Foam On Top Of Water/cycling The Tank

[waterdrop]

Agree with Tolak, you don't need salt.

One set of tests is not going to tell us everything. Clearly the ammonia is too high, calling for immediate water changes such that it gets as close to zero as possible and doesn't get above 0.25ppm. It may be that the filter is hardly cycled at all, but we'll get a better handle on that as you develop a trend of numbers from repeated testing.

Can you remind us about how many minnows are still in there? I don't think your pH is too high, what makes you think that?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[fatheadminnow]

Agree with Tolak, you don't need salt.

One set of tests is not going to tell us everything. Clearly the ammonia is too high, calling for immediate water changes such that it gets as close to zero as possible and doesn't get above 0.25ppm. It may be that the filter is hardly cycled at all, but we'll get a better handle on that as you develop a trend of numbers from repeated testing.

Can you remind us about how many minnows are still in there? I don't think your pH is too high, what makes you think that?

~~waterdrop~~

I just thought that the PH should stay at 7.0? There about a dozen minnows in the tank. So the only way to get the ammonia down is to do water changes until there are enough beneficial bacteria in the tank to keep it down.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Well I just did another test.

PH- 7.6
Ammonia - 3.0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm

What can be done to get the ammonia down? Just keep on doing water changes?

 

[Tolak]

Water changes are the only way to bring it down. That pH is fine btw, there is no such thing as a perfect pH, and most fish will adapt to a pretty wide pH range. Stable pH is what is needed, but don't be surprised if it varies a bit, this is common in a cycling tank.

A dozen minnows is pretty well stocked for a 10 gallon tank. For a traditional cycle with fish you would want about 1/5 that amount. Get used to daily large water changes for a while.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I saw this product called API Stress Zyme that states it is a biological filtration booster. Will this product work at "speeding" up the colonization of beneficial bacteria? Also, should I keep the carbon insert in the AquaClear? Or should I replace it with like the ammonia remover one? And should I turn down the rate at which the filter takes in water, allowing more time for the water to be in the filter and in contact with the filter's contents?

 

[Tolak]

Stress Zyme is nothing but snake oil, living things need food, or a way of slowing metabolism, usually refrigeration. Bio Spira is one of the few refrigerated products found in the states that has been proven to actually work.

Carbon is good for removing chemicals, this usually means medication. I never ran it, saving it for if & when needed. Any ammonia removing product will either lengthen your cycle, or prevent it from ever happening. The bacteria need food to grow, like all living things. Remove that food source from your tank and it won't cycle.

I've never heard of the flow rate having much effect on cycling with an AC filter.

 

[fatheadminnow]

So you think I should take the carbon insert out of my AC filter?
Well I took another ammonia test this morning.

Before a 50% water change.
Ammonia - 4.0 ppm

After a 50% water change.
Ammonia - 1.0 ppm

YIKES!

And there still is no nitrite present in the tank.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, there is no way around this. Fish-In cycling is a bad situation. Fish-In cycling with a lot of fish is even worse. A large stock of fish produce more ammonia. More ammonia means more water changes. Ammonia going higher than 0.25ppm means permanent gill damage, which translates to death or shortened lifespan.

Do you have a hose system for water changes?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yes, there is no way around this. Fish-In cycling is a bad situation. Fish-In cycling with a lot of fish is even worse. A large stock of fish produce more ammonia. More ammonia means more water changes. Ammonia going higher than 0.25ppm means permanent gill damage, which translates to death or shortened lifespan.

Do you have a hose system for water changes?

~~waterdrop~~

Yeah, I have a hose to do water changes with.