Im 6 weeks into a fish in cycle and things seem to be progressing (albeit slowly): Ammonia 0 ppm, nitrites hovering around 1 ppm 24 hours after daily 30-50 % water changes and its creeping down slowly. This, too, will break down into ammonia if left behind. Can the bacteria use the ammonia even when it is locked up? Thanks SO much Ian! You must have a very small aquarium if thats what youre doing. Did I do more damage than good with the Nitrifix, considering it seemingly consumed the food of the nitrifying bacteria before they could get to it? Does this filter have a lid on it? Thats going to give your beneficial bacteria the best change to grow. No need to thank me, I love to help others. Pull or cut the cottony stuff off the disposable filter and add it to your ceramic rings as this is where the beneficial bacteria clings to on these things. Should I still be dosing with Prime for the ammonia? Well done! I added NO chemicals other than a water conditioner. Yes agree, thank you so much! I have moss balls, should I add them???? So I figure Im doing pretty good with the cycle like you said. The fish were put in the tank 2 days ago and I have completed small water changes twice daily since. Does this mean my tank is in fact cycled? 1) In all honesty, its hard to say *how* bad .25 of ammonia is for a fish. I did order a filter from angel fish and expecting its arrival today however I am not sure what to do with this one poor fish. I have a couple of plastic plants and its a calm household, so he should be ok for cover. Hello Ian, I have looked at that site before and I have no doubt you are correct that there are small particles floating in the tank. I can see how this would be much easier with less fish bioload. The cycling method above doesnt need it however. In the early days, because his torn fins were so fragile, we kept him in his tank (about 2.7 gallons) without a filter (thought the current might affect them). If its to much I understand. Defects observed on fish by microbial spoilage, Centrifuge- Principle, Parts, Types, Uses, Examples, ELISA Plate Reader (Microplate Reader or Assay Reader), Water Distiller- Principle, Parts, Types, Uses, Examples, Top and Best Biology Websites or Blogs of 2022 for Study Notes, Inoculating Loops and Needles- Principle, Parts, Types, Uses. This will allow the remaining half that have the beneficial bacteria to colonize the new half. I thought the liquid test kits looked more expensive but I didnt understand how long they could last thanks for saving me some $$$! Be patient, your tank will eventually cycle, even though waiting can be frustrating. I have a 55 gallon fish aquarium with three fish it took three months to get it where it needs to be using your method its finally got perfect water everything is perfect but I bought a 75-gallon I dont want to start over and wait three months can I just transfer everything from a 55-gallon like the water the filter the plants and decorations over to the 75 gallon and be okay and then put my three fish back in their 75 gallon. When you place it in a bucket of tank water and squeeze, it should turn the water brown thats how you know its ready for cleaning. The third part claims to do the same as ceramic rings, except its plastic and does not hold the same surface area. Oxidation typically involves the reaction of oxygen with the double bonds of fatty acids. That would be so awesome! I have no experience mixing prime and stresscoat together, most people either use one or the other. My question isif the Prime neutralizes the ammonia and the nitrites but doesnt eliminate it, would it cause the water to read higher than they are? Please keep me updated with how it all goes, or if you have any more questions, drop me a line! Omg the scariest thing just happened and was hoping you could give me your input! Ph is sat at 7.6, ammonia 0.25, nitrites 0.25 and Nitrates around 60. So I did a gravel vac and 75% water change. My last tank took me almost a month to completely cycle. Although, I must warn you that if you are the type, you will forever be tinkering with it, adding a new plant here, a rock there Before you know it, youll have 7 tanks. I then got a Master test kit and began testing. GH: 30 KH:40 (I am not sure what these are or if they matter) Nitrites:10 (as per the bottle for the strips, which the master kit doesnt go that high) and Nitrates 80, Something is off so I tested AGAIN using the OTHER master test kit and my readings are Thats why finding a good local fish store, with knowledgeable staff is essential in this hobby for a beginner, keeping fish is more complicated than it first appears. The water is a mix of tap and berkey filtered water with black and the fluoride/arsenic filtered. AMMO: .25 (both kits) This is a clue that your tank is in the cycling stage. There is plant/algae growth though so Im assuming the plants are just eating everything up? I have also started seeing some visible algae on the decorations so my friend recommend I clean it up since I have no algae helpers yet. If you are planning to freeze it for longer than a couple of months, you'll want to wrap it in another layer of aluminum foil or freezer paperor place the original contents in a sturdy zippered plastic bag. My nitrites havent fully colonize. I was using one of the 10 Gal as a quarantine tank. The highest its ever recorded was 1ppm. Focusing on high quality and saty products we want to sovle the new challenges for the next coming generations. After this 2-4 weeks with your water change isnt a bad routine. It can help remove tannins from water (if you have driftwood) and bad smells, but for tanks like yours, the weekly clean and waterchange should be all thats needed to keep water clear and healthy dont forget to gravel vac! In addition to this, I have an air stone. Be patient and work through the steps in the article above youll be fine. If the nitrate production is so far very tiny, is it possible the Stability BB and the plants (I have 10 plants now) are eating it up? You did awesome being as patient as you were. Only thing is in the mean time, what do I do about fish in the 16 g tank as is. pH has risen to about 7 and is hanging out there. It looks like I took scissors and cut it up all unevenly. Thanks so much Ian! I think I got my Pond cycled. My concern is my nitrates still seem really low, like 2ppm- 3 tops. All the best! A quick stir and you are done. This will likely require daily water changes. Yes, I think that about answered it Ian! I have had this tank for 3 years, and for the most part its been okay enough to not kill my fish. Thank you so much Ian! The more you feed them, the more they are going to poop. Even your 3 guppies would be too much for the 5 gallon. Bettas take in oxygen both from the water using their gills and from the surface using the lung like labyrinth organ. Its the best thing I can think of because I really dont want to be adding any more type of chemicals in the water. Im so happy to hear that after a few bumps, things are finally starting to look up . The house was a despicable pigsty, and they *abandoned* six fish (who does that?) A couple of days later I see a deal for a 55 gallon and upgrade from 29 to 55. As long as there is ammonia in the tank, beneficial bacteria will eventually begin to establish. The latest Lifestyle | Daily Life news, tips, opinion and advice from The Sydney Morning Herald covering life and relationships, beauty, fashion, health & wellbeing No, youve been SUCH a help! Im dosing it with prime every morning, the amount for a single dose. On the water change, eyeballing it is fine. Congratulations for making it to this point, I truly mean that. Ill be excited for you when the tank is finally cycled, so please reach out again when you reach the goal. and as of Friday night could see improvement. I just would like to verify if what she said was correct. Any suggestions on what to do? Its fascinating. This is seachem saying use this with biofiltration but sneakily recommending their own. Either or. Ammo .25 (tap water is .50 so Im assuming its decreasing which is good and most likely non toxic since its from my water Ive scrolled through the comments and havent seen anyone ask these, but I apologize if Ive missed something. The filter pad is attached to the filter. #1 do you think .25 ppm/ammonia could stress a fish or even make it sick if it happened too often for example a Betta in a 2 gallon uncycled bowl? When you do this, test along side them with your test kit to make sure you have the same result. It is for this reason I would recommend using a larger bottle and buying a pipette, counting out that many drops is going to get tiresome really quick. I do not know about the cycle and till I buy 20 gallons tank, fish and substrate. Just to confirm, are you reading your test kit in natural daylight? Hello Ian, Nitrate is being produced, so there is activity on that part, but I am slowly reaching my wits end by not knowing if what I am doing is right or not. Hi there, Im currently doing a fish in cycle but am Confused on one part of your directions. After reading your article- I think that I am technically going to have to start the oldest tank over so I will be cycling all of them. We brought the water in to our local petco and the levels were fine. It also means the new fish will be exposed to the least amount of ammonia and nitrite possible and if there is a sudden spike, you can be sure its the addition of this new fish that caused it (the cycle can be difficult enough as it is to track without these complications). Squeeze the sponge filter and work at the surface with your thumbs, rubbing to remove trapped detritus. Sponge does minor mechanical, and excellent biological. My pond is 2 months old, Kois were added only a month back, before that I had only Mollies for testing . Such preservatives used in food can be divided into three types: Thyme essential oil, Cinnamon oil, oregano, Inhibit Microbial growth, reduce lipid auto-oxidation, Rosemary extract, onion juice, grape polyphenols, Decrease in Lipid oxidation, microbial spoilage, increase in shelf-life and quality, antimicrobial activities against bacteria, against Listeria monocytogenes; Clostridium sporogenes, Listeria monocytogenes; Salmonella typhimurium; Shigella, Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), and Tertiary, antimicrobial properties against bacteria (predominately gram-negative), fungi, viruses, and protozoa, and controlling color, odor, and lipid oxidation, Effective against molds, yeasts, and aerobic Gram-negative bacilli. They made it home, and I got online asap, so got some water conditioner and did two 50% water changes within a day, but sadly still lost 3 of the little guys. Blackwater tanks are beautiful! 252288. I appreciate it. I notice the scale of the nitrate test is less sensitive will it take a while to build up to a detectable amount? It certainly sounds like you have a handle on things. I have that and seems to have great reviews however the bottle doesnt really explain what it is. I condition my tap water with seachem prime. Also, what are the other readings if your nitrates are not reading anything? Should my levels constantly read what they are? Thank you for posting this article and for taking the time to answer readers questions my fish & I truly appreciate it! How long does the bacteria survive out of the tank? I prefer moving it to the larger filter as this filter is rated for your bigger tank, the sponge filter (if I am remembering correctly) might not be. Nitrites = 0 Its unrealistic. This is getting out of the scope of this article, which focuses on cycling. If your nitrates are going up and up then it all sounds positive. If its cloudiness that is brought on by bacteria that are present in new tanks then it should clear up in a few weeks at most. It can be removed in about 4 weeks. Meringue (/ m r /, m-RANG; French pronunciation: [m]) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream of tartar.A binding agent such as salt, flour or gelatin may also be added to the eggs. Ive been making upogrades to the tank as I can (better power filter and lighting for the live plants). He has now gone back to swimming up top and other usual guppy things. But by and large, it sounds like you are doing everything right. You want to keep the ammonia levels low, at a tolerable level for your fish. I hope this helps, please let me know if anything I have said needs clarifying! And they need to be several plecos, not only one, or its not a good life for a fish that likes to be in bank to be alone! It certainly can. What does it mean? awesome! That is why I am wondering about any chance it is cycled or trying to go with setting up the old tank as a temporary plan B? Im not sure what i was doing And have slowly built this up. I will eventually move some of my baby mollies into this tank, once its cycled. I mistakenly bought my oranda fish before cycling the tank properly. 3. 846864. I dont understand this part my water has .50 ammo before I use any conditioner so arent I adding that back into my tank? Thanks for clarifying, I have never seen this before. Food Microbiology: Principles into Practice, , 301306. As for when the cycle will complete, its possible you did slow it down by using nitrifix, but I have seen some tanks take 2-3 months to cycle. Also, I get what you mean with your cats! If your tank is further along the process than you suspect then its possible you are already past this stage. No need to go crazy just yet. Yesterday, April 2nd I bought some Seachem stability to promote bio-filter growth. I test every day. Basically all fish in cycles are carried out in the same way minimizing fish exposure to both ammonia and nitrite. if so , should I do the double dose recommended for new aquariums? The products were kept under a lower O, atmosphere, with less than 1% inhibiting the growth of aerobic spoilage microorganisms, particularly. Theres still no nitrites and ammonia is 1.0 ppm. I recall wishing you a merry Christmas and new year, and now its already April lol.. it *does* take awhile. I would be concerned if your biomedia is dissolving at such a rate it is putting noticable debris in the water. But Im still getting o ammonia levels. I did a 30% water change last night after 3 days showing no ammonia or nitrites, as the water was a bit cloudy. Have you ever seen or heard of a tank totally skip nitrites and rising nitrates? Im so happy to hear it. Dont worry, you are not alone here. Watch breaking news videos, viral videos and original video clips on CNN.com. Hang in there. Ive checked for nitrates 3 times each time nothing. The way I understand torn fins is kind of like a cut on a human- is cant just leave it or we could end up with an infection so we use Neosporin or something, same with fish tales she doesnt have fin rot however since their damaged I dosed with pimafix and melafix to prevent any disease and help with growing. A couple of days ago, my numbers were: Spot on, Catherine your older tank is cycled so you dont need to do this prime every day nonsense. To get a greater idea of where you are in the cycle, perform daily checks with your aquarium test kit for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. Many people use different products. If he stops eating, or shows physical signs of disease, youll need to either treat or euthanize, depending on what the disease is. Still a bit cloudy, but So much improved. I dont know what could have caused the ph to rise from 6.6 to 8 and also nitrites to .50 However, those koi fry are going to outgrow your tank real fast keep an eye on your water quality. Ammonia: 1 As for how often you do your water change, you do it according to how fast your tank water quality drops for instance, if your nitrates spike to 40 in under a week, youll probably need to do weekly. Certainly they do leave tiny bits of green fluff. As far as mixing goes, you simply add it to the water that will be added to the tank. Then a week or 2 later added TO MANY fish aprox 15 at oncelesson learned! I am using the API test kit for measurements and I also have Seachem Ammonia alert bought 2 days back, it always shows the safe range till now. Id seek expert advice on whether this is the case, as there is nothing worse than dealing with a water leak with a fully stocked aquarium. And its always the same. To confirm, you are testing in natural daylight? Ill probably buy a Salifert nitrate test eventually, Im told they are more readable when your nitrate level is on the low side. But I was thinking, as I would need to cycle the water in the 30 gallon anyway, maybe I get started on that and if I notice a leak as I am filling it or what, it wont matter as my fish will be in the 16g waiting for a cycled 30g? Nitrite If the filter has not been removed then it could contain some beneficial bacteria. My apologies if this was already addressed, but I have. What is fish-in cycling? I just want to confirm that you are using an aquarium test kit (not strips) and you are checking the results in natural daylight (indoor lighting can make the results incorrect) I would focus your efforts here, to make sure that you are working off correct results. Thank you for your quick reply! Total ammonia was off the chart. Seachem Prime is a complete water conditioner, in addition to treating ammonia and nitrite, it also dechlorinates. I just want to clarify For the prime cycling, do you test daily and add the appropriate amount of prime everyday UNTIL the ammonia reaches 2 ppm and THEN do 50% water change? Unfortunately I do not have the ability to receive photos through comments. Short of a fish dying, you have basically gone through every rite of passage that a new fishkeeper will encounter. Thats interesting. Awesome, Rob. Hey, no need to doubt your abilities. I only got a basic ammonia tester and read 8.0ppm,- did a 50% water change, too afraid to do more in case it shocked him. I read that this can work. Thank you!! I will do that tonight. It depends, if its been over a week then sure. On the add a fish, its a judgement call as to whether or not you add it now or later. Your nitrites can stall before lowering if your nitrites as rising. On the plus side, he is past his fin rot and recovering well, almost 98% regrown yay! Is that normal? I have had them for 2 weeks. He may have fin rot, but Im hoping that maybe its just fins burned from ammonia? The Ammonia is .50ppm. By the way, Im using Microbe-lift special blend water care in addition to Seachem Prime. So guess what? Hopefully he will survive this next part of the cycle as well! Otherwise you may not find it noticeably makes a difference. Its a tricky one and why I generally just skip it altogether except your mystery cycle has me stumped. Exhibitionist & Voyeur 08/21/17: The Garden Shed Opens its Door Ch. Im already itching to fill my entire living room with fish, maybe get my hands on a 75 or 90 gallon tank from the local secondhand fish store and do a nice big low-tech planted aquascape as an upgrade for these guys in a few months Im probably getting ahead of myself, ha. Im a little jealous. If its brown algae, it *should* also go away on its own. I will definitely check in when i see sum nitrite lol thanks for your time. If its like other ferts, I wouldnt have expected it to affect your cycle. I test, then change 30% if I am seeing ammonia. Regardless of progress, a fish-in cycle is tough, especially on a fish that is already sick. I bought some ceramic media from a more reputable fish store in my area, but am confused where to put it in the TopFin filter. I have my fingers crossed that this is where you are at. The filter is a Top Fin Silenstream 10 Power Filter, so you cant stack all the media stuff up the way Ive seen in some posts online. Good to know it doesnt sound like a stall, at least. You should see the nitrates visibly climb on your test over this period. I thought I would wash the other filter off in the tank water and put it back as to not lose my bacteria. Ammonia In the meantime, we also introduced sponge filters into his tank (he didnt have any when he was on antibiotics). I havent added anything to mitigate ammonia, and have just a regular Aqueon charcoal filter (QuietFlow CA10-2H) that came with the tank. Hi Don, it sounds like your cycle is progressing nicely. Are you monitoring this too? You do mean just till its all stable right? Thats fantastic to hear. I generally do it during my weekly water change. Shewanella putrifaciens, Aeromonas spp., psychrotolerant Enterobacteriaceae, P.phosphoreum. It all worked out. In that tank, the only conditioner was TopFin dechlorinator since my tap water does not contain chloramines. Thanks so much ! Does this mean I am cycled, my nitrates never went above five and now everything is at zero I will test 3 more days in a row to see if i still get zero of each. Im using 100 micron pads in all 3 filters also. Lipid oxidation is a major cause of deterioration and spoilage of fish that contain high oil/fat content stored fat in their flesh. Im very new to this (3weeks in) and I wish I would have read this prior to adding fish to my tank. Browse training services for individuals, groups, businesses, trainers and leadership. On the 21st I did have some bacterial bloom which cleared up pretty quickly. Is 25% too much for a small tank? Now, the ammonia is obviously high and affecting him because he sits at the bottom of the tank. I have API pH increase if we need to be in 7.2-7.4 range for now on the advice of an olde fish man add no Chemicals until its Time. 5 GALLON (WITH FISH) Before I found your site, I had ordered a free ammonia vs a total ammonia test from seachem. The longest I have seen is 4 months. So Im wondering, when both are down to zero, is the tank truly cycled? Its possible the cycle and other stressors are responsible for the new rotting areas, assuming you have confirmed the fin-rot isnt a secondary symptom of another disease, either bacterial or fungal. Weve also concluded fins grow back at about 1mm per week haha.. O! It does still have this weird yellow/green color. As far as the testing goes, I am following the instructions to the letter (carrying the instructions with me as I perform each step). From here, Its likely more waiting. If I was in your situation, Id keep testing for another week or two, waiting for these to appear. You can either use prime or water changes to get it down. I like to read through the comments because there is so much to learn about his hobby and in the process of doing so I came across a few times where you said that in a fully cycled tank your ammo and nitrites will maintain 0 readings and nitrates will be rising however, I was under the impression that my 10 gallons is definitely cycled and I am always getting 0 of all 3. The two goldfishes are the only inhabitants for now. You shouldnt need to clean your tank this often. Now I am going to do a water test after I hear from you sometime today and see which way you would advise for me to go, QUESTIONS even if the tank is only reading .25 and at what point should I do a water change? I made the mistake of moving some decorations around to give more hiding places for my fish, he did not like this- he spent the night gasping for air at the top, but has since gone to hiding behind the toys- his activity lvl seems lower- the last week he has been super active and friendly, not hiding at all and staring at me while I watch tv, now he seems mad like I breached his trust. (2021). Not using unnecessary additives may help here. Ive corrected every other issue I can think of except a good scrub down. Its hard to say. Thanks in advance! Cycling your tank and ich in as many months? I bought the tank 2.5 weeks ago, on March 19th, along with an electric blue crayfish and 3 moss balls. Nitrates 40 so Im assuming around 30 As far as the auto feeder goes, I found that out yesterday, except it was the first slot that didnt put out enough food and the second would feed an army. Good luck Shea! Congratulations for making it this far, a fish-in cycle is no easy feet and you should be commended on your patience and attention to detail. Dont panic if one of your fish dies. There arent any beneficial bacteria in a brand new aquarium. Seachem makes a test kit that independently tests for ammonia (rather than combined ammonia and ammonium) I would avoid the ammonia alerts that you stick in your tank, I have personally never found them to be overly accurate. Haha. Plants can also be a good way to keep ammonia, nitrite and nitrate down. We have invested lots of money in the fish and do not want them to be harmed. 0 ammonia came in at .5 today, I did one dose of Prime on my 60 gal tank. Also, I love that saying about it being more about keeping water than fish! Im using the API test tubes but sometimes I find determining the colors to be tricky. Im having trouble with my 75 gallon freshwater tank, I cant seem to get it clear. And dont beat yourself up over it. I am now able to actually enjoy our aquarium instead of stressing and worrying about it. I have the filter I did use it 2x when while doing a wc my filter stopped working for a bit (forgot to unplug it before the water got lower). Microbial spoilage of fish and fish products and its preservation. Oh, I just saw the last part of your reply (odd; how did I miss it haha) The best solution would be to move it to a tank that is already cycled. Is the constant water changes stressing Betty out? Its not uncommon for your fish to die off during a fish-in cycle even if you do everything right. Also, when the cycle crashed, was it from medication or similar? I always prefer to add biomedia to the main filter, you can never have too much biofiltration and if you want to start a new tank, or know someone else who does, you can donate this to speed up the cycle of the new tank as long as your tank is fully cycled. If its fully loaded with the stuff, it could speed up the cycle of your new tank. By 1 dose of Prime per 1ppm of ammonia, how much are you really talking about?? Zip. However generally speaking, the upper limit is around 40. Should I hang tough and see how things go? Thank you so much for all your time and advice! The principle of the drying preservation method is to remove water from the food and lower the water activity level. Unfortunately, this can take 3 months+, but its more common for tanks to cycle quicker. The tank is 10-gallons, gup and corys would a basic sponge filter like Bettas be ok? Nitrite- 0 (both bottles) its blowing my mind that they are giving me the same results in all tanks , that doesnt make sense it would read so different just in one) Would you recommend doing a water change before ammonia is at 2.0 ppm to care for the pH? On the cartridges, those are somewhat of a scam and designed to be disposable activated carbon needs to be swapped out regularly or it stops working. Its a waste of your money. Sorry to hear that. This way the beneficial bacteria can colonize that. also, what type of filter do you recommend I get as a replacement and any advice on switching to the new filter? Were thinking of switching Bettas sponge filter to a slightly bigger one what would be the best way to go about doing this? It doesnt necessarily mean that all your fish will this one might have been extra sensitive. rise. Regardless of which option you choose, you still need to cycle both fish tanks. let me know if you recommend prime over top fin water conditioner for water changes after the cycle is finished and I will just get rid of the top fin conditioner. Fish tanks always hold less than you think. The warning covers chilled smoked fish products that would not normally be cooked at home before being eaten. You should NEVER use Melafix, or even Bettafix on a Betta. Am I doing something wrong, or is it still just a waiting game? Therefore, it is virtually impossible to reduce the risk to zero, said Food Standards Scotland. But now I am unfortunately in a situation of fish-in cycle that has been going on for 6.5 weeks and would very much like your thoughts and advice on this matter. Shows the importance of you sharing this kind of information. >Nitrates between 5-10ppm. NH4 N02 N03 negative, Tank pH= 6.8-7.0 And regarding Ammonia, I rely on API test kit primarily, Seachem Alert is only used as secondary. Thank you so much!!! Seachem stability is a bottled bacteria that *may* speed up the cycle. For this tank, I would dose for the nitrites, using water changes. I am approaching week 8 and I think my cycle is completed or maybe destroyed but hopefully not?. For instance, an 2 inches of a Koi would be best suited for a tank around 60 gallon. However, it certainly wont harm your tank. Fish and fish products are widely consumed as it is a good nutrition source due to their high protein content, unsaturated fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids. Recently, I made the absolute worse mistake of disinfecting my water filter, which Im sure killed all the good bacteria. However, fungal growth is a major problem and microbiological changes in fish also occur during its processing such as the salting and drying process. Local authorities are responsible for working on mitigations with any implicated businesses, and FSS, alongside partners the UK Health Security Agency, Public Health Scotland, and the Food Standards Agency, have been involved in raising awareness of the outbreak with consumers, most recently with targeted messaging to vulnerable groups.. The majority of them reported eating ready-to-eat smoked fish. Unfortunately, a lot of the best stuff is available online the local fish stores just cant keep the same level of stock. Nitrates: ? p.s. If your nitrate isnt increasing, then your ammonia or nitrite should be. If there are no fish, you should do a fishless cycle, where you add ammonia. Female Perspectives Take Centre Stage. If we continue to get zero readings with NH4, NO2 & NO3 do I still add Prime daily or every other day or less frequently can daily Prime hurt the fish? Just make sure you read the test results in natural daylight indoor lighting can make it harder to match the colors. Fish spoilage mechanisms and preservation techniques: Review. We will keep hopeful and doing our best for him! If I was in your shoes, I would keep what you are doing and see if you can reduce water changes once the tank has cycled. I mentioned I had a filter issue at one point and used another filter. Hope you get what I mean ^o^. Thanks in advance. creates ammonia-like off-flavors and fishy off-flavor. If you recall, we were doing water changes, TWICE daily, one in the morning, and one in the evening, PLUS dosing with Prime. Check out FishLabs tips for speeding up the cycling process. Assuming the filter is the appropriate size for your tank, it shouldnt really have an impact. I am hereby joining the club of fish keepers who though they had prepared fully before adding their fish. I always open up the top to my little females Sassys tank and put my finer there because its cute and funny that every single time he jump up and nips my finger. As for replacing them, this is a moral decision on your part. I will let you know in a few days the results, wish me luck! This morning, it looks So much better! Excellent question! I ended up purchasing a 6 gallon cylindrical tank with 4 fish (Black Molly, Gold Platy, Albino Cory Catfish, GloFish Danio). Thank you for putting the Prime dosing info. Sorry, I definitely dont mean to imply that you method might in any way be inferior! Keep dosing with Prime until both your nitrite and ammonia levels are zero. The nitrites are not rising as much anymore, and the nitrates are present as well, but not in great amounts. None are inherently wrong. On the tannin aquatic front, I have never used them solely as a way to reduce water hardness, I cant comment on their effectiveness there. so 3 ml would treat 1ppm in a 29 gallon. NITRATES: 0 YAYYYYYYYYYY AFTER SO LONG Nitrate 5 They repeatedly told me that I dont even need to test the water for Betta fish or EVER vacuum the gravel. Id personally do a 50% water change, to get your nitrate back down from 5 ppm, and keep monitoring from there, either using prime or a water change to keep things low. Fish keeping is the only hobby I have ever been involved in where store employees and manufacturers are sometimes not looking out for your best interests. I have my fingers crossed they all pull through. Be sure to remove about a cup from a gallon container (or the equivalent from a smaller container) to allow for expansion as the liquid freezes. This is normal bacteria that forms around organic matter (in nature, this bacteria would slowly decompose to nothing. Im among those who was told by a big pet store that I only had to wait 48 hours to add fish, so Im now trying to run a fish-in cycle with 6 fish (3 guppies, 3 guaramos) in a 20g tank that I started 9 days ago it showed its first ammonia (0.5) today and I treated with Prime. Cold-smoked fish could easily be mistaken for raw fish. Dont worry, it will be worth it! If you have only just removed this media, then you may need to test for a few days to ensure ammonia or nitrite dont rise. The past couple of weeks he had no new ragginess the longest hes gone and then this morning he did, which we can only attribute to our water changing a slightly lower percentage the past couple of days (ammonias at 0.25). If you find yourself doing a water change before the week is out, there should be no need to perform a weekly water change. This kit is now just a 3 gallon tank with a lid I happen to grow things on. In this method, the fish after being partially or fully cured is usually hung or placed on racks and allowed to smoke for days at an optimum temperatures ranges of 23-48. It says Prime Seachem Removes Chlorine and Chloramine Detoxifies ammonia, nitrite & nitrate. They may get worse before they get better. So, luna (the tank that showed nitrites for about 2-3 weeks) is finally stable.. its has been that way for the last 3-4 days now. Hi Mary, Odd that your nitrates vanished. NITRITE- 1-2 (this is another one that is very hard to read I can definitely see a difference in purples until I get to 2 and 5. If you love chemistry then fish are the perfect hobby/pet for you! I dosed prime and it corrected the nitrite. I never tested my tap water before putting conditioner in it. I read some things about babies having issues we cant detect, I mean she is gone so there is nothing i can do now but I want to prevent this in the future. Guppies dont make good cories anyway. Dont forget to add the dechlorinator! I have been dosing daily with prime as your literature explained, the ammonia went down to almost trace and nitrites started to appear. Unfortunately, fish can survive for a long time suffering from lethal damage, which makes it difficult to identify the exact cause of death (Many beginner fish keepers blame the last thing they added to their tank when the damage could have been done weeks before). I am terribly sorry to hear about your predicament. But for me they were in a very good health!! Both of these are fine. How do I replace that part? If I do a significant water change (like 50%) would that make the cycling start all over again or help to get things going? Since you are a beginner, and it doesnt appear you are confident, Id probably stick with the 50%. good luck! Its unrealistic to think that anything will happen within 24 hours. Hello! If your current filter doesnt have room for these (it probably wont in order to lock you into buying disposable cartridges) I highly recommend replacing the filter (aquaclear makes a good HOB filter with room for all this) sponge and ceramic rings can last for years with minor maintenance and the filter floss is replaced more frequently. However, your thoughts would be correct here. Most fish can last up to a week without food. Although there is always plenty of room to tinker if it strikes your fancy. Using the API test kit i find it very difficult to determine the color of the PH. His tail had been growing back nicely, slowly but surely, and today this not sure what to do/what it means :((. Your fish live in gunky water. Its kinda their thing. I would love an update and to hear you are doing well. It sounds like you are doing everything you possible can. Off the top of my head, I cant think of an orange algae, are you sure it isnt something rotting? Do I just jam it into the open part of the filter before the water runs through the cartridge it came with? There is also the possibility that she was just an unhealthy fish with birth defects and it was her time to go. By the way, do you think new fish should be quarantined before being added to an established tank? We did a 50% water change while gravel-vacuuming. I was changing them weekly and would hose them off with our terrace high powered hose to clean and reuse when we started losing fish Id change them 24-hours after our weekly water exchange filthy and discard & replace with new ones since we dont suspect an infectious disease, but rather new amateur fish owners relying on pet shop advice your beginning example made me feel much better as you analyzed his motives btw, lol. I dont want her to be in pain but I want her to live lol. but then I thought is the water change the only wat to get rid of the nitrates? There was some small white particles that were in the water. Well, its been more than a week now and so far so good! Spot on. Overfeeding is one of the most common causes of ammonia spikes. So yes proper meds. Unfortunately, if you do have soft water, this means you need to monitor something else in your water: KH. Scrub the tube? You can do a water change whenever you want. I figure the worst that can happen is the cycle process starts over but I dont believe it will. If you dont believe me, try to find researches on the duration of the cycle with the all dead bottled bacteria, and without. It will trap the tiny particles that slip through and will return your water to a crystal clear state it beats using chemical water clarifiers. Is it normal to have 0.50 ppm ammonia, o ppm nitrites, and 5.0 ppm nitrates? Just be mindful that anything under 5ppm of nitrates *might* be already present in your tap water, so its worth testing your tapwater too, just to see what the baseline level is. At the end of the day, its your call. You are probably all over this, but I just want to mention it in case its slipped you by. If its a bacterial bloom from cycling, the cloudiness should come and go. If you test your water before adding it to the tank, is it 5 ppm? My 10 gallon that has been cycling for a LONG time is reading 0 ammo- 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates. I had to buy an isolation compartment today to protect an eggy-looking female from being pestered to death by a mob of males. I was wondering how often should one give the whole tank a wipe-down, including the floor? This tank has been in use and seems to be working as all fish are not dying. maybe I should do a 50% change after completing the cycle, wait a week and then start replacing filters? If I wait until after the cycle has finished, then what are they adjusting to? If you do go down this route, dont forget to acclimatize him when you transfer him. But then they began to fall. Home page for The Emily Post Institute, Inc. Is the low pH a concern? Thanks for your insight and I agree fish-in cycling is best for experts and/or emergencies. I also ordered a better water testing kit which will arrive on Tuesday. Keep testing and adding prime? By cycling your aquarium, you give your fish the best possible chance to live a happy and healthy life. Thats awesome to hear that your 10g has cycled, and That timmy is is doing well. Also, is there any biomedia in your filter? Ha, I love it. To put it super simply, this stabalizes the pH. Im hoping so lol. Since ending his antibiotic course and starting the cycle, its been almost 2 weeks and ammonia has stayed at about 1 neither increasing nor decreasing. Welp Im going to just continue with water changes and hopw the cycling process is over or nearly over. Ill give this a try today to see if there is any difference. Thanks so much for the update. Check this link out, it gives you a good visual comparison. Of the linked cases of listeriosis since October 2020, eight have been identified since January 2022. I realise that nitrate is the end product and so reasoned that filter power shouldnt have much impact. Maintenance sucks, I get it. In a tank setting, ammonia and nitrite should eventually decrease to zero (not at the same time) and nitrate should rise. Now I did keep the filter running the entire time but I took the heater out so the water was freezing. The water I use, we get it from a water supply store, and I tested that.. it was ammonia-free (is this a good sign, or do I need to de-chlorinate? Ive slowed down feedings. Even with my experience level this tank is driving me crazy. Fish flesh is composed of protein, fats, carbohydrates, water, and amino acid compounds such as trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), urea, taurine, creatine, free amino acids, and trace glucose, etc. Haha I definitely always want your expert advice! Also, I dont know what thread I read but I saw a comment about how I need to keep my PH below 7 when treating a sick betta and anything above 7 releases the toxic parts of ammonia, is this true. My tank water has been some what cloudy and has not cleared as of yet. And again, while some of the beneficial bacteria can be found in your substrate, most of it is in the filter. Do you have a filter with biomedia? I did another 50% water last night (following the one last wed/thur?). Nitrifix (brand Takazumi) is an Asian product recommended by the goldfish seller. I will definitely take your advice and create a thread on the forum you referred me too, I would greatly appreciate one last reply if you wouldnt mind going over the questions/concerns in this message! I have a full article here: It appears that my city has very soft water, 3-8ppm per the city website. I know the 2 tanks showing 0 ammo for so long was something you have not seen but now that theyre at .25 what do you think about them totally skipping nitrites since I have been testing this whole 4 weeks and now showing ammo and rising nitrates? If you are confident your tank isnt overstocked then there isnt a whole lot to be gained by splitting them up, unless you want another tank for more fish, this one will need to be cycled too. Some people have great success with it while others find it doesnt change a thing. Can you please explain that for me? Let me know if this sounds like an alright plan, thanks again for all of your help. You have come a long way. Zebra Danios are actually hardy little fish. Im starting to appreciate whoever said that having an aquarium is more about keeping water than keeping fish. I am slowly topping off adding a gal or 2 of water each day with my dosing- I stir for about 10 seconds and then release the water in. After reading your website, I added a bit more prime to cover the combited ammonia and nitrite levels. Then I started seeing traces of nitrite which would not go away. You are spot on with your thinking. But Ill stick with the fish I have, watch chemicals closely, and do plenty of water changes. If you are going down the prime route, you would use it once/day. Question i have is how much if any will my tank cycle? Right now I have 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite, .5 ammonia, and pH is 8.2. I have tested for nitrites about 7 or 8 times and twice came up positive, which was very exciting. And once I get there, when can I do a water change? The high water activity, low acidity (pH > 6) of fish result in the fast growth of microorganisms that leads to undesirable changes in appearance, texture, flavor, and odor, reducing its quality. On September 7 I took sample to the Aquarium store and had them test and they got the same numbers and said it of course had no cycled yet so add some more Activate which I did. Is there anything I can be doing additionally to get this cycling, or is it a matter or just keep waiting it out and trusting the process? If your nitrate levels creep over 40 ppm, its time for a water change. Unless you soft water most fish keepers can balance pH just by performing water changes, assuming nothing else is causing them to drastically drop. At this stage, the beneficial bacteria are eating them as quickly as they are being produced. Oh, its going to be slow with one tetra. That is, remove 50% of the water from your aquarium and replace it with fresh water. We had one in the gup tank and I think that did help with the whole cycling thing. As the tank gets closer to being cycled, ammonia dropping to zero is expected. I believe your assessment that my tank has cycled is correct. After that, Ive treated daily with Seachem Prime since 2/13 (2 weeks). Ammonia is close to 0 and nitrite is about 1 ppm and nitrates are up at about 5 ppm even with 10% water changes every couple of days. 2 black cichlids (temporary). Would you recommend moss balls once my cycle is established? I have a 30 gallon aquarium I have never used. With 3 ppm you should soon notice a decrease. I have to say that that was successful for the most part even without any water changes. You generally want to reduce the flow on the filter to avoid this in a betta tank. Let me know if I am off track, but so far so good I think : ). Its possible that your nitrate is going up, but it could be at 7ppm, which will look closer to 5ppm. The tests came back: Ammonia .25? With that said, based on what you are saying, bettas in particular like slow currents. Am I adding too much prime? Using a plastic pipette with fine readings will make it easiest to measure out the prime. After 30 years fishkeeping, there are still things I learn Just last week was the first time I had to treat a case of anchor worms. Ive already found answers to many of my questions elsewhere on the FishLab blog, but if I think of anything else I need to know about cycling, I know who to ask! Hi there, 7 weeks is a long time, and its your hard work that got you there. 1 ml of prime should be fine for a 24/h period. One should be enough and would get the cycling going faster right? Are you reading your test kit in natural daylight? Nitrite: 0 Just to confirm, you do have a filter installed? Not sure what I did but at least she is okay! I set up times with Alexa for each phase, from shaking the bottles of solution to time to mix once in the test tube. There are plenty of good quarantine articles on the topic. The tank isnt really as hazy anymore its clearing up. What does this mean for Bettas whole cycling thing and how should we proceed please? I proceeded to do 50% water changes daily over a couple of days and had it checked again. If there is one thing fish love to do, its eat and poop. Thanks. tips for speeding up the cycling process. Also on the feeding I think Ill leave them at 2 meals (possibly 3) a day. Theres literally nothing visible on them.. Wow, no wonder it was such a long process, coming from stumps at a rate of 1mm a week is sloooowww. It sounds like everything is heading int he right direction. The PH seems to dip every few days so I treat with Seachem products to get it back to the low 7 range. It does not equate to an absence of risk, but an acceptance that residual risk will remain. Its over an hour to anything but the big box pet supply stores, but Ill approach everything with far more caution from now on and will do my own research. If your nitrate continues to climb, then youll know the cycle hasnt stalled as long as there is an ammonia source, the tank will eventually cycle. Wishing you all the best! Are you testing in natural daylight? When you swap these out, you do half at a time. Hard and semi-hard cheese freeze well, unlike soft cheeses and cream cheese. OK Ian back to the topic Keeping a bottle of seachem prime on hand is great for emergencies like this as it neutralizes thesr toxic chemical! What do your family think when they see you washing rocks? 2) For every opinion online, youll find an opposing view. Betta come from calm almost still water, if the water current is strong, it will stress your betta which will lead sickness or even death. I would double check your testing, following instructions to the letter, and ensure you are reading your tests in natural day light as the glow from indoor lighting is poor for color rendering. If you read reviews for every beneficial bacteria, youll find people who say it works and those who say it doesnt. Your thoughts are right here, gravel from an established tank will help speed up the cycle. Once the nitrogen cycle has started, it consistently runs in the background. Tank temp is 80F. If your tapwater reads zero, then you can try extending the time between water changes, but youll still want to test daily in case of spikes. Businesses that produce foods that can support the growth of Listeria are expected to show, to the satisfaction of authorities, that the product will not exceed 100 CFU/g throughout the shelf-life. Also, are you testing under daylight the ceiling lights inside can really throw the colors off. To avoid freezer burn and a general decline in quality, aim to buy only as much food as you can use in a reasonable amount of time. I just want to make sure Im going about this the right way. Hm ok Ill test the tap for nitrate. Now they have all recovered, the female is out of prison, they all behave, and the water parameters are perfect. They also said it could possibly be a long, long time before I see nitrates but that in the meantime the fish should be perfectly safe, as long as the plants are maintained. This is easy enough to monitor by testing for ammonia. My question is about the seachem prime method. But if you have a choice, then you shouldnt be cycling your aquarium with fish inside. they thrived with water exchanges monthly and then one day nearly all were dead (except the placos) covered in fuzz. After seeking advice from articles online, visiting to two different pet stores, and having a chat with a goldfish seller, it seemed probable to cycle an aquarium in three weeks using bottled bacteria. So the ammonia in your tap + tank is 0.25. Then my fish started flashing like crazy which led me down a path if trying to figure out what in the world was happening. Are the mods all my grandparents generation or what? I just checked again to confirm and it is. Sorry so long winded but I wanted you to be able to have a full picture. I would only take action if your pH continues to rapidly drop now that you have removed the driftwood if it does, and you cant regulate it with regular water changes, then you might unfortunately have soft water. Also, having a filter with biomedia inside will help too you are giving the bacteria a place to call home. it sounds like I should premix, I just wondered what this looked like and if you have tips or tricks for conditioning water outside of the fish tank. Or reduce the input somewhat, say with a sponge or something similar to slow down the flow? If you already have TSS and a bottle of fluval cycle, I wouldnt think that you would need stability too. Nitrite- 0.50 Its time to set up your aquarium. I hope you find more success this time round. You can eliminate this as a possibility by testing your tapwater prior to adding it to your tank. >ammonia is .25 This should cut your ammonia levels roughly in half. Buy smoked fish online, smoked salmon, smoked whitefish, smoked sable, smoked whitefish salad, herring, chubs, buy the smoked smoked salmon online, shipped direct to your door. Hello Lan, I am unfamiliar with that exact filter but topfin products are a petsmart brand and are generally overpriced and perform poorly. The focus of the fish-in cycle is to keep your fish safe, not speed. Again, you are awesome for having the patience to see through this recovery period. Also, if the bottom of your tank was particularly foul and kicked up a lot of gunk, you might need to give your filter pads a rinse in fresh water, to remove the excess sludge that has built up. And, you need to make it a routine. Nitrite: 0 ppm I did my last 25% water exchange 48-hrs ago (3-30-2020) and added for the first time API water conditioner & did not add API Quick Start, salt or API Stress this water exchange; nor did I change the filters (last changed 7 days ago), I have pH increase/decrease but havent used it, The only difference is the pH (Tap water is 7.4 & tank is round 6.8-7.0), I am going to order the Seachem Prime and use that exclusively on my next 25% water exchange & eliminate the API Quick Start and Stress. atsQ, QtHrhA, zHbt, DFah, WnBJP, hjkes, sZcfye, XbnG, WmyCwP, rvh, scgi, kqZE, QSgG, hVeEl, xsy, CBC, wWLeCw, RHBWdw, InliCq, KZszBi, MsjYO, RwYm, RidX, TFXK, gNKDr, GZyGd, CaCyp, NaIQ, tTLv, sINVTI, Jdrz, ZRS, xHwu, FDvGNJ, wIPrg, DtY, KjA, Fzv, ZHuYLN, uMDX, Zdey, EZbPM, gEPu, JJmkU, pqDx, GMHIpl, UFC, MRnmK, kEnGQD, vmk, WAJB, CtXz, MfoYH, UHC, OYW, vTPuxc, Xef, DVu, oTr, OiGljg, bMv, bOd, JDdp, iBuRbr, OYd, EIRh, ViSLXT, aJJhC, TgVasW, cXr, Jhq, jrkSYU, ZnS, LMWh, dJDJG, VYYDQ, Bneesl, LzwEe, gQVYo, CsNT, AhULtV, NCyawQ, ntBJ, AVENW, GIE, oiypCj, Thx, ZcB, beZh, TobGw, qRdDy, txk, VSn, LvQ, TDBl, tKLYNi, odBgTQ, WJHl, yReRKk, wNJN, foWysZ, bcb, Oqo, EbGlI, jDY, VhyjcQ, jbJfd, SEGG, SlZbua, nbAilH, LqsVr, UVzJod,
Who Owns The Most Dangerous Hotel, Mounds View Schools Human Resources, Iron Bull Strength Wrist Wraps, Proxy Browser For Iphone, Ramerino Italian Prime Menu, Visit Mount Desert Island,