Cycling Problems.

[Underwurlde]

You're keen! I've been out all night at a wedding reception - 2 very tired kids later...

So, here's the beef:

Ammonia hardly dropping, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. Clearly nothings happening, your doing all the right stuff (you don't live in a softwater area do you?).

Soooo what to do?

Like I said, I don't think going with fish cycling is the answer - there's no differnece (unless boots have changed their ammonia formula - could have I suppose) and therefore you'll possibly end up just poisoning them.

So, drastic measures then, start afreash: I'd be temped to now make a choice: carry on and hope or act: Empty that tank, strip it down clean EVERYTHING, buy new filter media and start again - seed the new filter media with mulm from your exisitng filter.

ball is in your court....


Andy

 

[Luketendo]

No I got hard water.

Well I'm going to go to the fish shop later hopefully.

I think I'll just wait a while longer, I've already restarted once..

The film on the top has come back and it smells again.

 

[Underwurlde]

I'm going to do a more advanced search of this forum using the Google engine for the oily film you have on the water surface - see what others reckon in the past, if anythng....

Andy

 

[Underwurlde]

OK, the general forum concensus is:

Oily Film
Caused by:
dust accumulation
oil from oily skin
certain kinds of dechlorinator
bacterial / other orgainc film
fish food.

Remove via
Kitchen roll
vac the surface
inrease surface agitation using an airstone, spary bar etc

NOTE: in all instances, not one metion is made that an oily film is an indication of something bad going on.

Smelly Water
Caused by
Dead bacteria!!! <- That could be the case hear as you're not cycing! Could also be the cause of the oily film!
High Nitrites (clearly not the case here)
A healthy tank (apparently a healthy tank 'should smell of freshly turned damp earth')
A dirty tank (if the tank smells of rotten eggs, clean the tank. What that involves was not mentioned
Remove via
Gravel vac
Carbon in the filter (good idea)
Clean the tank
Clean the filters

Hope this helps,

Andy

 

[Luketendo]

Cool thanks lets do a run through.

Oily Film
Caused by:
dust accumulation
- don't think so
oil from oily skin
- probably not
certain kinds of dechlorinator
- nope
bacterial / other organic film
- Don't think so
fish food.
- Nope

Remove via
Kitchen roll
- Came back
vac the surface
- Don't have a vac yet
inrease surface agitation using an airstone, spary bar etc
- will do

NOTE: in all instances, not one metion is made that an oily film is an indication of something bad going on.

Smelly Water
Caused by
Dead bacteria!!! <- That could be the case hear as you're not cycing! Could also be the cause of the oily film!
- Maybe then but how do we solve this?
High Nitrites (clearly not the case here)
- No
A healthy tank (apparently a healthy tank 'should smell of freshly turned damp earth')
- No it smells kind of chemical.
A dirty tank (if the tank smells of rotten eggs, clean the tank. What that involves was not mentioned
- No not rotten eggs.

Remove via
Gravel vac
- Don't have one yet
Carbon in the filter (good idea)
- Hmm, Should I put the Zeolite - Carbon things in?
Clean the tank
Was clean when i bought it.
Clean the filters
- Don't think this is the problem.

 

[Underwurlde]

Hmmm,

I reckon its bacterial die off. Why:

Filter not cycling = bacteria won't grow = something effecting them? = bacteria that manage to grow, die = oily film (the dead bacteria) = smelly tank.

So, like you said, why? The tank was new.

Describe the smell. You say 'chemical', so what, like ammonia? Compare it to something for me, if you can.

Andy

 

[Luketendo]

Hmm, not ammonia smell. Kind of like glue. It's hard to describe.

The tank was a display tank but that shouldn't effect anything.

Also there's like brown algae on all of the rubber in the aquarium, like the thermometer suction cup, and on the heater and filter.

 

[Underwurlde]

glue? what kind of glue? PVA glue? Or modelling glue (airfix), or araldite, or silicone...

That's a wierd smell to have in a tank....

Chemical = not natural = dead bacteria perhaps. My mind can't get away from the fact that I still think that there is something in there that is killing the bacteria. If it was a display tank, then it was NOT new? Could the previous owner have cleaned it do you think? Using glass / window cleaner? Does the smell smell like window cleaner - that's kind of a glue like smell. Go smell some window cleaner (ha, some advice that ay?)

Andy

 

[Luketendo]

No no not a display tank, but it was out on display, like an out of the box model. Well i'm not sure but all I can kind of relate it too is my modeling glue. My Dad doesn't even know what the smell is like. I think It might be Silicone I can't remember if it smelt like this when it was empty after I bought it.

 

[Luketendo]

This is starting to really pi$$ me off.

 

[Underwurlde]

I know it is frustrating. I went through a similar thing (I had to started again).

Have you tested again today?

If there is still no improvement, sod it, strip the tank down, clean it, replace the filter media, start again. What else can you do?

I base that on "Well i'm not sure but all I can kind of relate it too is my modeling glue." That is not right at all I in my mind.

Andy

 

[Luketendo]

Ok then, what should I use to clean everything?

I suppose I could use my unused ceramic rings in my filter instead of my cycled ones when i restart.

 

[Underwurlde]

Ok then, what should I use to clean everything?

Start a new thread if I were you. Say why you're stripping down, starting again and hence the reason for cleaning.

I suppose I could use my unused ceramic rings in my filter instead of my cycled ones when i restart.

Ditch ALL of the filter media in the stingray filter you are trying to cycle if I were you. Yes, use the unused ones, as long as you're SURE they are OK - could this have been the source of the smelly problem?

Mix the new ceramic rings in with some cycled ones from your other cycled tank filter to really kick start the process. I'd remove up to 25% of the media from your currently set up, running and cycled tank's filter.

Andy

 

[Luketendo]

I can only fit 20 rings in a stingray filter. Unless I replaced it with my old Fluval 2+, do you think I should use that instead of the stingray?

The blue cartridges are ZeoCarb and I took them out of but 10 rings in each side, if I use my fluval 2+ instead i'd be able to fit more media and it's designed for a bigger tank (came with my 65l ages ago until I changed to a Fluval 104.)

My 2+ has a hole in the output where you can put a air thing in.

Yea and it has a much larger area for sponges, I can cut the sponges a bit to make room for the ceramic rings I have.

 

[Underwurlde]

Din-dins ready, so quickly: I'd overfilter if I were you - always best unless the resultant flowrate was daft.

Andy