as i've mentioned before on this forum, i have a 55g tank that has been setup since july 5. but i forgot to mention some things. as of today, i am STILL having problems with high ammonia. i've been told to do water changes every 2-3 days to get it down in which i have been doing and still no decrease. my ammonia level hangs between 1.0 and 2.0. to make a long story short, i started with 'fish in cycle'. LFS store had me use Stress Zyme for 7 days straight when i first got the tank. by the 10th or 11day, they told me the tank was ready to stock with fish. they said i still had a lil ammonia but not enough to hurt the fish. i bought a few fish from them and from other stores. ttl of 15 fish within a couple weeks of setting up tank. well now, my ammonia has shot up and just WILL NOT come down. i have lost 7 of those 15 fish. i DONT want to lose the remaining 8 even though they look ok so far.
i got this tank from a friend who had it for just under a year. when i brought the tank home, i dumped all the water out except just enough to cover the gravel. i'm still using the filter she had on it which is an AquaClear 70. however, i did take the sponge out of it and cleaned it really good with tap water because it was dirty. i've since learned i should not have done that. here is my question. since there was still some water in the tank, why should i be going thru 'cycling' as my LFS told me to do or was it because i took out too much water? i'm wondering if there is something in the gravel that may be causing the ammonia not to go down. one day during one of my water changes, i did a gravel sweep and found a rusted bobby pin under the gravel. i didn't sweep the gravel when i got the tank; didn't think i would find foreign objects in it. i wanna do another gravel sweep to see if there is anything else there but i was told not to because it's still considered 'cycling' and i need the bacteria to grow.
i know it can take some tanks longer than 8 weeks to cycle but i'm thinking this was an established tank, i should not have to wait that long. am i wrong? basically, i've had ammonia every since owning this tank. i'm ready for more fish. thanks.
i got this tank from a friend who had it for just under a year. when i brought the tank home, i dumped all the water out except just enough to cover the gravel. i'm still using the filter she had on it which is an AquaClear 70. however, i did take the sponge out of it and cleaned it really good with tap water because it was dirty. i've since learned i should not have done that. here is my question. since there was still some water in the tank, why should i be going thru 'cycling' as my LFS told me to do or was it because i took out too much water? i'm wondering if there is something in the gravel that may be causing the ammonia not to go down. one day during one of my water changes, i did a gravel sweep and found a rusted bobby pin under the gravel. i didn't sweep the gravel when i got the tank; didn't think i would find foreign objects in it. i wanna do another gravel sweep to see if there is anything else there but i was told not to because it's still considered 'cycling' and i need the bacteria to grow.
i know it can take some tanks longer than 8 weeks to cycle but i'm thinking this was an established tank, i should not have to wait that long. am i wrong? basically, i've had ammonia every since owning this tank. i'm ready for more fish. thanks.