Please Help, Water Stats, Emergency !!

[laurasmithuk]

i was not being rude when i added my comments. i was just stating from personal experience that neither panicking or major water changes are a good thing

 

[Clairel]

Its ok i know you wasnt being rude...i suppose i was in a bit of a panick But i felt so sorry for the fish, as if id done something wrong, although there is no way i could have prevented this from happening apart from doing the water changes each day that i have been doing..

I appreciate any help and advice from you all....

Thanx Claire x

I will keep you all updated

 

[MogoMadness]

Adding the sponge was a good idea to start. Hopefully enough bacteria survived the transfer to help with your cycle, but keep in mind that it still does take time for the bacteria population to grow to handle the amount of ammonia that is present in your tank.

I would recommend that you go back to using Prime, since you mentioned you we're already using it. Prime only detoxifies the ammonia, making it safer for your fish, but leaves it in a "usable" state for the bacteria.

Keep in mind that if you do use Prime, you will need to use a salicyclate based ammonia test and not a nessler based one to get accurate readings. Check product packaging and/or instruction manual to find out which one you have. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Fresh/Saltwater ammonia test is salicyclate based, but the Freshwater only one is not.

You will need to do some simple calculations to figure out the correct dosage of Prime, based on tank volume and ammonia reading. Prime will need to be redosed every 24 hours.

 

[Clairel]

Yes, i was putting in the Prime for about a week, but all it does it takes the Ammonia away, but it makes it harder for the bacteria to break it down, so i am back to square 1 all the time, i need to build up some good bacteria, and will keep testing every day, and do a water change every day if need be !!

Thanx for your help

I need to try and cycle my tank without the chemicals i feel, as once i stop using them, everything goes insane..

Claire x

 

[MogoMadness]

As I mentioned, Prime does NOT take ammonia away, only detoxifies it, but leaves it in a usable state for bacteria to consume. I don't think by using Prime, and then stopping should cause everything to go all insane, unless there is an underlying problem that is causing your biofilter to crash, in that case, it would be best to try and sort out why this is happening.

Was this tank previously cycled, or are you trying to cycle with your current fish list?

Doing daily water changes will temporarily dilute ammonia, but it will continue to creep up until you have a good stable bacterial population.

Depending on what the pH of your tank is, the pH of your tap water, and how the pH changes within 24 hours, the 50% water changes could be doing more harm than good. If I was in your situation, I would do smaller changes, more often, but then again this still leaves us with the ammonia problem.

 

[Clairel]

Hi

It was a brand new tank, i set it up for 2 weeks to cycle without any fish, then i added 6 zebra daino's.

It has been set up around 8 weeks now....

I understand what you are saying about the Prime, but even the LFS told me to stop using this, and to let my tank sort itself out, with me doing partial water changes etc..

Stats for today are...

Ammonia 2.0 ( )
Nitritie 0
NItrAte 5.0
PH 6.5

I think i will do a partial water change today, of 25%.

Thanx for your help

Claire xx

 

[dwarfgourami]

Sorry to hear you're still having a rotten time, wish we could flick a magic wand for you. Maybe you do want to go back to the Prime after all, since you've got this emergency state. But take Madness's advice about the test kits, that seems to explain why your readings went so odd. Small partial water changes have got to be good, too; 5 10% changes are bound to be better than one massive 50%. It will almost certainly take time for the tank to get enough bacteria to keep your ammonia down permanently: hang on in there!

Hi

It was a brand new tank, i set it up for 2 weeks to cycle without any fish, then i added 6 zebra daino's.

It has been set up around 8 weeks now....

I understand what you are saying about the Prime, but even the LFS told me to stop using this, and to let my tank sort itself out, with me doing partial water changes etc..

Stats for today are...

Ammonia 2.0 ( )
Nitritie 0
NItrAte 5.0
PH 6.5

I think i will do a partial water change today, of 25%.

Thanx for your help

Claire xx

[snapback]903585[/snapback]​

 

[Clairel]

Thanx again

I have actually put some Prime in there today, just half a capful, so i will see if the Ammonia comes down, and my bio filter gets rid of it, i will do a 25% water change today too....

The strange this is, my fish have never looked better, they are swimming around, and even my Clown Loaches who normally sleep all day, are out swimming about, and having a nosey round, so i think by cleaning the water, at least i did some good !!

I understand though, partial changes of 25% are better, as i keep the bacteria going.

Thanx again for your help
Claire x

 

[Clairel]

My new stats for today, after a 25% partial water change, and adding some Prime.

Ph 7
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0.50
NitrAte 5.0

I am very happy with this result today, as 2 days ago my Ammonia was 4.0, then yesterday i got it down to 2.0, so im slowly but surely getting there

Thanx for everyones advice

Claire x

 

[WILDER]

Coming on nicely now, well done.

 

[Clairel]

Thanx, i hope i can keep it this way.....Lol

C x

 

[Clairel]

Ok guys, need advice

I got up this morning, did a water test...stats as follows

Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0.25
NitrAte 5.0
PH 6.5

So i did a 25% water change, dechlorinated water etc, put in some cycle, and some prime.

Left it over an hour, then tested water again....stats as follows

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
NitrAte 5.0
PH 6.5

Should i be worried about the NitrAte level? I have 2 live plants in there, if this helps.

Just one more question, does anyone have an idea when my tank will be fully cycled??

Thanx Claire x

 

[Bloo]

In my opinion the longer you add Prime, the longer it's going to take your tank to cycle For more information see this cycling article which explains the Nitrogen Cycle - that might help you.

A "normal" tank has anything between 5 - 60 Nitrate levels.

 

[Clairel]

Ok thanx alot....I did stop using prime, but my ammonia levels kept rising..

Claire x

 

[Bloo]

That's what happens when a tank cycles - it's a cycle......if it doesn't rise, it won't fall.