Ammonia spike

[Salts155R]

So I’m now running in to the problems of a fish in cycle.

seachem ammonia alarm was showing .2 ppm, nitrite .5ppm, nitrate 40ppm, very cloudy water this morning and the ph reach 7.8

think quick moment and dumped a 95% change filling to 50% then back to 95% empty and refill

all levels are now back at
Ammonia 0.0ppm
Nitrite 0.0ppm
Nitrate 5-10ppm (colour in between)
Ph 6.8
Clear water

no doubt another water change tomorrow.
why did I fish in cycle

fish still looking happy so job done.

 

[Shiverz]

Fish-in cycling is scary business, I don't have the cahoneys to even attempt it, I just stare at an empty tank until it's ready for the fishies.

I'm glad you was able to control the spike quickly and efficiently, can I ask, are you using seachem prime? or are you doing water changes whenever the conditions start to deteriorate?

But, you might consider a bit less of a water change during moments like that so you don't interrupt the cycle. Since you were able to take out all the ammonia and nitrites I think the beneficial bacteria doesn't really have a food source to stabilize themselves with now. So they'll have to wait for more ammonia from waste etc. to develop to get going again, then the ammonia takes like 24-48 hrs to become nitrites, then the nitrites will need another like 15-24 hrs to become nitrates (end of cycle). It'll all just kind of bounce around like that until eventually your am and ni naturally hit 0 and stay there. At that point there is enough bacteria to keep up with your tank. Adding a bunch of fish at once can overload the bacteria too, causing mini cycles.

So for sure change water to keep your nitrates down, just try not remove too much. Definitely change if the am and ni levels get too high, but if they're spiking lower on your scale you could try x1 dose of Prime per day (if you can't rehome the fish) during your fish in cycle. It will neutralize the ammonia and nitrites (for roughly 24 hrs or so) so they are not as harmful to the fish, but it's still usable for your bacteria so the cycle can keep going. That's what I did for the mini cycle I encountered at least, and my fish pulled through it. 1 day my readings were a bit higher than I wanted so I just used x1.5 doses of prime (eye dropper helps for smaller tanks).

When the ammonia reaches 0.25 performing a water change is the right course of action (especially if you're not using seachem prime). It is true that water changes reduces the amount of ammonia in tank, which then limits the amount of food the beneficial bacteria has to work with. Using seachem prime can certainly help (if the OP has it to hand) though alot of people (including myself) rarely use chemicals unless it's an absolute emergency, so doing a water change fish-in cycling is common (at least when it comes to fish-in cycling).

Whether you use seachem prime, or just standard water changing, both methods are slow and I don't think that there is too much of a difference when it comes to how long it takes (yet, as stated I've only done fishless cycling so I'm going off what others have wrote about). Either way, it'll take a while so do whatever you feel comfortable with. I think less chemicals is better, others disagree, it's just another one of those topics.

 

[Shiverz]

You did something @Koglin what did you do to your post, it all looks confusing now.

bad, bad koglin

 

[Koglin]

Fish-in cycling is scary business, I don't have the cahoneys to even attempt it, I just stare at an empty tank until it's ready for the fishies.

I'm glad you was able to control the spike quickly and efficiently, can I ask, are you using seachem prime? or are you doing water changes whenever the conditions start to deteriorate?



When the ammonia reaches 0.25 performing a water change is the right course of action (especially if you're not using seachem prime). It is true that water changes reduces the amount of ammonia in tank, which then limits the amount of food the beneficial bacteria has to work with. Using seachem prime can certainly help (if the OP has it to hand) though alot of people (including myself) rarely use chemicals unless it's an absolute emergency, so doing a water change fish-in cycling is common (at least when it comes to fish-in cycling).

Whether you use seachem prime, or just standard water changing, both methods are slow and I don't think that there is too much of a difference when it comes to how long it takes (yet, as stated I've only done fishless cycling so I'm going off what others have wrote about). Either way, it'll take a while so do whatever you feel comfortable with. I think less chemicals is better, others disagree, it's just another one of those topics.

Aaahh lol I had just deleted my post to rewrite it because of how long winded it was haha. I reposted it though, seemed funny having it quoted and not being there -.-'

That's good advice though, during my mini cycle a couple weeks ago I did 20% daily to help keep it down and dosed with Prime, I haven't found any other chem that neutralizes nitrites though.. I agree with cycle time fluctuation though, a lot of it is related to how we handle the maintenance I think

 

[Koglin]

That almost looks even worst than not having it there now -.-' ok ok I'ma just get rid of it, and folks can read where you quoted it...

My bad =/

 

[Shiverz]

haha dint worry about. people will link the two.

take it easy, this stuff happens

 

[AbbeysDad]

A fish in cycle, although frowned on by many serious hobbyists, can be done safely and effectively but requires lots of plants, especially fast growing floating plants and just a fish or two. My pal Byron has done it many times. I tend to prefer one of the methods often referred to as 'instant cycling'.
See Cycling a New Aquarium.

 

[Salts155R]

Fish-in cycling is scary business, I don't have the cahoneys to even attempt it, I just stare at an empty tank until it's ready for the fishies.

I'm glad you was able to control the spike quickly and efficiently, can I ask, are you using seachem prime? or are you doing water changes whenever the conditions start to deteriorate?



When the ammonia reaches 0.25 performing a water change is the right course of action (especially if you're not using seachem prime). It is true that water changes reduces the amount of ammonia in tank, which then limits the amount of food the beneficial bacteria has to work with. Using seachem prime can certainly help (if the OP has it to hand) though alot of people (including myself) rarely use chemicals unless it's an absolute emergency, so doing a water change fish-in cycling is common (at least when it comes to fish-in cycling).

Whether you use seachem prime, or just standard water changing, both methods are slow and I don't think that there is too much of a difference when it comes to how long it takes (yet, as stated I've only done fishless cycling so I'm going off what others have wrote about). Either way, it'll take a while so do whatever you feel comfortable with. I think less chemicals is better, others disagree, it's just another one of those topics.

the only chemical I’m using is aqua safe during water changes.
it was a long time ago but I managed to cycle my 165L fish in cycle in just under 2weeks without the use of chemicals and never lost a fish. Doing a daily 25% change in the morning and testing the water around 20:00 at night using 2 test kits,API FRESHWATER MASTER and NT LABS MULTI TEST along with the ammonia alert so I’m keeping a pretty close eye on things.

It was a big water change this morning and although 1 test kit showed 0 ammonia and the alarm the other showed traces of it still so I haven’t completely removed all the ammonia.
The tank is looking so much cleaner today and the fish more vibrant as well with lots more activity.
I have maybe a little to much stock in the tank hence why I’m being very very cautious about it but I do have live plants. Stock is
1x clown pleco
4x neon tetras
4 x cardinal tetras
1 x lamp eye
2 x oto
2 x clown loaches ( I know small tank for them but I’m waiting on my 350L tank to cycle properly first using water from the water changes of this tank)
3 live plants that are growing incredibly well
Fingers crossed I’m doing everything thing I can to cycle this tank fish in