Help Please

[tbyrne925]

So I made a few stupid mistakes starting my first tank. I bought a 37 gallon marineland tank. I rinsed everything (rocks,filter, accessories) and added fish about 48hrs later which I now know was too soon and too many. I have 6 platys, a bristlenose, a rafael catfish. Its been a month now and the tank still looks awful/high in ammonia. I've tried ammonia removing chemicals and done a few water changes but nothing gets it clear. I have the 405 fluval cannister on it now. I havent been doing water changes everyday but should I be? I just dont know what to do anymore!
 
Thanks for any advice!
Todd

 

[Blondielovesfish]

You should be doing about 50% waterchanges every time you see any ammonia and/or nitrite. The fish will die of ammonia poisoning otherwise!

 

[tbyrne925]

So 50% water changes until the ammonia is gone?

 

[fluttermoth]

You might need to larger than 50%; do as big (or as many!) as you need to get the ammonia back down to zero.
 
I'd start off by doing as near to a 100% change as you can; leave just enough water for the fish to swim upright (don't forget to switch your heater/filter off first!) before refiling with warmed, dechlorinated water.
 
Test again after half an hour or so, and if you still have any reading for ammonia (or nitrite, if you have a test for that), you'll have to do another one.

 

[tbyrne925]

I will do that for sure! Will it mess up the cycle though and cause the same thing to happen again?

 

[fluttermoth]

No; 'cycling' means growing a colony of good bacteria on the stuff inside your filter. There are very few bacteria loose in the water. As long as you don't let any 'raw', chlorinated tap water near your filter, and as long as the temperature is matched, large water changes won't affect your cycle at all

 

[DoubleDutch]

No one in your neighbourhood with a cycled tank? If so you could use some water / filtermedia from that tank then.

 

[fluttermoth]

Filter media would be a great help, good point.
 
Water won't do anything though; the bacteria cling on quite strongly to the filter media (that's how we can clean media in old tank water without losing them all )

 

[DoubleDutch]

True !!!

 

[tbyrne925]

So as long as I have bacteria built up in my filter I wont have to worry about cycling and can clean more thoroughly? Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, but don't go mad!
 
Good luck