Patience Or Punt?

[Baneen]

We purchased an Aqueon 26 gallon bow front kit and and stand for my son's birthday. I did a bit of reading and concluded I needed to do a fishless cycle. I rinsed everything - substrate (black coated), decorations (volcano, shipwreck and tiki man), fake plants and filled the tank. I filled it up, added dechlorinator, turned it on and left the filter running a few days until my API master kit came in.

I bought some 7.0 buffer and started adjusting the water - our water comes out of the tap at 8.2. I used the pH test to adjust the pH and ended up adding quite a bit of the solid material - maybe my first problem. I acquired a commercial pH meter and found that the API test wasn't as accurate as I had hoped - I almost certainly added too much buffer.

I bought a bottle of cycle and added it to the tank over three days. During that time the tank became cloudy - I assumed it was a bacterial bloom but I'm not sure.

In any event I got my hands on some ammonium hydroxide and spiked the tank at what I thought was around 5ppm. I placed the ammonia under the stand where the air pump was and left it a day. When I came back into the room the next day I could smell ammonia. I opened the door to the stand and was nearly knocked out - the lid on the jar had no seal so it was releasing ammonia into the stand and, subsequently, into the tank via air pump. Ammonia was off the scale.

Any way I waited a few days and the ammonia wasn't dropping and there was no nitrite so I did a water change around 50%. The ammonia was around 5ppm so I left it for a few days. I was watching the tank one day and I noticed that there was some effervescence coming from around the heater and I suspected that I probably added too much of the 7.0 buffering solid so I did another 50% water change and got the ammonia back up to around 4-5 ppm.

In the middle we added some plants but they started to decompose around a few edges so I removed them prior to the second water change.

The ammonia is just not dropping at day 12. There is no nitrite and no nitrate.

I have the temp at 79 and the pH at 7.1 and have used Cycle twice to try to get a quick start. Yea, I know I have read about the Cycle.

The water is nice and clear but my filter is already full of something as the water is now flowing over the bypass somewhat. (Aqueon 30).

I'm kicking myself for introducing so many variables and for over applying the buffer and am now wondering if I need to just flush the tank and start over or just be patient?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rickzayne]

Don't use PH buffers.

Take out your live plants

do a 90% water change not forgetting to de chlorinate

and start over.

or if you know anyone with a bit of filter media they can let you have, put that in your filter.

 

[Miles_hot]

+1 on the pH stuff, there's plenty if fish happy with hard water. Also you want 8-8.2 for the cycle anyway. You need to be patient

 

[ShinyCard255]

Expect to be doing the cycle for at least a month before you can put any fish in, unless you can get some media from an established tank (that will speed things up)

PH buffers suck by the way. I tried using them and just threw them out. Worthless

 

[the_lock_man]

Don't use PH buffers.

Take out your live plants

do a 90% water change not forgetting to de chlorinate

and start over.

or if you know anyone with a bit of filter media they can let you have, put that in your filter.

I would agree. Too high a concentration of ammonia can encourage the wrong bacteria to grow. I suggest that you do enough of a water change to get the ammonia down to 4-5ppm.

 

[Baneen]

Thanks for the replies.

I have done a few water changes mainly to try to get the buffers to a lower concentration - not that I know how to measure them. Since my water is pH 8.2 but poorly buffered. I did a few more smaller exchanges and measured the pH of the tank now around 7.2. Since small (10%) exchanges now affect the pH I assume the buffers are at a fairly low concentration. I will use pH down only to get it back into range when I am ready for fish.

I am keeping the concentration of ammonia around 4-5 ppm - it's just discouraging that the cycle will take this long. I feel the tank is sterile.

I wish I had read even more than I did before I purchased the Cycle. I really thought it would speed us along. It's very difficult to explain to an 11 year old why he has to wait so long to get fish. Hopefully I will see the removal of ammonia and celebrate the beginning of the end.

What media are you referring to? Spent filter cartridges? Substrate? My filter doesn't have removable media but instead a "Bio-holster".

 

[Overload]

Thanks for the replies.

I have done a few water changes mainly to try to get the buffers to a lower concentration - not that I know how to measure them. Since my water is pH 8.2 but poorly buffered. I did a few more smaller exchanges and measured the pH of the tank now around 7.2. Since small (10%) exchanges now affect the pH I assume the buffers are at a fairly low concentration. I will use pH down only to get it back into range when I am ready for fish.

I am keeping the concentration of ammonia around 4-5 ppm - it's just discouraging that the cycle will take this long. I feel the tank is sterile.

I wish I had read even more than I did before I purchased the Cycle. I really thought it would speed us along. It's very difficult to explain to an 11 year old why he has to wait so long to get fish. Hopefully I will see the removal of ammonia and celebrate the beginning of the end.

What media are you referring to? Spent filter cartridges? Substrate? My filter doesn't have removable media but instead a "Bio-holster".

Media in this case is pretty much anything that goes inside the filter, I have about 5 or 6 different types in my external canister. It's all good, find someone with an established tank and shove some of what is in their filter in yours.

 

[the_lock_man]

I will use pH down only to get it back into range when I am ready for fish.

I wouldn't even do that - a stable pH is more important than having a "correct" pH for the fish you plan to stock (there are a few exceptions to this). If you use the pH Down product incorrectly, it could lead to a large swing in pH that would be disastrous for your fish.

Many fish we buy are not wild-caught, and therefore not necessarily used to their natural pH. If they are acclimatised to your tank properly, most fish species will lead happy lives regardless.

You can use bogwood to naturally lower your pH - the tannins that are released are naturally acidic, and will lower pH.

 

[Baneen]

Our plan was for Glo-Fish and compatibles and was under the impression they were happiest at 7.0. The store where we will get the fish (unless we have to order them which I haven't read up on) has a common freshwater water supply kept at 7.0.

EDIT: My plan once establishing the tank and since I have a pH probe was to adjust the replacement water to the same pH of the tanks before adding it to avoid any pH changes.

 

[the_lock_man]

Our plan was for Glo-Fish and compatibles and was under the impression they were happiest at 7.0. The store where we will get the fish (unless we have to order them which I haven't read up on) has a common freshwater water supply kept at 7.0.

EDIT: My plan once establishing the tank and since I have a pH probe was to adjust the replacement water to the same pH of the tanks before adding it to avoid any pH changes.

I think people get too hung up on pH. I have a relatively high pH but have a lot of low pH fish (Cardinal Tetra, Bronze Cories).

Did a bit of research for you, the pH range of the Zebra Danio (you did know that the Glofish(R) is a genetically modified Zebra Danio, did you?) is 6.0 - 8.0.

Yes, ok, fish are "happiest" at their natural pH, but if you haven't got the exact pH, it doesn't matter too much. Stability, like I said, is more important.

 

[Baneen]

Our plan was for Glo-Fish and compatibles and was under the impression they were happiest at 7.0. The store where we will get the fish (unless we have to order them which I haven't read up on) has a common freshwater water supply kept at 7.0.

EDIT: My plan once establishing the tank and since I have a pH probe was to adjust the replacement water to the same pH of the tanks before adding it to avoid any pH changes.

I think people get too hung up on pH. I have a relatively high pH but have a lot of low pH fish (Cardinal Tetra, Bronze Cories).

Did a bit of research for you, the pH range of the Zebra Danio (you did know that the Glofish(R) is a genetically modified Zebra Danio, did you?) is 6.0 - 8.0.

Yes, ok, fish are "happiest" at their natural pH, but if you haven't got the exact pH, it doesn't matter too much. Stability, like I said, is more important.

I did read about the Glo-Fish and I didn't see a range where I saw them. That's good to know especially since, it seems, the bacteria are happier at a slightly higher pH.

Any advice on ordering fish from the internet?

 

[the_lock_man]

Our plan was for Glo-Fish and compatibles and was under the impression they were happiest at 7.0. The store where we will get the fish (unless we have to order them which I haven't read up on) has a common freshwater water supply kept at 7.0.

EDIT: My plan once establishing the tank and since I have a pH probe was to adjust the replacement water to the same pH of the tanks before adding it to avoid any pH changes.

I think people get too hung up on pH. I have a relatively high pH but have a lot of low pH fish (Cardinal Tetra, Bronze Cories).

Did a bit of research for you, the pH range of the Zebra Danio (you did know that the Glofish(R) is a genetically modified Zebra Danio, did you?) is 6.0 - 8.0.

Yes, ok, fish are "happiest" at their natural pH, but if you haven't got the exact pH, it doesn't matter too much. Stability, like I said, is more important.

I did read about the Glo-Fish and I didn't see a range where I saw them. That's good to know especially since, it seems, the bacteria are happier at a slightly higher pH.

Any advice on ordering fish from the internet?

I assume the manufacturers of Glo-fish(R) don't give the range, but I would assume that the genetic modification hasn't altered their pH tolerance. It's only the colour that's unnatural, as far as I'm aware.

Re internet ordering, I've had mixed success with it.

So long as your vendor knows how to package properly, and you have a reliable delivery system that will get the fish to you next morning, it should be fine.

 

[Rickzayne]

make sure your in when they get delivered xD

 

[Aqua Tom]

Do not bother with altering tank Ph. It is much too complex & will require you to match PH every time you water change.

Leave it alone. Your fish will do fine.


Tom

 

[Overload]

Also be aware that if you are in the UK Glo-fish® are illegal because they are genetically modified