WATER CHANGE DURING CYCLING?

[mrock0311]

How do you know when to do a water change during a tank cycle? Will a water change interfere with the natural progression of the cycle? I have a slight ammonia reading and I added Ammo-Lock. Should I do a small change?

 

[tstenback]

Are you cycling with fish? If you are then do a water change anytime the ammonia gets over 1 ppm. Yes it may slow the cycle down slightly but the health of the fish is more important. I am not sure if ammo lock will disrupt the cycle as i am not sure if it neutralizes the ammonia or just detoxifies it. Perhaps other will know. HTH

 

[crazie.eddie]

You should NOT use Ammo-lock. You are disrupting the cycle and maybe make it longer. During the cycling period, the ammonia will rise, eventually, the bacteria will multiply to reduce the ammonia and convert it to nitrITEs, then will later be converted to nitrATEs. Bringing the ammonia & nitrITEs to 0. As more waste is produced, creating ammonia, the ammonia will spike again, which will repeat the process. It will only level off once the colony of bacteria catches up to the bioload.

 

[modernhamlet]

You should NOT use Ammo-lock. You are disrupting the cycle and maybe make it longer. During the cycling period, the ammonia will rise, eventually, the bacteria will multiply to reduce the ammonia and convert it to nitrITEs, then will later be converted to nitrATEs. Bringing the ammonia & nitrITEs to 0. As more waste is produced, creating ammonia, the ammonia will spike again, which will repeat the process. It will only level off once the colony of bacteria catches up to the bioload.

Does anyone actually have some sort of definitive answer on this? I've read in several places that ammo-lock just detoxifies the ammonia, but doesn't remove it from the available ammonia for cycling.

Does anyone have any good info on this?

 

[crazie.eddie]

HOw are you cycling your tank (fish or fishless)? Just let nature take it's course. Are you trying to reduce the ammonia so you can add fish immediately? If so, like I stated, just let nature take it's course. The standard procedure to cycling is to add bacteria (if possible) from an established tank or bacteria starter. Then add ammonia to your tank, whether you do it by adding fish or actually chemical. There is no mention to add ammonia reducers.

 

[sinistral]

Does anyone actually have some sort of definitive answer on this? I've read in several places that ammo-lock just detoxifies the ammonia, but doesn't remove it from the available ammonia for cycling.

Does anyone have any good info on this?

A brief search on the web yielded some equivocal information. There's a material safety data sheet from Aquarium Pharmaceudicals that says the ingredients of Ammo Lock 2 are sodium thiosulfate (usually used to neutralize chlorine), and "aliphatic amine salts". The page then says "The exact identify is a trade secret".

The company itself says:

Ammo-Lock 2 is patented formula instantly neutralizes both chlorine and chloramine and effectively "locks up' any potential ammonia or immediate ammonia up to 5 ppm per dose. Although ammonia will still be present in pond water, converts the ammonia to a form that is nontoxic to aquatic life; this nontoxic form actually serves as a source of nutrition for nitrifying bacteria in the biological filter.

You might have known all this. My made-up hypothesis is that the "neutralization" of the ammonia is by introducing salts that dissociate into negatively and positively charged molecules, with the negative molecules forming new salts with ammonium ions (NH4+), and then being sequestered by virtue of the resultant salts being "aliphatic". Aliphatic refers to neutrally charged molecules like hydrocarbon chains. These form "pockets" and exclude water, which tends to carry charge. That doesn't really explain to me why it's any less harmful to fish, but then again, I did admit I just made it up. Hopefully a real chemist can come along and clear up my fictional explanation

 

[Dorsal]

I had to do a water change towards the end of my cycling as my plants were dying I did the change and they counced back to life

 

[mrock0311]

I am cycling my tank w/ 4 pretty small fancy goldfish. The ammonia went up yesterday just enough to where I could read it on my test kit. I added some Ammo-Lock because I was unsure if I should change the water. Because I got paranoid, I did a very small water change too. I still can't find a definite answer to this question but my fish seem to be doing fine for the time being. I do already have an established tank with some tropical fish (Mollies, Swordtails etc..) How do I add the good bacteria to my 55 gal.......just add some of the water and/or gravel? I'll post this second question in another area in case there are others out there who will skip over this posting. Thank you all for your help so far! Have a great day!
MROCK

 

[LoveMyOscar]

...

 

[staunched]

we test water for nitrate levels. it must be in there somewhere.

 

[BIGMAC]

Dont know if this will help but i cycled one of my tanks with fish and when my ammonia level began to rise i did small water changes everyother day and used Ammo lock,and had no problems at all my tank cycled fine and i didnot loose any fish at all,my tank has now fully cycled and is doing great and the fish are happy.So in my experience the Ammo lock and water changes during cycling caused no problems .

 

[FMZ]

You have remmember staunched that nitrate is not bacteria, but a by product. Yes, bacteria are generally in bedrock, gravels, decorations and ofcourse, your filter

 

[BridgetteP]

Just reading through some of these posts and noticed the debate on Ammo lock, this is directly from my water testing kit( the deluxe model with all tests by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals inc whick probably also produces ammo lock ) anyway here goes:
To detoxify ammonia, use Ammo Lock to instantly lock up ammonia. Ammo lock does not remove ammonia, it simply converts toxic ammonia to a non toxic form. Ammonia test kits will still test positive for ammonia, even though it is non toxic. The biological filter will then consume the nontoxic ammonia, converting it to nitrite and then to nitrate.
intersting

 

[lucky62]

If you have fish in the tank , you will eventually have amonia , imo water changes will be needed to ensure the fishes health [ survival ]. this may prolong the cycle but so what , the fish are what it's all about , take care of them , they can't do it without you . water changes are a hugh key in fish keeping .