Substrate Question

[alwyzchanging]

So I have a 5 gal tank with only 1 fish abt 1" cichlid. I haven't added any substrate to the bottom of the tank, so currently its bare. Now this is the issue: The water in that tank is becoming cloudy, did a ammonia test and its in the "harmful" level. So I was wondering if its so high because of the fact that I have no substrate in the tank, or is it because the filter isn't strong enough? (I have the fluval chi tank btw). Any help would be appreciated.

 

[KittyKat]

It is so high because your filter is not cycled. Please post all water readings (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, hardness) and tell us when you set the tank up, which filter you have, how do you clean the filter, how often and how much do you feed, do you do any water changes.

If your ammonia reading is over 0.25ppm, please do a 50% water change with dechlorinated water right now.

 

[alwyzchanging]

Thank you so much for the help!
Okay so heres the information you requested-
Ammonia: around 3.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate:.5
pH:6.2
Hardness:75
The tank was set up about 3 weeks ago, the filter would be the standard ones they come with (im not sure what it would be called) but here thes link:fluval chi filter
I feed about 3-4/day (the sml pellets)
I haven't cleaned the filter since Ive gotten it (just rinsed it out the first day i put it together)
Been doing 25% water change once/wk.

It is so high because your filter is not cycled. Please post all water readings (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, hardness) and tell us when you set the tank up, which filter you have, how do you clean the filter, how often and how much do you feed, do you do any water changes.

If your ammonia reading is over 0.25ppm, please do a 50% water change with dechlorinated water right now.

 

[hillmar77]

Do a big water change today and retest closely in the next few days so we get a clue on whats going on. I would take out almost 75 percent of the water, just make sure the new water you are adding in have water conditioner and the temp is close to the temp in your tank. Also a reading on your water supply would be good too. Just wandering if you are getting your nitrate from the water supply.

 

[Vidster]

With regards to the substrate. I believe (someone with more know how will point out if i am wrong), that cichlid's prefer a higher PH level so using crushed coral might be worth considering as it will naturally raise your PH some.

 

[fluttermoth]

With regards to the substrate. I believe (someone with more know how will point out if i am wrong), that cichlid's prefer a higher PH level so using crushed coral might be worth considering as it will naturally raise your PH some.

It depends on the cichlid; certainly true for most of the African cichlids, the Rift Vally ones certainly; but NOT true for the South American.

alwyzchanging; do you know what kind of cichlid it is, or could you post a pic so we can identify it for you?

You'll need to keep up the water changes; you want to try and keep your ammonia levels at zero at all times until the bacteria start to grow in the filter.

 

[Geoff-]

With regards to the substrate. I believe (someone with more know how will point out if i am wrong), that cichlid's prefer a higher PH level so using crushed coral might be worth considering as it will naturally raise your PH some.

Would not do that at the moment. In acidic water most of the waste is kept as Ammonium (NH4+) which is not as toxic to fish. If you bring the pH up you will have a greater proportion of Ammonia (NH3) and your fish will die very quickly at 3ppm.

My pH is quite high (8.0) and my fish started showing stress at 0.50ppm, so I kept my level as close to 0.25ppm as I could during the cycle. Now enjoying (sic) a strong nitrite peak, and trying to be patient with the daily 50% water changes (gee I'm looking forward to doing those less often!)

 

[KittyKat]

Ammonia: around 3.0

This is dangerous for the fish and will harm them, keep doing water changes to keep it under 0.25ppm.

I feed about 3-4/day (the sml pellets)

That's too much even for a cycled tank: normally feeding should be twice per day, with one day per week without any food. I recommend you cut down to once every other day for the moment and gradually increase it once the filter is cycled or you can easily keep ammonia close to 0.

Been doing 25% water change once/wk.

Unless you want your fish to die, you need to start doing daily water changes to keep ammonia (and eventually nitrite) under 0.25ppm.

 

[alwyzchanging]

Okay first off I would like to say...THANK YOU GUYS SOOOO SOO MUCH for all of the help- this is deff. the only place I've gotten so much help from the community :3 <3
So onto the problem-
-How much of a daily water change should I be doing, 25%?
-Also, when I feed, I only feed her about 3 of the really small pellets abt 3/day..do you still suggest your feeding guide of 2x/day w/1 day without any food?
-The fish I have is a Kenyi (Pseudotropheus Lombardoi)- female <--not sure if that makes a diff or not.
-Should I put in a substrate, would it help at all or is it sort of pointless? (Id like to put in sand btw if it makes a diff.)

btw i did a test on my water supply, this is was came up:
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
hardness 150
chlorine 0
alkalinity btwn120-180
ph 7.2

Ammonia: around 3.0

This is dangerous for the fish and will harm them, keep doing water changes to keep it under 0.25ppm.

I feed about 3-4/day (the sml pellets)

That's too much even for a cycled tank: normally feeding should be twice per day, with one day per week without any food. I recommend you cut down to once every other day for the moment and gradually increase it once the filter is cycled or you can easily keep ammonia close to 0.

Been doing 25% water change once/wk.

Unless you want your fish to die, you need to start doing daily water changes to keep ammonia (and eventually nitrite) under 0.25ppm.

 

[KittyKat]

Okay first off I would like to say...THANK YOU GUYS SOOOO SOO MUCH for all of the help- this is deff. the only place I've gotten so much help from the community :3 <3
So onto the problem-
-How much of a daily water change should I be doing, 25%?
-Also, when I feed, I only feed her about 3 of the really small pellets abt 3/day..do you still suggest your feeding guide of 2x/day w/1 day without any food?
-The fish I have is a Kenyi (Pseudotropheus Lombardoi)- female <--not sure if that makes a diff or not.
-Should I put in a substrate, would it help at all or is it sort of pointless? (Id like to put in sand btw if it makes a diff.)

Unfortunately this complicates things. Your fish is an African rift lake cichlid, who live in waters with a very high pH (8.0-8.5 sort of range). The current environment is going to harm her so you are going to make a hard choice. There are a number of options you have:
1. Leave her in pH 6.2, which is quite bad for her, until the tank is cycled.
2. Start adding crushed coral/sand substrate, it will increase the pH to 8.0 or at least 7.5 in not too long. Ammonia is more toxic at higher pHs, so you will need to be doing considerably more water changes then (but on a plus side, your filter should cycle quicker).
3. Rift lake cichlids require a rocky set-up which is at least 3×1.5×1.5ft in size. If your tank is smaller, or you do not want to keep only Lake Malawi Mbuna, you have the option to return her/sell her/give her away. That way you can do a fishless cycle without all the hassle of water changes.

If you decide to keep the fish, you are looking at about 50% water changes per day.

Right now I suggest feeding as much as she can eat in 30 seconds once every other day. When the filter is cycled, the best option for feeding is 2× per day with spirulina based food (because these fish are predominantly herbivores) and no food 1× per week.