Cycling

[ItalianM87]

Hello, im wondering if my fish tank (30g) is cycling. Its become cloudy lately.

Ammonia= 4
nitrite= .50
nitrate= 10
pH= 8 or more (dark blue)

 

[bucksgill]

do you have fish in there? 4 ammonia is lethal. If you ddo have fish rehome them untill its sorted out.

 

[rdd1952]

do you have fish in there? 4 ammonia is lethal. If you ddo have fish rehome them untill its sorted out.

I agree especially with the pH at 8+. What type test kit are you using? If you are doing a fishless cycle, they yes your tank is beginning to cycle since you do have nitrite and nitrate unless those are in your tap water.

 

[Tommy Gun]

If you are doing a fishless cycle, they yes your tank is beginning to cycle since you do have nitrite and nitrate unless those are in your tap water.

I am sure that rdd1952 didn't mean to imply otherwise, but this might also be a sign of a tank cycling with fish in it as well. However, the results from one series of test cannot really show you if the tank is cycling or not ---- you will need to test multiple times over a few days so that you can see if things are changing (spikes and falls) You could have ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate in your tap water.

I agree especially with the pH at 8+.

Definitely a great point....ammonia, nitrite and I believe even nitrate becomes more toxic to fish at higher pH levels

Its become cloudy lately.

Cloudy water is not really a sign of cycling but is either a bacteria (milky-white water) or algae (green water). Both of these issues are more apt to be found in new or cycling tanks but are not entirely tied to cycling and can happen to anyone at any time the conditions are right; even in well established tanks. For now you probably don't have to worry about it and it will probably fix itself after a while but if you have fish in the tank, the cause of the bloom might be harmful. This is yet another great reason why fishless cycling is extremely handy; no fish are in jeopardy. If you have fish, I suggest getting them out of the tank sooner rather than later. Ammonia at 4.0 is definitely going to be a problem and even if your fish don't die, they can be damaged for life.