Help! Feeling Like I Totally Messed Up New Tank Setup!

[jdubs]

Hi Everyone!

I have learned much from reading the entries in these forums. What a great resource! However, I am a total newbie and i am starting to feel panicking about my new tanks especially my 16 gallon.

Quick background: I bought my children 2 Bettas last summer and put them each in their own 2 gallon tanks with heaters and filters. Of course they have become my fish now and felt they needed more room. I bought a 10 gallon and 16 gallon about 4-5 weeks ago. The 10 gallon has one Betta in it and many live plants. I did use some substrate from the old 2 gallon tank and stuck the old biological filter in the filtration system, which has since been removed. The 16 gallon has one Betta, 5 glowlight tetras, 4 whisker shrimp and several live plants. The 16 gallon also had some old substrate from 2 gallon tank and old biological filter, which has also been removed.

Water parameters for 10 gallon as if today:
PH 7.0 - 7.2
Ammonia - 1.0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm

Water parameters for 16 gallon as of today:
PH 6.8 - 7.0
Ammonia - 4.0 - 8.0 ppm (I am using an API freshwater test kit and the readings jump from 4.0 to 8.0) - At this level for about 3-4 days.
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm

I did about a 30-40% water change in 16 gallon tank, added Stress Coat, Stress Zyme and Ammo-Lock. I have always liked Stress Coat, but the other two I purchased and used within the last week out of sheer panic.

So, because I fooled myself into believing my tanks cycled super fast . . . I bought the 5 tetras. Be that as it is, I have the fish and need to know if there is anything I can do to save them or at least the Bettas. I hope that doesn't sound bad, because I do care about the tetras, but I am extremely attached to the Bettas.

Should I set up my 2 gallon tank again for the Betta in the 16 gallon tank? If so, should I just use tap water treated with Stress Coat and take some of the plants and substrate out of the 16 gallon tank? I feel like he would be OK if I did that but I don't want to make matters worse.

Should I do the same for the Betta in my 10 gallon tank, assuming the Ammonia will spike that high in that one eventually too?

If I could do things differently I would have, but this is what I am stuck with.

Again, I appreciate any help. I feel bad that I am putting my fish through this ordeal

Thanks in Advance!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If I have read things right, the 16g has had a massive ammonia spike because you have added new fish/critters to it, when the filter you trnasferred was only colonised by bacteria for the Betta. Your new 10g is fine because no new fish have been added and its old filter that was used to that exisiting Betta.

The 16g, 4-8mg/l is a very dangerous ammonia level. They need fresh dechlorinated water urgently. However, because the toxins are so high, it would be dangerous to simply change ~95% of the water with them in situ.


Turn off the heater and filter for the 16g.
Syphon tank water upto ~ 1/4 of a fish-safe bucket.
Net all the fish/critters into the bucket.
Empty the tank completely of all water, checking the filter for rotting food and gently squeezing it in removed water if necessary.
Replace with similar temp dechlorinated water.
Turn the heater and filter back on.
Test the tank water for ammonia, if it is still 0.25mg/l or higher then do another 50-100% water change.
Acclimitise the fish/critters to the new tank water as if just brought home from the fish store, ideally by the airline drip method, alternatively adding 5-20ml every 5-10 minutes by syringe until the bucket is 1/2 to 3/4 full.
Net the fish back into the tank.
Top up the tank with new dechlorinated water to account for what was lost during acclimitisation.

 

[jdubs]

Thank you so much for a quick reply!!! i am going to do those steps right now!

 

[jdubs]

OK, so biological filter is goopy (whitish green color) . . . Do I wipe/rinse this off? Inside filter is same.

 

[FishFanatic04]

I'm sorry Nobody of the Goat. But I dont undertsand your advice.


You are now in a fish-in cycle. It's more simple then the previous advice. You need to change as much water as you can untill your readings for ammonia are under .25. Ammopnia is very toxic for fish. It will end up seeming like a lot of work after the first few days, but since you didn't keep the media in the tank from your previous filter, you have to go through the cycle all over again.

There's no reason to move the fish to the 2 gallon, unless you still have the cycled filter in it.

Just keep up water changes. There is no reason to stress your fish by netting them out.

Also the OP 10g has an ammonia reading of 1.0 ppm so that tank isn't cycled either.

Your said you removed the previous filter? Do you still have them? You would have need the old filter running for up to 6 weeks to help cycle your new filters.

Leave the filter media alone. You need as much of the bacteria that is growing there to remain, so wiping it could make you lose some.

If you change 70% of water and it still tests with ammonia, then it just means that you should change more water. There's no reason to disturb the fish more.

Fish-in cycles require A LOT of water changing. That's why people like to cycle without fish. SOrry you are going through this.

 

[jdubs]

Hi Again,

So I did not move any of the fish to the 2 gallon. I did put them in my fish safe bucket and did about a 95% water change.

I just refilled and added Stress Coat and tested the ammonia again . . . between 1.0 - 2.0. It seems like it should be lower than that. At least it is not at a lethal level, I think . . . . although it's pretty clear I don't know what I am talking about I am getting the fish ready to go back into 16 gallon tank by acclimating them.

I am confused as to how often I should change the water during cycling. I read somewhere to do minimum changes to speed cycling along, but this seems dangerous. I have been doing 25-30% changes every 2-3 days.

Since the ammonia is not down as much as it should be what should I do? Change more water tonight or tomorrow? What about using the Ammo-Lock?

 

[FishFanatic04]

Your filter will still cycle with the large water changes, because the fish will be continually adding ammonia to the water. Not taking the extra ammonia above .25 ppm out is just poising your fish. The same with nitrites when they show up.

 

[jdubs]

Baahhhh . . . PH is now 8.4!! What will that do? It was in the 7s.

 

[FishFanatic04]

When I cycled, I did a HUGE water change in the morning and a Huge one at night. I took out as much water as I could leaving the fish covered. I did not remove them, netting them that often would be sooooooo much more stressful, then the water changes themselves.

Yikes, what are your tap water readings for ammonia and ph? My tap water has ammonia, so instead of aiming for under .25 ppm. I had to keep my ammonia at 1.0. Not ideal. I'm surprised my fish made it. Anything showing up on your test {.25 ppm is the lowest above zero} is toxic.

Just wanted to add, the I often threw in extra water changes when levels were rising too fast, too high

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Sorry, getting late here, missed the ammonia reading of 1ppm in the 10g. This tank needs attention too with a big water change.

As for the 16g, I suggested removing the fish from the tank while doing a massive water change because going rapidly from 4-8ppm ammonia to hopefully 0 in the fresh water could cause "old tank syndrome" shock for the fish.

 

[FishFanatic04]

It makes since.. I didn't mean to point at you. Well hopefully now the Op can keep the levels controlled. Just didn't want them to remove fish for multiple changes a day.

 

[jdubs]

Tested PH right out of the tap it was 8.4-8.8, which is odd because I tested it 4-5 days ago right from the tap and it was a perfect 7.

The ammonia right out of the tap is 0.5 ppm. I have never tested that out of the tap before, but there was a point 2-2.5 weeks ago when ammonia from 16 gallon tested at 0 ppm. I don't know if that helps or is relevant, just thought I would add it.

FYI- I have city water

 

[FishFanatic04]

In that case. You may not be able to get your ammonia level below .5 But that would be a good number to keep the tank at through your cycle. I use Seachem prime to dechlorinate my water because it makes the ammonia from my tap water less toxic until my filter can remove it. It is also very concentrated so I save money in the long run. I am not sure if the stress coat does the same thing.

 

[jdubs]

On the Stress Coat bottle it says "removes chlorine, chloramines and ammonia and detoxifies heavy metals in tap water"

 

[jdubs]

Any opinions on whether I should add either of the following:

1) Ammo-Lock (described as "Promotes healthy gill function and eliminates fish stress caused by ammonia. Detoxifies ammonia, chlorine and chloramines"

2) Stress Zyme (described as "contains millions of live bacteria to destroy sludge in gravel bed and keep glass and plants clean. Also helps boost the natural aquarium cycle"

I am tempted to use the ammo-lock since the ammonia levels are still over .25 ppm.