Need help with cycling!

[calbrown23]

Hello everyone, i’m new here! my name is callum and i need some help!

So i set up my fish tank 4 days ago (juwel 180L), let it get to temperature and then added fish 2 days later. This was before i knew about cycling unfortunately ?

2 days after adding the fish (today) they have slowly began to die one by one which is horrible to see as a beginner ? i’m guessing this is because of the ammonia in the tank after researching!

i have researched for ages and can’t find the answer i’m looking for. after the fish have died and i have removed them, shall i keep the same water to cycle as the ammonia is there? or completely empty and start again with a fish less cycle. any help would be massively appreciated.

ps. i added new fluval bio max media into the built in filter today after a recommendation, will that help with the cycling process!?

 

[Neleono]

If there are no fish in the tank and you have removed the passed fish, I would do a water change and begin a fishless cycle. The ammonia that is already in the tank from the living fish should be enough for the BB to start growing but I recommend continuing with a fishless cycle. The Fluval biomedia bag is a great start as it is a good home for the BB. This doesn't come with the bacteria on it though so still do the cycle. I'm so sorry that you had to go through this, many beginners do, but at least now you know! Here's a great video on understanding a fishless cycle if your not sure how to do it already, even if you do it's still a good watch. Hope all of this is helpful and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. Also, welcome to TFF, were glad to have you!

Fishless Cycle Video:

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Do you still have any fish that are alive? Hard to tell from this post! If so, you can still save them with back to back water changes! Don't feed them for now, since that would only add ammonia, but keep changing the water until ammonia and nitrites are at zero.

Do you have a water testing kit? They're really an essential bit of fish keeping gear. The liquid test kits like the API Freshwater testing kits are much more accurate than the dip strips. They seem more expensive, but along with the increased accuracy, they also last a lot longer, so they're really better value for money.

 

[itiwhetu]

If you are going to have a planted tank plant it now 30-50% of its volume in plants, wait 10 days or until the plants start growing then add just a couple of fish at a time over the next few weeks as the tank gets established. Make sure your filters are running and the lights are on for 10 hours per day.

 

[calbrown23]

thanks everyone! really helpful responses and the answers i was looking for!

i do still have 3 mollies that are still alive out of the 6 i purchased so will try the water changing technique! i have dip stick testing 5 in 1 and a seperate ammonia dip stick test

 

[calbrown23]

another 2 mollies have died so only 1 remains and even he doesn’t look great, may have to fish less cycle ? reply to neleono, why percentage water change should i carry out before starting the fishless cycle? don’t want to change too much i’m guessing to save the ammonia in the water from the fish that lived in it?

and also i’m not using live plants

 

[Neleono]

I would just do a 50% water change and then do a fishless cycle. Good luck!

 

[Essjay]

If the last fish does die, test the amount of ammonia, then add enough to bring it up to 3 ppm.
Then follow this method

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

This method is different from most others you'll read as they say to add so much ammonia that the cycle stalls. The method on here was written so the cycle can't stall.

While the cycle is going on, you can use the time to decide which fish to get when it's finished. Since you have 5 in 1 strips, what does it say the hardness - GH - is? If the maximum on the tester is 180 ppm and yours reads 180 ppm, it could be anything above that number.
This is because fish have evolved for thousands of years in water of a certain hardness, and we should keep fish that come from water with a similar hardness to our tap water.

 

[Crunchycrouton]

Hello everyone, i’m new here! my name is callum and i need some help!

So i set up my fish tank 4 days ago (juwel 180L), let it get to temperature and then added fish 2 days later. This was before i knew about cycling unfortunately ?

2 days after adding the fish (today) they have slowly began to die one by one which is horrible to see as a beginner ? i’m guessing this is because of the ammonia in the tank after researching!

i have researched for ages and can’t find the answer i’m looking for. after the fish have died and i have removed them, shall i keep the same water to cycle as the ammonia is there? or completely empty and start again with a fish less cycle. any help would be massively appreciated.

ps. i added new fluval bio max media into the built in filter today after a recommendation, will that help with the cycling process!?

I would keep the water that you have in there, your new beneficial bacteria will feed off the ammonia. If you wish you can get a bottle of beneficial bacteria to kick start its growth, it helped me a lot on my goldfish tanks.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Please don't change out the bio media in the filter. This is where the majority of the BB (beneficial bacteria) will colonize and live. Also, purchase a test kit. I always recommend the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

I'd return that one mollie to your fish store (if you can) and start a fishless cycle. Read the pinned thread on how to do a fishless cycle.

I'd also start with a fresh water change as dead fish could introduce diseases and other stuff to the tank (never know).

 

[calbrown23]

thanks everyone, the last fish died this morning so i am going to do a 50% water change tomorrow, and then add fish food every other day whilst testing to keep ammonia up. don’t really fancy adding the household ammonia in, so will use the food method. i can’t afford an API master kit atm, so will have to continue with test strips best i can!

 

[fatheadminnow]

thanks everyone, the last fish died this morning so i am going to do a 50% water change tomorrow, and then add fish food every other day whilst testing to keep ammonia up. don’t really fancy adding the household ammonia in, so will use the food method. i can’t afford an API master kit atm, so will have to continue with test strips best i can!

I highly recommend adding ammonia over the fish food method. It's much more controlled and a high ammonia level could stall a cycle, which could happen with adding fish food since you don't know how much to add to get to the desired ammonia level for the fishless cycle.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I highly recommend adding ammonia over the fish food method. It's much more controlled and a high ammonia level could stall a cycle, which could happen with adding fish food since you don't know how much to add to get to the desired ammonia level for the fishless cycle.

+1 to the above.

 

[Essjay]

Look on Ebay or Amazon for Dr Tim's ammonium chloride - that is made for fishless cycling.

 

[calbrown23]

okay cheers peeps i’ll look into the ammonia method ?