Uncertain if my tank is cycled or not

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Puffypuff

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I have a 20 gallon tank with 6 Corys, 6 bettas, 6 rasbora and 1 snail for almost 4 weeks. I have live and fake plants in my tank. I have been using prime and stability to help me keep my fish alive throughout the cycling process after 2 of my panda cory die during the 2nd weeks up. My ammonia was around 2ppm yesterday. So I dose an additional of prime and 1 capful of stability. Now my ammonia is at .25ppm with api master testing kit. My nitrite and nitrate is at 0 ppm but my PH is around 7.2 -7.6. Today my tank become quite cloudy. But I'm not sure if I should continue using prime and stability or even feed my fish for 1 or 2 days.
 
Have you cycled your tank before you had fish? Usually, cycling the tank beforehand is good. Have you done waterchanges? Sounds like a bacteria bloom to me..
 
Have you cycled your tank before you had fish? Usually, cycling the tank beforehand is good. Have you done waterchanges? Sounds like a bacteria bloom to me..
It was an error of my part, I was new to this whole process until I realize it was already too late to take all my fish out. At first, I thought the process would only take about 4 days for the tank to be cycled with API tap water conditioner without the fish. I placed 3 bettas and 1 snail in the during my 5th day. I did some research and I immediately brought the API master kit 2 days after and my ammonia was around 1ppm and but nitrite and nitrate are always at 0 ppm. So I did 50% water change and put 2 capfuls (20gallon) of AmQuel into my tank. When I heard that others successfully kept their fish alive while cycle their tank by using prime and stability. I brought that but brought my corys and rasbora as well. They were all doing fine except my other 2 corys. So I did another 50% water change after I removed their dead body when my ammonia's reading is around 2ppm. I did another 50% water change with prime and stability just about 3 days ago when another panda cory dies. All my fish is doing fine except for the corys ...

My current Temperature is at 23 C
PH: around 7.6
Ammonia: .50 ppm
Nitrate : 0 ppm
Nitrite : 0 ppm

Today the water gets a little bit clear
 
It's alright, we all make mistakes as beginners.. looks like you weren't given proper care info. Anyways, you ammonia is way too high. try using Tetra Safestart or searched stability to help cycle and establish.
 
It's alright, we all make mistakes as beginners.. looks like you weren't given proper care info. Anyways, you ammonia is way too high. try using Tetra Safestart or searched stability to help cycle and establish.
Should I continue dosage prime full tank (20 gallons) and Seachem Stability every day? Should I continue to do a water change once a week and it's almost a month since my first filter, can I clean my 2 Aqueon quiet flow 10 internal power filter with tap water since there is a sponge layer in the cartridge? Sorry about all of these questions. But I'm scared of fluctuating too much with my tank.
 
It's really alright puffypuff. Right now, I would test your water every week if not every day. Though every day is better. IF you have a test kit of course. Only add prime when adding new tap water to your tank, or topping off evaporated water. Any water that goes in there needs to be dosed with prime. Keep on adding stability everyday, until parameters are fully cycled. Do water changes every week. Make sure the conversion with the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate is okay. Don't clean your filter unless its absolutely a mess. don't under clean either. Remember, there is always good bacteria on the filter walls and plates too! When dosing your stability, you use 2 capfuls correct? Dump a capful directly in the water, and some nearest to the filter or in the filter if you can. Don't take the filter apart to do so. Good luck! Ask me anything on this thread and i'd be happy to help
 
Sounds like your tank hadn't even started cycling when you put the fish it - but since you didn't have a test kit who knows? You might have actually been close to having completely cycled - it's just strange that you have ammonia left over when instead you should have had only nitrates left over (then you would have cleaned your tank and added your fish and all would be well).

The care methods that have been out there have always been a bit spotty. When I had a tank about 30 years ago - the store just said to add a some chorine remover and wait one day before adding fish - and everything went just fine for me. I am getting ready to purchase a small Nano aquarium to put some extra fish in - the instructions on their box also says to put in something like prime then wait a day and put in your fish. So nothing has changed' and that seems to have worked for the customers of this company because you don't hear any thing in the review of the tank that mentions cycling their tank or if the box instructions to just put in fish after 1 day killed any of them. In fact - all the reviews are really good. So - since only the ammonia in your tank is high (and not very) maybe you should just leave it alone and wait for your filter to start cycling the tank.

I have a similar problem that's been a major pain. My tank had been cycled (used ammonia - no fish) for couple of weeks now, but at some point in that process I did mess with the PH because our tap water Ph is in the 9.0'sot 10's. . Looking at my notes I did get it down to 7 BEFORE I added any fish Got it in the 7's before adding fish so no big deal other than when I added three species of fish (Zebra Danio's, Cherry Barbs and Cory Cat's) I lost a newly purchased Zebra Danio overnight - which I've heard isn't unusual - some fish can't take any stress. Life went on for a week or two so ordered 2 Blue Powdered Gomorii's, and 2 Red and Blue Gomorii's. Suddenly I had a little ammonia Spike to .25 and then to .50 then back to .25 (unfortunately I had already ordered the fish) - Then, following a fairly aggressive cleaning and water change - I lost 2 Zebra Danio's on the same day - took some readings found quite a jump in everything Ammonia was .50, Nitrates 1.0 and Nitrates to 2.0. I thought maybe the dead/briefly rotting Danio's caused it. Did a water change again). After the water change the Nitrates actually went UP and the ammonia and nitrites have been stayed at .25 and 1.0 respectively. Right in the middle of this mess I received the fish had ordered 2 more Gouramii's, and 5 Zebra Danio's to replace the ones I had lost. All this time I'd been using Stability and other solutions which some forum members disagreed with so I had stopped that All the new and old fish have been strong and healthy thankfully. I really feel like I should try a third water change but I don't want to stress the new fish - so I'm waiting a few days or so before I do this. The PH briefly jumped up to 8.8 but then settled down to 7.4 where I'm leaving it.

I think I'm also going to pick up that little 5 gallon tank and move the Zebra Danio's in there - It is starting to look overcrowded because they school CONSTANTLY and while I think it's funny - the other fist all look like they are developing a plan for murder. While 5 gal is small - it's about how much room they have to school in the current tank and they won't have all the other fish in the way. The fish in the old tank should be calmer without all that commotion. Of course I'm going to cycle that tank as well. (this is the tank I mentioned earlier with instructions that just say to use a solution to de-clorinate, let sit overnight, and add the fish)

In the meantime I am still scratching my head about why suddenly it looks like my tank is mid-cycle instead of done with all of that business - what did I do? I left some plain tap water out last night and I'll test the tap water this morning and see what we normally read - even though I kind of did this when I first got my kit and - other than PH which was too high to read at 9.9 - everything else was all zero's). Then at some point this weekend I'll try to do another water change on my bigger tank and hope I don't kill any more fish and the nitrates don't rise even higher.

So keep us posted on what you finally decide to do - and how it works. Thanks - sorry for my long sad saga.

Oh - one thing I did want to mention is that I have read that many CoryCats (and I love those poor panda's that you lost) are VERY sensitive to salt.- In your situation those have been the fish that have been dying. I know I've read in some books that you should add a little salt to your aquarium for reasons I've forgotten - but if you did that at some point that may be responsible for their deaths. Just a wild thought.
 
It's really alright puffypuff. Right now, I would test your water every week if not every day. Though every day is better. IF you have a test kit of course. Only add prime when adding new tap water to your tank, or topping off evaporated water. Any water that goes in there needs to be dosed with prime. Keep on adding stability everyday, until parameters are fully cycled. Do water changes every week. Make sure the conversion with the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate is okay. Don't clean your filter unless its absolutely a mess. don't under clean either. Remember, there is always good bacteria on the filter walls and plates too! When dosing your stability, you use 2 capfuls correct? Dump a capful directly in the water, and some nearest to the filter or in the filter if you can. Don't take the filter apart to do so. Good luck! Ask me anything on this thread and i'd be happy to help
Thank you so much for your advise and reply. I really appreciated.

Here is my update:

I scooped out all my bettas and left them in their original separate containers with the waters I got from another friend that already have their tank cycled about a day ago, I placed their container close to one another so that they're not stressed about being contained in one small space. They're doing fine and no stress line showing on them so far. The water in the tank got a lot more clear today and most importantly no cory died. But since about a gallon of water evaporated from the tank, I end up adding a gallon of tap water that was conditioned with prime on the side for about an hr before I fill up my tank. But I use the API test kit before I added the water to my tank. I also added an additional dose of prime to be safe. Sorry If I'm doing this wrong. I'm just scared of losing another cory in the process.

Perimeter Shows:
Temperature: 24C
PH: 7.6
Ammonia: 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0.25ppm
Nitrate: a little bit higher than 0ppm (yellow got a little bit darker but not close to the orange color of 5.0ppm)
 
Sounds like your tank hadn't even started cycling when you put the fish it - but since you didn't have a test kit who knows? You might have actually been close to having completely cycled - it's just strange that you have ammonia left over when instead you should have had only nitrates left over (then you would have cleaned your tank and added your fish and all would be well).

The care methods that have been out there have always been a bit spotty. When I had a tank about 30 years ago - the store just said to add a some chorine remover and wait one day before adding fish - and everything went just fine for me. I am getting ready to purchase a small Nano aquarium to put some extra fish in - the instructions on their box also says to put in something like prime then wait a day and put in your fish. So nothing has changed' and that seems to have worked for the customers of this company because you don't hear any thing in the review of the tank that mentions cycling their tank or if the box instructions to just put in fish after 1 day killed any of them. In fact - all the reviews are really good. So - since only the ammonia in your tank is high (and not very) maybe you should just leave it alone and wait for your filter to start cycling the tank.

I have a similar problem that's been a major pain. My tank had been cycled (used ammonia - no fish) for couple of weeks now, but at some point in that process I did mess with the PH because our tap water Ph is in the 9.0'sot 10's. . Looking at my notes I did get it down to 7 BEFORE I added any fish Got it in the 7's before adding fish so no big deal other than when I added three species of fish (Zebra Danio's, Cherry Barbs and Cory Cat's) I lost a newly purchased Zebra Danio overnight - which I've heard isn't unusual - some fish can't take any stress. Life went on for a week or two so ordered 2 Blue Powdered Gomorii's, and 2 Red and Blue Gomorii's. Suddenly I had a little ammonia Spike to .25 and then to .50 then back to .25 (unfortunately I had already ordered the fish) - Then, following a fairly aggressive cleaning and water change - I lost 2 Zebra Danio's on the same day - took some readings found quite a jump in everything Ammonia was .50, Nitrates 1.0 and Nitrates to 2.0. I thought maybe the dead/briefly rotting Danio's caused it. Did a water change again). After the water change the Nitrates actually went UP and the ammonia and nitrites have been stayed at .25 and 1.0 respectively. Right in the middle of this mess I received the fish had ordered 2 more Gouramii's, and 5 Zebra Danio's to replace the ones I had lost. All this time I'd been using Stability and other solutions which some forum members disagreed with so I had stopped that All the new and old fish have been strong and healthy thankfully. I really feel like I should try a third water change but I don't want to stress the new fish - so I'm waiting a few days or so before I do this. The PH briefly jumped up to 8.8 but then settled down to 7.4 where I'm leaving it.

I think I'm also going to pick up that little 5 gallon tank and move the Zebra Danio's in there - It is starting to look overcrowded because they school CONSTANTLY and while I think it's funny - the other fist all look like they are developing a plan for murder. While 5 gal is small - it's about how much room they have to school in the current tank and they won't have all the other fish in the way. The fish in the old tank should be calmer without all that commotion. Of course I'm going to cycle that tank as well. (this is the tank I mentioned earlier with instructions that just say to use a solution to de-clorinate, let sit overnight, and add the fish)

In the meantime I am still scratching my head about why suddenly it looks like my tank is mid-cycle instead of done with all of that business - what did I do? I left some plain tap water out last night and I'll test the tap water this morning and see what we normally read - even though I kind of did this when I first got my kit and - other than PH which was too high to read at 9.9 - everything else was all zero's). Then at some point this weekend I'll try to do another water change on my bigger tank and hope I don't kill any more fish and the nitrates don't rise even higher.

So keep us posted on what you finally decide to do - and how it works. Thanks - sorry for my long sad saga.

Oh - one thing I did want to mention is that I have read that many CoryCats (and I love those poor panda's that you lost) are VERY sensitive to salt.- In your situation those have been the fish that have been dying. I know I've read in some books that you should add a little salt to your aquarium for reasons I've forgotten - but if you did that at some point that may be responsible for their deaths. Just a wild thought.

@ Jan Cavalieri, It's alright and thanks for the information regards to the cory. I think I might have killed those poor panda's accident when I added salt to my aquarium and I think that 2% of what I think that would cause their death is starvation. Before I scooped out my 6 female bettas about a day ago, I went and check on them at night and to my shocking... all the defrosted blood worm (half a cube) is all gone at midnight. All my betta's stomach becomes really round... so I have to fast my betta for about a day or 2 and today is their 2nd day of fasting. I usually feed my cory in complete darkness at midnight after all the light is off for about an hr but it was naive of me to think that my bettas would be sleeping.....Yesterday I feed my 1/3 cube of brine shrimp to my cory and the four of them ate them all within 10 min without the disturbance of my bettas. I think my nitrite and nitrate is not really going up that much might be due to the fact that my tank still in the middle of cycling or because I have driftwoods and live plants in my tank. I heard driftwood help lowering the PH and Peat Moss work as well. I boil my driftwood for about 2 hrs before I placed in my tank since I heard that it release tannins and make the water really yellow to brownish color. On the other hand, I did not have any peat moss in my aquarium but I heard that it's quite similar to driftwoods. But make sure you soak the peat moss in water separately from your tank for a few days before you placed it in your aquarium since it might discolor the water. I hope this helps.
 
No need to apologize puffypuff! :) You sound like you are doing what I said. I would say your parameters are a bit high and overboard, try doing a water change tomorrow and see what that does, remember to tell me the parameters after the water change! ask me anything and i'd be happy to help!
 

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