I have lost the cycling on at least 2 of my 4 tanks - perhaps all of them. The biggest issue is that ammonia/ammonium will NOT convert to nitrites to any great extent. So my readings of high total ammonia just stay high
I add Prime every other day to make sure that there is no Active ammonia in the tank. Of course the API test kit shows total ammonia, not just active - so it continues to show total ammonia levels of 4-8 ppm. Obviously, if that was active ammonia all my fish would be dead. I have a separate test kit that shows ONLY active ammonia. My active ammonia is always 0 ppm. So what is in my tank is all non-toxic ammonium.
But I want to get rid of the ammonium too - and my understanding is that until there is the proper bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrites the ammonium levels will continue to read high.
Is there a product or procedure that I can use to add/increase the bacteria in my tank while there are fish in it. (ie., I don't want to have to re-cycle my tank with that many fish in it)
I also have tried using Seachem's Stability on a regular basis - it's supposed to add or increase the bacteria you need - it has yet to work and I've gone through multiple bottles.
It's really frustrating to see readings of 4-8 ppm knowing most likely those are ammonium levels NOT toxic ammonia. I always feel the need to run the separate test for active ammonia just in case somethings gone wrong. I never have active ammonia.
I do a 50-75% water change WEEKLY - the ammonia readings drop for a day or two then pop right back up to 4.0-8.0 . Is overfeeding the problem? Nearly 100% of the time ALL the food is gone by the next day (I have lots of night feeders that eat the pellets so the "all food eaten in 2 minutes" just doesn't apply except with the flaked food - I have to make sure there are enough leftover pellets for the night feeders. That includes carnivorous pellets, pleco pellets and algae pellets. Do I have too many fish for the amount of bacteria that was created when I cycled my tank? How do I grow more bacteria since Stability isn't working. I hesitate to add any of the "quick start" liquids that add bacteria instantly - they always mention using them before you add fish so I consider them unsafe for tankful of fish. I think the reason I lost my cycle is because I initially added too many fish at once (I buy online and to get free shipping - shipping costs $40 - you have to purchase a certain $$ amount - they were always fish I wanted, I just should have added 3 fish at a time rather than 10.) But that was months ago, my tanks are fully stocked so I'm done buying fish - and I'm still fighting this ammonia problem.
I add Prime every other day to make sure that there is no Active ammonia in the tank. Of course the API test kit shows total ammonia, not just active - so it continues to show total ammonia levels of 4-8 ppm. Obviously, if that was active ammonia all my fish would be dead. I have a separate test kit that shows ONLY active ammonia. My active ammonia is always 0 ppm. So what is in my tank is all non-toxic ammonium.
But I want to get rid of the ammonium too - and my understanding is that until there is the proper bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrites the ammonium levels will continue to read high.
Is there a product or procedure that I can use to add/increase the bacteria in my tank while there are fish in it. (ie., I don't want to have to re-cycle my tank with that many fish in it)
I also have tried using Seachem's Stability on a regular basis - it's supposed to add or increase the bacteria you need - it has yet to work and I've gone through multiple bottles.
It's really frustrating to see readings of 4-8 ppm knowing most likely those are ammonium levels NOT toxic ammonia. I always feel the need to run the separate test for active ammonia just in case somethings gone wrong. I never have active ammonia.
I do a 50-75% water change WEEKLY - the ammonia readings drop for a day or two then pop right back up to 4.0-8.0 . Is overfeeding the problem? Nearly 100% of the time ALL the food is gone by the next day (I have lots of night feeders that eat the pellets so the "all food eaten in 2 minutes" just doesn't apply except with the flaked food - I have to make sure there are enough leftover pellets for the night feeders. That includes carnivorous pellets, pleco pellets and algae pellets. Do I have too many fish for the amount of bacteria that was created when I cycled my tank? How do I grow more bacteria since Stability isn't working. I hesitate to add any of the "quick start" liquids that add bacteria instantly - they always mention using them before you add fish so I consider them unsafe for tankful of fish. I think the reason I lost my cycle is because I initially added too many fish at once (I buy online and to get free shipping - shipping costs $40 - you have to purchase a certain $$ amount - they were always fish I wanted, I just should have added 3 fish at a time rather than 10.) But that was months ago, my tanks are fully stocked so I'm done buying fish - and I'm still fighting this ammonia problem.