Newbie here what do you think

[FreshyFresh]

Nave, how many fish are in your unestablished 55g? Around 12 small ones or so?

I'd do a huge water change just before you leave for your 10 day trip and I wouldn't feed them the whole time you're gone. I've read that fish can go 2 weeks or so without food.. and if you can't check water parameters or do water changes, this would be the way to go (no food).

If your GF will be there to feed other critters, show her how to dose the tank with Prime to detoxify any ammonia or nitrites that might be in there. All she's got to do is dump in some Prime. Read the bottle for the relatively high dosage amount required for this. Is she can't do that, it's time for new GF my man. (kidding!)

 

[OrangeCones]

Anytime you register ammonia or nitrite, you should do water changes until they show zero. There is not a specific set %. Just make sure to match temperature and dechlorinate first.

Based on your nitrate reading, it seems your tank is completely cycled.

The presence of ammonia could indicate that your biofilter is not able to keep up with the current output.

This can be caused by overfeeding or something decaying (a dead fish or plant).

Another common way to see small amounts of ammonia is this: If your local water has chloramine in it, and you use a product that dechlorinates the water, the ammonia it leaves behind will register as ammonia. If your dechlorinator binds ammonia (Prime does), it will not be harmful to fish, but it will still show on the test kit until the biofilter consumes it.

 

[Nave]

Did a water change and levels did drop a bit I may be over feeding and that is what causing the ammonia spike. The first several days i tested the water i had no ammonia, and then i had a spike, and it went away, then i got this one. I haven't got any nitrites and I do have nitrate so I think there is good bacteria doing its job.

I took more water to my LFS and their test kit said my tank was perfect when I get back from my trip I will go purchase a new kit as I have no idea how old the one I'm using is.

Here's whats in my tank:

6 white clouds
5 glow light tetras
5 Cory cats and
1 dwarf flame gourami

There's still a lot of room in my tank and I will wait till I know for sure the tank has cycled 100% before I add anything else.

I have not lost a single fish since I started my tank but I have found some snails in the gravel that came from my buddies old set up. There for not every single one is still alive so there may be some dead ones. That's another question for another day those pesky snails.

Just to make this clear I am ok to add prime to detoxify any bad stuff with out doing a water change while I'm away right?

I really appreciate all the help you guys have given me

 

[exhumed07]

I've never used prime so i am not sure as to how much to use but i'm sure the lable says what to use. i'm used to amquel plus.

as for the snails i got a realy quick easy solution for u. tetra algae control. it's in a yellow bottle. it flat out says in the directions not to use in a tank with invers. i did not read that and accidentally killed all the snails in my 30 cause of it. one bottle treats 1200 gallons. I used it now to remove snails from my plants when i buy new plants or when selling mine. i like some snails and don't want any of the pest ones in my tank and that stuff works great for me.

 

[Nave]

I have read that a lot of people use prime while cycling to detoxify the ammonia and nitrite (makes them less harmful but not removing them and allowing good bacteria to continue to grow) I just can't find if it is ok to use in existing water or if its for NEW water only.

Did you mean to say the snail stuff kills all inverts? (Invertebrates)

 

[exhumed07]

u can use prime in existing water as well as new water. it will not heart the fish and yes the algae control stuff from tetra kills all inverts such as crabs, snails, shrimp, clams. all of them. so if there are no inverts in your tank except for the snails it will kill them. it's just one drop per gallon for 2 days and then a 50% water change and thats it. super simple. just remember u will then have dead rotting snails in the tank and have to watch for ammonia spikes due to it.

 

[Nave]

Sweet I will show the lady how to use the prime in case I have dramatic spike and walk her thru a water change if need be I am pretty sure my tank will be fine and all my fish will be here when I get back.

Just did another test this morning the water change helped

Ammonia between 0 and 0.25 ppm

Nitrite still 0 ppm

Nitrate about 5 ppm

I think I was over feeding them and I will not feed them anymore before I leave and have my GF feed on Monday and every other day once a day after that hopefully it will just even itself out on its own till I'm back.

Ill be getting updates from her while I'm away and ill post what little results I can get from her in the mean time just have my toes n fingers crossed.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Like mentioned above, you should continue doing water changes until you see ZERO ammonia. You definitely want 0ppm ammonia in there before you leave. Also, like mentioned, don't feed the fish at all if you are having an ammonia problem, or at a minimum, feed them sparingly.

I would not feed them at all while you are gone. Fish can go weeks without a feeding.

 

[OrangeCones]

I have read that a lot of people use prime while cycling to detoxify the ammonia and nitrite (makes them less harmful but not removing them and allowing good bacteria to continue to grow) I just can't find if it is ok to use in existing water or if its for NEW water only.

Prime can be used to dechlorinate new water, and to detoxify ammonia in both new and existing tank water. You can overdose it (read label carefully) to detoxify nitrite in an emergency, be sure to add extra aeration as the label states if you ever need to go this route.

Keep in mind, Prime BINDS with ammonia and nitrite, making them less toxic to fish. As you state, it still allows it to be consumed by your biological filtration (the GOOD bacteria). But, and this is the part most miss, the bound ammonia and nitrite will STILL SHOW on test kits, because its STILL in the water, just in a form not AS harmful to fish. The makers of Prime (Seachem) also make an 'Ammonia Alert Disk' that will not alert to the bound ammonia, only the 'free' ammonia that is the toxic form. I've helped dozens of schools set up and keep aquariums successfully (including when they let kids feed (read: massively overfeed!) the fish.

 

[Nave]

Well my girlfriend has been doing the water tests for me and I have botching but good news... My water is right where it needs to be and I haven't lost any fish I am having her feed the twice a week (lightly) I'm glad to hear that's nothing has taken a turn for the worst. I believe my tank has cycled when I get home I will do more tests a water change and go find myself some fish thanks for the tips and help from all of you I have had a great experience with MFT. I'm not going anywhere *celebrate

 

[exhumed07]

good to hear nave glad we were able to help