Test Results
- Thread starter weejen
- Start date
hi,
No those test results are not ok, you should have not have a Ammonia reading. Is the tank and filter new? if so did you do a fishless cycle? You need to do at least a 50% water change to keep that ammonia as low as possible and this will have to be done daily to keep it in check, until your filter has cycled.
Cheers Gordon.
No those test results are not ok, you should have not have a Ammonia reading. Is the tank and filter new? if so did you do a fishless cycle? You need to do at least a 50% water change to keep that ammonia as low as possible and this will have to be done daily to keep it in check, until your filter has cycled.
Cheers Gordon.
Truck
UKAPS
yes its a new tank looking at the stats
pippoodle
RIP Dear nan 22/03/1925 --11/03/2009
weejen
i've read in your other posts you were going to do a fishless cycle as you only set the tank up on 25th dec
you will now have to do a fish in cycle and read up on it
ammonia is really bad for your fish is poisons them and burns their flesh thats why a lot of people opt for the fishless cycle
the other members gave you some advice on doing the fishless cycle
i suppose 6 weeks is a long time to wait for fish
but now you have added them you will have to keep on top of regular water changes else you will lose all your fish
i've read in your other posts you were going to do a fishless cycle as you only set the tank up on 25th dec
you will now have to do a fish in cycle and read up on it
ammonia is really bad for your fish is poisons them and burns their flesh thats why a lot of people opt for the fishless cycle
the other members gave you some advice on doing the fishless cycle
i suppose 6 weeks is a long time to wait for fish
but now you have added them you will have to keep on top of regular water changes else you will lose all your fish
pippoodle
RIP Dear nan 22/03/1925 --11/03/2009
taken from miss wiggles pinned topic http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355
OK So you already have fish, if it is at all possible you should return these fish to the store and then do a fishless cycle. I know you may be attached to your fish and might not want to, so you can keep them if you like, however you must be prepared to accept that some of these fish may die over the next few weeks, you will need to do a lot of hard work and research to get through this. If at all possible I would recommend a fishless cycle.
Keeping your fish? Alright, the single best thing you can do for your fish is to get some mature filter media from a healthy tank and put it in your filter. This will contain all the bacteria they need to survive and will take a lot of work out of it. There's a pinned topic here with details of members who are willing to donate media, or you can ask friends with tanks or the fish shop. Remember if you get some you must be careful transporting it, you should keep it in tank water and get it into your filter within 12 hours. If you do this you should still follow the instructions below, it'll just be easier and quicker for you.
If you can't get any mature media then you're going to have to work hard now. Firstly you need to look at what fish you have in the tank, you actually need to have a reasonable amount of fish to get your cycle going, I recommend about a quarter of the total stocking for the tank. The recommended stocking level is 1" of fish per US gallon of water. So if you have a 20 gallon tank, you should eventually aim for 20" of fish (not 1 20" fish, but 20" total combined from many small fish).To cycle the tank you need a quarter of this so 5" of fish. Look up what fish you have, check what size they get to, add it all up and it should come to a quarter of the size of your tank is US gallons. If your at all confused start your own topic and post what fish you have and the size of your tank and we'll help.
Once you've got the number of fish sorted out you need to test your water for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Keep a log of the date you took the reading and what results you got. Post it up for us to look at if you get confused. You will almost definitely get a reading for ammonia, possibly get one for nitrite and possibly for nitrate depending how long the tank has been running and what your tap water contains.
You can expect your results for ammonia to go up then down while the others stay relatively low, then when ammonia has almost dropped to 0 nitrite will start to rise and then fall, and nitrate will start creeping up. When ammonia and nitrite have dropped to 0 then you have a cycled filter.
So now every single day you should check your readings, if you get a reading for ammonia or nitrite that isn't 0 you should carry out a 20% water change. This will most likely be every day for a few weeks; it can even take months in some cases. If you get some mature media you may find it's done in a few days.
When you do water changes you should also use a siphon to vac the substrate and pick up any uneaten food or fishy poo. However don't be too thorough as some of the bacteria you need will live in your substrate and you don't want to kill them off. Make sure you add dechlorinator to the water you put into the tank.
This will go on for a couple of weeks, it will be boring and hard work, but sadly it has to be done, doing it will save your fish.
If you see any signs of distress or illness use this form to post in the emergency section to get advice on medication and treatment. Tell them that you are aware you should have fishless cycled but you are now carefully cycling with fish. Some medications can stop your cycle and will only make things worse in the long run so it's very important to let people know that you are cycling with fish.
Now eventually your readings for ammonia and nitrite will reach 0 and you can stop doing daily water changes, hooray!! You should now cut back to 25% water changes once a week. Now remember your filter is cycled, but it is only able to cope with the amount of waste your current fish produce, if you just get a whole load more the filter won't cope and you'll have to go through this all over again. From now on you should add fish very gradually, a couple at a time then keep testing the water, you may see a mini cycle in which case do your water changes again until it's finished, then leave the tank a week or so and add some more fish. Very gradually over a few months your filter bacteria will build up and you'll be able to finish stocking your tank.
And finally if your at all confused about whats going on it's best to start your own thread, make sure you include details of your tank size, fish you have in it and water stats and we'll do the best we can to help.
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355OK So you already have fish, if it is at all possible you should return these fish to the store and then do a fishless cycle. I know you may be attached to your fish and might not want to, so you can keep them if you like, however you must be prepared to accept that some of these fish may die over the next few weeks, you will need to do a lot of hard work and research to get through this. If at all possible I would recommend a fishless cycle.
Keeping your fish? Alright, the single best thing you can do for your fish is to get some mature filter media from a healthy tank and put it in your filter. This will contain all the bacteria they need to survive and will take a lot of work out of it. There's a pinned topic here with details of members who are willing to donate media, or you can ask friends with tanks or the fish shop. Remember if you get some you must be careful transporting it, you should keep it in tank water and get it into your filter within 12 hours. If you do this you should still follow the instructions below, it'll just be easier and quicker for you.
If you can't get any mature media then you're going to have to work hard now. Firstly you need to look at what fish you have in the tank, you actually need to have a reasonable amount of fish to get your cycle going, I recommend about a quarter of the total stocking for the tank. The recommended stocking level is 1" of fish per US gallon of water. So if you have a 20 gallon tank, you should eventually aim for 20" of fish (not 1 20" fish, but 20" total combined from many small fish).To cycle the tank you need a quarter of this so 5" of fish. Look up what fish you have, check what size they get to, add it all up and it should come to a quarter of the size of your tank is US gallons. If your at all confused start your own topic and post what fish you have and the size of your tank and we'll help.
Once you've got the number of fish sorted out you need to test your water for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Keep a log of the date you took the reading and what results you got. Post it up for us to look at if you get confused. You will almost definitely get a reading for ammonia, possibly get one for nitrite and possibly for nitrate depending how long the tank has been running and what your tap water contains.
You can expect your results for ammonia to go up then down while the others stay relatively low, then when ammonia has almost dropped to 0 nitrite will start to rise and then fall, and nitrate will start creeping up. When ammonia and nitrite have dropped to 0 then you have a cycled filter.
So now every single day you should check your readings, if you get a reading for ammonia or nitrite that isn't 0 you should carry out a 20% water change. This will most likely be every day for a few weeks; it can even take months in some cases. If you get some mature media you may find it's done in a few days.
When you do water changes you should also use a siphon to vac the substrate and pick up any uneaten food or fishy poo. However don't be too thorough as some of the bacteria you need will live in your substrate and you don't want to kill them off. Make sure you add dechlorinator to the water you put into the tank.
This will go on for a couple of weeks, it will be boring and hard work, but sadly it has to be done, doing it will save your fish.
If you see any signs of distress or illness use this form to post in the emergency section to get advice on medication and treatment. Tell them that you are aware you should have fishless cycled but you are now carefully cycling with fish. Some medications can stop your cycle and will only make things worse in the long run so it's very important to let people know that you are cycling with fish.
Now eventually your readings for ammonia and nitrite will reach 0 and you can stop doing daily water changes, hooray!! You should now cut back to 25% water changes once a week. Now remember your filter is cycled, but it is only able to cope with the amount of waste your current fish produce, if you just get a whole load more the filter won't cope and you'll have to go through this all over again. From now on you should add fish very gradually, a couple at a time then keep testing the water, you may see a mini cycle in which case do your water changes again until it's finished, then leave the tank a week or so and add some more fish. Very gradually over a few months your filter bacteria will build up and you'll be able to finish stocking your tank.
And finally if your at all confused about whats going on it's best to start your own thread, make sure you include details of your tank size, fish you have in it and water stats and we'll do the best we can to help.
pippoodle
RIP Dear nan 22/03/1925 --11/03/2009
WEEJEN goto new to hobby section and post a thread -- new fish in cycle - state what has happened all your stats tank size etc and the information required in miss wiggles post - this way you can get the step by step help you need for your tank to cycle properly and the fish to hopefully survive
good luck sarah
good luck sarah
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