Cycle

[gem.rose85]

i am having real problems with my new tank... it has been nearly a month now, and the water just isnt safe!! the nitrite is always orange/red and i havent seen it yellow yet!!!

i am doing water changes nearly everyday and still nothing is working. i am putting the right amount of Aqua Safe in, and i have an underwater filter as well as a built in filter. the only thing right in that tank is the temperture lol. i have live plants in there, but still nothing is working. i have even tried putting the water from my other tank (which seems to always be perfect) into it to try build new bacteria.

aaargh!! help please

 

[scorphonic]

When your doing a water change do you add the aquasafe into the water before you add the water to the tank or when you've put it into the tank?

The chlorine will kill alot of the bacteria if its high in your water and if you have your filters running when you pour the chlorinated water into the tank.

Squeeze some of the bacteria from your other filter medium into this new tank and see how that helps too.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

are you cycling with fish or fishless?

also if you have another tank why cycle at all. you can just move some mature media from the existing tank to the new one and add some fish straight away (how many fish depends on how much mature media you can provide)

 

[GrantyBoy]

Is it just Nitrite you are struggling on? How is the amonnia level looking?

 

[rdd1952]

are you cycling with fish or fishless?

That is the key question and how many?

 

[adgo]

what are you testing it with? i have the test strips but those can be inaccurate. if you are using the strips bring a sample of water to ur lfs and have them test it. also there are some things you can buy to cycle a tank quicker so you can try some of that too. other than that id say just throw some goldfish in there and it should be alright after a little while

 

[rdd1952]

bring a sample of water to ur lfs and have them test it.

Make sure they tell you the actual reading though rather than just saying "they're fine" or "they're a little high".

also there are some things you can buy to cycle a tank quicker so you can try some of that too.

The cycling products like Cycle, Stress Zyme, etc are useless. The contain no useful bacteria (my opinion and that of most others too) and will only add a little more ammonia to your water. The only product that I'm aware of that seems to work is Bio-Spira but it isn't any good either unless it has been kept constantly refrigerated to keep the bacteria alive.

other than that id say just throw some goldfish in there and it should be alright after a little while

Definitely a big NO. Goldfish need big tanks (30 gallon for the first one and 10 gallons more for each additional goldfish) and are extemely messy. They will create an enormous ammonia spike. They also aren't the best tankmates for tropicals as they prefer cooler water temperatures.

 

[GrantyBoy]

other than that id say just throw some goldfish in there and it should be alright after a little while

Definitely a big NO. Goldfish need big tanks (30 gallon for the first one and 10 gallons more for each additional goldfish) and are extemely messy. They will create an enormous ammonia spike. They also aren't the best tankmates for tropicals as they prefer cooler water temperatures.

Seconded

 

[gem.rose85]

whoah ok all that isso confusing!! i am doing it fishless. i have put my old tank water in the new tank and it went an even darker red?? im testing it with the 2 bottles of NO2?? im testing it everyday!

what is media? i also have random snails in my new tank too!! i have been told they wont cause any problems. i have even tried half emptying the tank etc. i will just have a trip to my local shop and see what they suggest.

 

[rdd1952]

Adding old tank water doesn't help with the cycling process as there are no bacteria in the water column. What type of test kit are you using? NitrAte (NO3) is the one with 2 bottles (at least on my API kit). It would indeed be the one that turns red. NitrAte isn't harmful to fish except at very high levels. It is the end result of the nitrogen cycle and can only be removed by water changes. Ammonia and nitrIte are the 2 you need to be testing. They are the ones that are poisonous to fish. What are your reading for those? If they are both at 0, then your tank is fine. Just do a water change to lower the nitrate. Any reading under 40 ppm is fine. It will never be 0 unless you have a huge amount of plants to use it.

 

[gem.rose85]

i am using a nitrIte test kit which is reading about 0.8. im using Tetratest to test them.

 

[rdd1952]

Ok. I've never seen a nitrite kit with 2 bottles. What are your ammonia and nitrate readings? Ammonia is the most important and the most toxic to fish. Nitrifying bacteria should process ammonia into nitrite and then nitrite into nitrate which you remove with water changes.

 

[adgo]

other than that id say just throw some goldfish in there and it should be alright after a little while

Definitely a big NO. Goldfish need big tanks (30 gallon for the first one and 10 gallons more for each additional goldfish) and are extemely messy. They will create an enormous ammonia spike. They also aren't the best tankmates for tropicals as they prefer cooler water temperatures.

what fish should go in there then for the tank to cycle other than the fish he is probably trying to put in there? i always heard goldfish/feeder fish (when i said goldfish i meant feeders not the ones people keep as pets). what fish should go in then for future reference?

 

[rdd1952]

Feeder fish are still goldfish. They can grow to over a foot. They are not fish that you just use to cycle and throw away when you're finished so you can get what you really want. It is always better to do a fishless cycle so no fish have to go through the stress of high ammonia and nitrite and daily water changes. Hardy tropical fish include danios and some types of tetras.

 

[scorphonic]

whoah ok all that isso confusing!! i am doing it fishless. i have put my old tank water in the new tank and it went an even darker red?? im testing it with the 2 bottles of NO2?? im testing it everyday!

what is media? i also have random snails in my new tank too!! i have been told they wont cause any problems. i have even tried half emptying the tank etc. i will just have a trip to my local shop and see what they suggest.

Your filters have sponges or plastic/ceramic pieces that the bacteria grow on...this is media. If you were to transfer some of this medium to your new tanks filter then the levels in your tank will reduce...

Also if your not conditioning your water before adding it to your tank you will be killing some bacteria each day with the chlorine in the tap water...prolonging the cycle.

HTH.