What The What!?!? Thought Cycle Was Finished

[jdubs]

Hi Everyone!

I had been cycling my 10gallon tank for 6-7 weeks (fed ammonia; saw nitrite spike and drop; saw nitrate levels go up). On Tuesday I posted that the parameters had been looking good for a couple of days. I did a major water change and put my Betta in the tank. The past couple of days the ammonia was 0ppm and nitrite 0ppm. This morning ammonia .5-1ppm!?!?! Nitrite 0ppm.

What is going on? I am feeling super sad and frustrated.

PH 7.6
Nitrate 20ppm

What am I going to do??

 

[saz326]

First off - dont panic.

Drain out 2/3 of the water and refill using water treated with dechlorinater. This will reduce the ammonia level to a third of the reading.

You will need to perform water changes regularly until the problem is sorted - perhaps daily. Or more often if required.


What test kit are you using? It can be that the test is incorrect - especially with those "dip-stick" type tests.

Did you dechlorinate the water? Chlorine will kill any beneficial bacteria in the filter.

Did you feed your bete lots of food - did he poop lots? The filter may have bacteria enough to deal with the ammonia drops you have been adding but the Beta may have increased the bioload to greater than the filter can currently support. It will take time for the filter to adapt to the amount of waste that needs to be treated/consumed.

 

[jdubs]

Hi! Thanks for the reply! I am feeling very panicky about this

I use Stress Coat as to de-chlorinate and API Master Test Kit.

I am only feeding the Betta about 2 Betta Bites a day, which is about half of what he usually gets.

I can definitely do a water change, however the ammonia level from my tap is about .25-.5ppm. When I did my major water change I added the stress coat and tested the ammonia level was about at that level. The next morning it had dropped to 0ppm and that's when I added the Betta.

 

[saz326]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing. Well done.

Just a note though - stress coat is a good product but it is very costly for what it does. In the long term and where you will be performing regular water changes to keep your fish in tip top condition it is cheaper to buy something like tap safe, or a pond dechlorinator/heavy metal remover that is more highly concentrated etc.... Post a topic in the general forum and ask people what dechlor they recommend. You will get lots of opinions

If you can keep the ammonia below 1ppm that is great. A small temporary increase will not do too much harm but is certainly not going to keep the fish in the best of health.

Carry out the water change and keep an eye on the values - you should see them going down and settling.

If Mr Fish shows any signs off ill health get back on the forum.

 

[jdubs]

I changed 2/3 water and added de-chlorinator. The ammonia is at .5ppm, which is probably as good as it is going to get from my tap.

The nitrite is at .25ppm, which is good for cycling . . . but what about Mr. Betta Should I buy something that helps block the nitrites like you can for ammonia? Or just wait it out and hope it doesn't have a huge spike because the ammonia is relatively low?

Thanks again everyone!!!!!

 

[jdubs]

I changed 2/3 water and added de-chlorinator. The ammonia is at .5ppm, which is probably as good as it is going to get from my tap.

The nitrite is at .25ppm, which is good for cycling . . . but what about Mr. Betta Should I buy something that helps block the nitrites like you can for ammonia? Or just wait it out and hope it doesn't have a huge spike because the ammonia is relatively low?

Thanks again everyone!!!!!

 

[kcartwright856]

I'd highly recommend going out and getting yourself a bottle of Seachem's Prime.

It dechlorinates, but also locks up ammonia and nitrites in a way that still makes them available to your beneficial bacteria so that they can eat and multiply. Very helpful, and, in my opinion, the best dechlor on the market.

I'd personally do more water changes. 50% twice daily with Prime until ammonia and nitrites remain at zero for several days.

 

[OldMan47]

Most dechlorinators also render the ammonia that comes from splitting chloramine into chlorine and ammonia totally harmless for a short period so do not worry too much if the water temporarily shows some ammonia. My own tap water shows about 1 ppm of ammonia as soon as I add the dechlorinator but my fish are always helped by huge water changes. I consider a mere 2/3 water change as wimpy. I drain my tank until the fish are having trouble swimming and then refill with dechlorinated and temperature matched water. The fish always look better after a water change like that, even though they are nominally swimming in 1.0 ppm of ammonia.