HELP! Is my tank cycling??

[shruley]

We just got out first fish tank. Due to space, we got a small 5 gallon tank with the intention of just keeping one or two platies in it. I was going to do the fishless-cycling but on the advice of the pet store (and a friend with several aquariums) decided to just get the fish and go.

Well, we've had the aquarium (with fish in it) about 5 weeks now. We've been testing it almost daily for 5 weeks. At first things were fine and then the Ammonia began to grow and was continually getting stronger. Now 5 weeks later we are still in the Danger range of Ammonia (sorry don't remember the #, just the danger!) and I have no traces of Nitrites or Nitrates at all. I can tell the ammonia is starting to stress the fish. We do vaccum the gravel at least once a week if not more and do perform frequent small water changes (usually every day lately...)They are only fed once a day and we try to not overfeed. We use StressCoat during the water changes, I havn't used a ammonia remover. The temp now in the summer is about 82 degrees.

Shouldn't the ammonia levels be going down by now...shouldn't we be getting a higher Nitrite reading by now??? Are we doing something wrong?? Is our tank just too small? I feel horrible and I don't know how to fix it!

 

[annka5]

Will sound like a daft question, but you do have a filter? Otherwise, particularly with the gravel vacuuming, there's not going to be enough places for the good bacteria to live. There's not many in the actual water.

 

[shruley]

Sorry, yes we have an Eclipse tank (I think that was the name?) It came with a filter that is always running....

 

[keane]

what filter media are you using? (sponge/biomax/carbon..)

how many fish have you actually put in your tank? (i note you mentioned just one or two platies).

steve

 

[shruley]

We have two platies...we don't plan to add any more.

Our filter is a BIO-wheel that came with the Eclipse aquarium, says it has "total three-stage filtration - the same high-efficiency filtration employed in our much larger aquatic systems. And the Eclipse Hex 5 has Marineland's patented BIO-Wheel, undisputed leader in biological filtration".

 

[IovaykInD]

Hi,
I'm having the same problem with my 30 gallon tank. It's been set up for over month, and now the ammonia level is 2.00ppm. It has been this way over a week now, with no nitrite levels or nitrate levels. Currently, there are two RES(turtles) in the tank to cycle it before I put in fish. There is also a filter, with mechanical, chemical, and also biological media in it.

Isaac

 

[sarah-j]

hi, Imho, what to do is 10-15% water changes every 2nd day to help lower the ammonia levels. Have you got any real plants in your tank as these eat up ammonia. If not I suggest getting a couple. Keep testing the water and you should see a difference in ammonia levels. Do you know how the nitrogen cycle works? sorry if I sound patronising: Ammonia changes to nitrite and Nitrite changes to Nitrates. So what should happen is your ammonia goes high and as it starts to fall your nitrite levels will creep up, when these two are at 0 ppm after a rise you are cycled. I did a fish cycle and it took me almost month after losing a lot of fish. will never do it again.
Anyway lots of water changes and add safe water(friendly bacteria) the day after the water change as the dechlorinator kills good bacteria from the bottle if you are using this. The safe water also protects the fish gills and scales. Hope this helps. PM me if you need anymore help. Let me know how it goes.

 

[cheekeyarab]

I would suggest reducing the amount you feed your fish until your ammonia levels start to fall. You could easily feed them every other day and they would be fine.

 

[shruley]

Thanks I will reduce the amount of food (again) they get. We had been trying not to overfeed, but I know we really were in the beginning! Will also continue with the small water changes. I do understand the cycle....I just kept thinking that the cycling should be going faster and that I was doing something to prohibit the cycling from moving forward. Forget the advice, only fishless cycling for me in the future! I can't take the stress. I'm too attached to any living thing and am so mad I'm making them sick!

 

[cheekeyarab]

Don't worry. Like many people I used fish for cycling and will never do it again. The important thing is that you are doing your best for the fish that are in there and asking advice.
BTW forgot to say before, I love platies. Are they the same sex or male/female?

 

[sylvia]

It takes about 6 weeks for a tank to cycle with fish. Only about 2-3 fishless. Another good reason to go fishless In future, BTW, you won't need to cycle. If you have an established tank already set up, all you need to do is borrow some filter media/gravel from that tank and put it in the new tank with the first couple of fish. Instant cycle (you introduce the bacteria)! Then you just monitor water quality and gradualy (over several weeks) build up the stock. You can also use this to help speed up your cycle now by going to your LFS and asking them for a little bit of filter media or at least gravel from inside one of their healthiest tanks.

 

[shruley]

Thanks. We have 2 females (no room for babies!) Our daughter loves fish and has been so happy since we brought them home. Before we got the fish we had asked some friend for some gravel, etc. to help establish the filter but he told us not to bother to just go and get some fish and see if they live... He has 3 tanks (1 HUGE one!) so I figured he knew what he was talking about. He must just be cold hearted he also said to just let them eat their babies! Oh well, live and learn!

 

[rdd1952]

Pardon me if the question has already been asked/answered but have you used any chemicals like ammo-lock to get rid neutralize the ammonia? If so, that would be the reason the tank isn't cycling. They convert the ammonia to a non-toxic form so bacteria never form. Also, that would prevent nitrites from ever forming since no ammonia is ever being processed. It would also explain why your fish are doing ok dispite the high ammonia level since the ammonia is in a non-toxic form. With only 2 fish in a 5 gallon, overstocking definitely isn't the problem.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Because you have never seen nitrite/nitrate, I'm guessing you don't have any bacteria that will handle the ammonia yet. My recomendation would try to get some bacteria seeded in your tank. You can do this several ways.

• getting gravel from your friend/LFS/LPS
• asking your friend to shake out his filter in dechlorinator and adding that water to your tank
• Bio-Spira - basically the bacteria in the bottle, make sure it has been refrigerated and has an expiration date on it

Also, are you using dechlorinator in your water? Chlorine will kill all bacteria, including the good stuff, plus its really toxic to fish.

hope that helps