at all.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Best is to reset up the all tank. Use q tank for any fish that survive. This is the best way to do it. Ur tank cycle is totally screw. Rather do it all over again. This time plz do not use any chamical they tend to do more harm then good. I my self dont use medicine unless its a must. And you should never use amo lock at all.

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What would the benefit be to this person if they take all their fish out, put them into a smaller tank (as the hospital tank is generally smaller) which is also uncycled, just to do a fishless cycle? One possiblity would be to rehome the fish. Another would be to split the fish up into two tanks, however, both tanks would still need daily water changes.

Right now, they are facing re-cycling their tank with a heavily stocked tank (which they admitted), unless they are willing to re-home all their fish. At this point, I believe appropriate advice is on helping their fish survive the cycling.

 

[IMCL85]

How many fish do he have and size of his tank? I thought he only have a few shark with some plants. That was just my opinion. And it is the fastest way to clean up all those stupid amo lock. I dont think it was that easy for fish to survive in a cycle totally screwed tank. Especially inside that kind of ammonia lvl. He can use sponge filter for his q tank. Best possible obtion. Like set it up running for 2 days and dump them in to a bag and hang them over. The longer they stay in that kind of water the more % it become fatal. All tho I dont know how much ammonia reading he have but as he said high. So better take the chance that might safe the fish. The more water change inside a non cycle tank the more stress and the water stats keep on changing would definately kill all the fish. The tank need some time to cool down. Keep fish away is the best obtion there is. If he doesn't have a q tank then I guess best to take advice from phoneix.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Remember - the quarentine tank will not have any beneficial bacteria. The fish will be in the same situation. Ammo Lock isn't toxic to fish, it just alters the ammonia. Also, changing the water quality very quickly can also be stressful for the fish, even when it is a change for the better. Don't believe me? Check out Sinistral's post, I know he is very experienced and very knowledgable.

seriously, small partial water changes daily, or multiple times a day is the best way.