My tank must be cycling again!

[trisha1972]

I have a 55 gallon set that is almost four months old. I used bio-spira for the set up. All went fabulously. The other night our power went out for almost six hours. The next day it looked like my danio and one of my pearl gouramis had ick, so I treated the tank. I was told to watch and make sure the tank didn't try to cycle again. IT IS NOW!

I came home today to find three dead fish.

My stats were (before 1/2 water change) nitrate 40, nitrite 3.0, hardness 150 (normal), alkalinity 180, ph 7.8, ammonia 0.5. I did a 1/2 tank water change, adding the chemicals to remove the chlorine.

What can I do to keep the fish from dying? I have a 10 gallon aquarium that seems to be fine (three mollies, two corys, one danio). I can't put all my fish in it right now. I have 5 gouramis, 2 dalmations, and three danios still in the 55 gallon. Should I go buy more bio-spira?? What about the filter media? Do I need to do anything to it?

 

[tttnjfttt]

It sounds like some of your bacteria died off from the power outage, and you are right, your tank is re-cycling. Right now, I would begin partial daily water changes. The most you ever want to change at one time is 25%, but you can do this multiple times a day. Adding in some filtered media from your 10 gal can help. Adding bio-spira would be a very good solution, especially if you can buy it locally and can afford it.

Adding aquarium salt would be helpful for treating the ich, and it also helps the fish cope wiht the high nitrIte readings. Here is an article on ich that will give you some more info. http/badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article2.html. I wouldn't recomend increasing your temperatre simply because ammonia becomes more toxic at higher temperatures.

How many days ago did the power outtage happen?

 

[trisha1972]

4 or 5 days ago.

 

[tttnjfttt]

It sounds like this is just a mini-cycle. On average, your filter isn't handling .5 of nitrite per day, so thats not tooo bad. Do the daily water changes to keep that level low. I would say to do enough water changes to get the level down to .5 and try to keep it there or lower (this might mean two water changes a day).

 

[trisha1972]

So just do water changes? Nothing else?

 

[tttnjfttt]

To speed it up, you can add in some filter media from your other tank (like shake the spounge in your 55 gal), or you can add in bio spira to help speed it along.

 

[trisha1972]

I just don't want to lose any more fish! My kids (2 3 year olds and a 16 month old) freak if there is a dead fish.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Controling the nitrite and ammonia will really reduce the stress on the fish, and also help them fight off the ich. If you can get the bio-spira (assuming it has been handled correctly) go ahead and add it, as that will be the fastest solution.

 

[trisha1972]

I can get some tomorrow. I'll get it.

 

[trisha1972]

Lost another pearl gouramis last night. UGH! The levels are still ok today. I'm going to go to the store today and get some more bio-spira. I guess I need to buy the regular dose for the 55 gallon (that will be about $30).

I HATE that my fish are dying. I did everything right setting it up. I was really hoping that with the gouramis being top breathers that they would be ok thru the power outage. I never thought it would make my tank recycle.

Should I do another water change today before adding the bio-spira???

 

[tttnjfttt]

It can't hurt. What does your water stats look like today?

 

[rdd1952]

I'm a little concerned that there is something else wrong besides the power failure. Having the filter off for 6 hours should not cause you to lose more than a minimal amount of bacteria. I left mine off for about 12 hours once (long story) and saw no signs of a mini cycle after I started it running again. Have you added anything else to the tank recently like chemicals, medication, new fish, etc.?

As far as your current problems are concerned, you should be treating the ich with an antibiotic and also doing the water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite low. Ich is generally brought on by stress so I imagine the elevated levels of ammonia and nitrite are what triggered the ich outbreak.

 

[tttnjfttt]

I think the amount of bacteria lost will vary filter to filter. I have two types of filters, a Whisper one and the walmart brand one. The whisper one stays full of water with no power. The walmart one somehow drains itself without power, which would mean the majority of the bacteria would die.

I'm not familiar with the biowheel ones, but I have a feeling those would also take a very hard hit durring a power outage.

 

[rdd1952]

I think the amount of bacteria lost will vary filter to filter. I have two types of filters, a Whisper one and the walmart brand one. The whisper one stays full of water with no power. The walmart one somehow drains itself without power, which would mean the majority of the bacteria would die.

I'm not familiar with the biowheel ones, but I have a feeling those would also take a very hard hit durring a power outage.

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You may be correct. The tank where my power was off was one with a whisper filter so it indeed was still covered with water the entire time. I would think a cannister filter would be fine too but from what I know about biowheels, they do not have any water on them unless the filter is running.