Fish In Fish In Cycle

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

Afternoon all as the title says i am currently in a fish in cycle. <bad move on my part but we all learn as we go >
Any how i am 3 weeks into the cycle and i took some media from a friends filter to help my tank cycle.

The problem i have is though the ammonia dropped all the way to 0 after about 5 days and was there for about 4 days then it went back up to .50 and i can not seem to shift that last .50 and dont know what to do next.

The nitrite in my tank spiked and went off the chart and that now back down to .50 as well and seem to be dropping daily

My nitrate is also slowly rising implying to be the cycle is almost compleate. But i can not understand why the ammonia will not drop to 0

So any information and advice would be brill.......

(there is a possibility though that is could be the test kit as i have tested tap water and get same reading)

I did use strees coat on the water that is ment to take ammonia out off the water

Thanks all and sorry about the long winded post

 

[JoshuaA]

(there is a possibility though that is could be the test kit as i have tested tap water and get same reading)

Assuming you're doing water changes and then adding the stress coat, I believe it neutralizes the Ammonia into Ammonium(which still shows up on the test) which is less toxic to the fish. The Nitrite issue isn't good either however all I can suggest at this stage is keep doing water changes until you get that reading between 0 - 0.25 you really want it as low as possible after doing a water change. Although it sounds like your tap water comes complete with considerable amount of ammonia already present which can be problematic.

I would recommend a product like Prime for your current situation as it Detoxifies Ammonia and Nitrite. Currently anything which can make your fish happier in the water conditions is welcome. However just because it means it detoxifies it doesn't mean its ok for them to be in it! It will be especially useful for you with your tap water and nitrite issue currently and because its super concentrated you probably won't ever finish using a 500ml bottle.

 

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

Cheers will take a trip upto my local fishplace and see if i can get hold off a bottle...

Will this affect the cycle at all ?

Obviosly i dont want to do any thing thats going to stop it from finishing as it really must be getting close now.

I have even just this second done a nitrite test and at 18.30pm it reading 0.25ppm yet at 10.00am this morning it was reading 0.50ppm i should proberly add that sunday it was at about 3 to 4 ppm so it is dropping fast.

I really want to learn all about this thats why i am asking but how i understand it it i am processing nitrite at this kinda speed then ammonia should no longer be a issue at all can you explain please

 

[stuuk1]

Dont get so wrapped up in nitrate, nitrates and ammonia. You can confuse yourself!

What test kit are you using first of all? I get the feeling you are using dip sticks, just because the test you just did said 0.25 where as you were saying your tap water reads 0.50 which is abit strange... You really want to get a liquid test kit e.g. API Master Test Kit. You'll find lots of ebay.

Keep up with your water changes, look at changing a good 50% each day. This will bring your ammonia and nitrite levels down.

 

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

Dont get so wrapped up in nitrate, nitrates and ammonia. You can confuse yourself!

What test kit are you using first of all? I get the feeling you are using dip sticks, just because the test you just did said 0.25 where as you were saying your tap water reads 0.50 which is abit strange... You really want to get a liquid test kit e.g. API Master Test Kit. You'll find lots of ebay.

Keep up with your water changes, look at changing a good 50% each day. This will bring your ammonia and nitrite levels down.

I have the api dipstick test thing and with in the first day of owning it found it to be **** you get the idea so my friend who gave my the filter media also lent me his API Master Test Kit And i have been using this since about day 4 off setting up the tank so i am convinced that the result i am getting are correct.

 

[waterdrop]

What size are your water changes? In your situation you should probably be gravel-clean-water-changing the water level down as low as you can go such that the fish can still move around and plant stems don't break. Hopefully that'll be about a 75 or 80% water change (or you could do one 50% right after a first 50%, something like that.) The Prime won't hurt your fish-in cycling and will be better at neutralizing conditions for 24 hours or so after a water change. You do need to go ahead and get your own liquid kit, like the one you've borrowed. Paper strips are worse than useless, they can be misleading, causing you to take wrong actions.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[JoshuaA]

Being a very new member of the forum wrighty.uk.gorl I would advise you following Waterdrops advise to the letter, he helped me through the same scenario.

Prime is a good product and like Waterdrop said it won't effect your cycle, but if you're in the UK you will probably have to eBay it.

Also a word of encouragement for the water changes get two thermometers and a bucket, siphon out what you need and temperature match from hot and cold tap into the bucket treat it leave it for 5 minutes and add to the tank. You will minimise the temperature change to the tank and put a smile on those fishies faces.

 

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

What size are your water changes? In your situation you should probably be gravel-clean-water-changing the water level down as low as you can go such that the fish can still move around and plant stems don't break. Hopefully that'll be about a 75 or 80% water change (or you could do one 50% right after a first 50%, something like that.) The Prime won't hurt your fish-in cycling and will be better at neutralizing conditions for 24 hours or so after a water change. You do need to go ahead and get your own liquid kit, like the one you've borrowed. Paper strips are worse than useless, they can be misleading, causing you to take wrong actions.

~~waterdrop~~

I have been doing 50% water changes at present. I will do a 80% water change first thing in the morning. after i have taken some reading to see whats going on.

Thanks every one for your help though

 

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

I would just like to thank every one for there help on this site ! who commented on this post

After doing some reading around on here last night and this morning i decided to test the kit i had borrowed on deionized water water and it went a little green given me a .50 reading and as this is impossible i took a water sample to my LFS and got the ammonia tested and it was 0 and my nitrite is even lower this morning it somewere between 0 and 0.25 so i guessing that the cycle is almost done.

Once again thats for all the advice and Keep up the good work every one.

It good to see people helping others

 

[JoshuaA]

After doing some reading around on here last night and this morning i decided to test the kit i had borrowed on deionized water water and it went a little green given me a .50 reading

Very good idea!

Is there any chance your test was actually out of date? Perhaps exposed to incorrect temperatures (next to a radiator lol). I'm not sure but its odd I think for that to happen. I believe you probably won't see a spike in Ammonia any more however the Nitrite could hang around for some time. Just try and keep it to an unreadable amount with water changes seeing as you have fish in.

Good luck!

 

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

After doing some reading around on here last night and this morning i decided to test the kit i had borrowed on deionized water water and it went a little green given me a .50 reading

Very good idea!

Is there any chance your test was actually out of date? Perhaps exposed to incorrect temperatures (next to a radiator lol). I'm not sure but its odd I think for that to happen. I believe you probably won't see a spike in Ammonia any more however the Nitrite could hang around for some time. Just try and keep it to an unreadable amount with water changes seeing as you have fish in.

Good luck!

Cheers REally could not say about the test kit as it is borrowed but have been confimed that it was purchashed around 2006 ish so very possible out off date. Thanks for the heads up on the nitrite will carry on testing that over the next couple weeks and fix with a water change...

Thanks again

 

[JoshuaA]

Cheers REally could not say about the test kit as it is borrowed but have been confimed that it was purchashed around 2006 ish so very possible out off date. Thanks for the heads up on the nitrite will carry on testing that over the next couple weeks and fix with a water change...

Thanks again

I'm not entirely sure if the tests can actually go out of date though! Though it could easily of been contaminated. So far in my "Fish-less cycle" the Nitrite is the one which refuses to go 0. Ammonia hasn't been above 0 since the day it first disappeared.

 

[wrighty.uk.gorl]

Cheers REally could not say about the test kit as it is borrowed but have been confimed that it was purchashed around 2006 ish so very possible out off date. Thanks for the heads up on the nitrite will carry on testing that over the next couple weeks and fix with a water change...

Thanks again

I'm not entirely sure if the tests can actually go out of date though! Though it could easily of been contaminated. So far in my "Fish-less cycle" the Nitrite is the one which refuses to go 0. Ammonia hasn't been above 0 since the day it first disappeared.

Got to admit i was suprrised my ammonia was not at 0 yet nitrite was dropping. Least it all makes sence now though

My hope are quite high on the nitrite to tell the truth. as it dropping at silly speed now Gonna check it over the next couple weeks mind you see what happen with it.

So i dont have to open another tread i been trying to find what the max size tank is that a Fluval 205 filter can do but can not find it any were. I currently have a 2ft tank temp at the moment and planning on getting a 4ft over the next couple months would this work in the 4ft as a temp filter untill i can get a better one for that size off tank.

 

[JoshuaA]

So i dont have to open another tread i been trying to find what the max size tank is that a Fluval 205 filter can do but can not find it any were. I currently have a 2ft tank temp at the moment and planning on getting a 4ft over the next couple months would this work in the 4ft as a temp filter untill i can get a better one for that size off tank.

I'm not too sure on this one but I think you will able to use it in the 4foot tank as long as you have a low stock of fish otherwise too much will just overwhelm the filter. The 205's are suppose to be up to 200litre tanks but I think that might be a bit optimistic as all manufacturer claims are.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, the manufacturer specs are usually a little optimistic, especially the statement where they tell you how big a tank the filter can handle (as opposed to the actual flow rate specification which will often tell a different story if you can find it.) Sometimes the members in the Hardware section of the forum will know the specs by heart if you want to query there, or I don't think the research on google to find actual Fluval cannister specs would be all that hard. Once you find the spec then you should consider that a 5x turnover rate should put you in the ballpark where you're supposed to be (the members can explain that to you if its unclear.)

~~waterdrop~~