I Hope This Mini Cycle Dont Last Long :-(

[BETTY BOO]

well as some of you know i done a gravel change last sunday.i didnt gradually do it tho.i just took it all out and put the new straight in.
for the last 4 days i have been getting a spike of nitrite at 0.25.i cant test the ammonia as i have run out of the ammonia test liquid and im waiting for it to arrive in the post.so i have been doing 60% water changes everyday.is this mini cycle due to the gravel change? i thought most of the bacteria were in the filter.i didnt think changing the gravel would affect it? ive also been told by pople on here that it wouldnt either?.if it is the gravel change that has caused the cycle,how long will it take for the bacteria to grow in the gravel?. also i installed a new external filter 2 days ago.i put the sponges from my internal into it.i never fed the fish yesterday and i dont think i should today either.hopefully this mini cycle wont last long.obviously the fish arent having a great time in there as any levels arent good,but im doing my best to keep the levels down.theres been no strange looking behaviour.all has been fine up untill now.i had a feeling something would go wrong by me changing the gravel.i just hope they will all be ok

 

[mhancock]

Hi there,

I believe that the bacteria will be on the substrate just as much as on the filter media which would explain the problem you are having. I had a similar problem with a new tank that I stocked too quickly and found that adding the bottled bacteria helped it to cycle quicker that it was doing without.

Hope that helps,



Mark

 

[BETTY BOO]

bottled bacteria.i dont believe that stuff does anything just imo

 

[Fishy friend2]

Actually there is more bacteria in the filter media more so then the gravel, there is an almost unnoticeable amount of bacteria on the gravel.

 

[BETTY BOO]

well this spike came just after the gravel change?? all was good b4

 

[Fishy friend2]

There is bacteria contains on the gravel, but due to the small amount then I can't see any fore coming problems from the gravel change, thought the gravel change could be a factor. I wouldn't expect such a high level in nitrites though. By any chance did you clean out the filter when you did that?

 

[BETTY BOO]

no i didnt clean the filter at all

 

[Fishy friend2]

Hmm, I'm stumped to as why there could be such a large spike.

 

[BETTY BOO]

well all i can really do is keep doing waterchanges and feed lightly.im very confused too.

when i done the gravel change.i bagged up the fish.i kept 30% of the old water and kept the filter running in it.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

There can be a substantial amount of nitrifying bacteria in the gravel. It will vary from tank to tank because the amount is dependent on gravel size and the flow of water through the top centimetre or so. So the gravel change could account for the spike on its own.

However, the large water change you did at the ame time as changing the gravel probably knocked our filter bacteria back, so it's a combination of the two things. It'll take a couple of days to a week to restore itself.

 

[BETTY BOO]

There can be a substantial amount of nitrifying bacteria in the gravel. It will vary from tank to tank because the amount is dependent on gravel size and the flow of water through the top centimetre or so. So the gravel change could account for the spike on its own.

However, the large water change you did at the ame time as changing the gravel probably knocked our filter bacteria back, so it's a combination of the two things. It'll take a couple of days to a week to restore itself.

i hope so.do you think 60% waterchanges is too much? btw i got it wrong.i only kept about 30litres of the tank water.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

There can be a substantial amount of nitrifying bacteria in the gravel. It will vary from tank to tank because the amount is dependent on gravel size and the flow of water through the top centimetre or so. So the gravel change could account for the spike on its own.

However, the large water change you did at the ame time as changing the gravel probably knocked our filter bacteria back, so it's a combination of the two things. It'll take a couple of days to a week to restore itself.

i hope so.do you think 60% waterchanges is too much? btw i got it wrong.i only kept about 30litres of the tank water.

It's not too much if it's needed to reduce the ammonia and/or nitrite to below 0.25ppm. The thing you have to be sure of when changing such a large quantity of water is that, at the very least, you match the new water temperature to the tank water temperature. Ideally you'd also try to match the pH as well.

Some people get away with it and some unlucky ones, like yourself, don't.

 

[BETTY BOO]

yeah i try and get it the same as in the tank.sometimes it may be a degree over or under tho.would this be a major problem? would me feeding them once every other day help till results are at 0? apart from nitrite of course.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

yeah i try and get it the same as in the tank.sometimes it may be a degree over or under tho.would this be a major problem? would me feeding them once every other day help till results are at 0? apart from nitrite of course.

The bigger the water change the more important it is to match the water temperature although, as far as the filter bacteria are concerned, it's the pH matching that is more important. Yes, feeding once every other day will minimise the ammonia production and hence the nitrite production too.

 

[BETTY BOO]

the ph in my tap water is the same as the ph in the tank.in future i will make sure the water is the same temp as the tank.thanks for all your help