water cycling
- Thread starter thanatos0203
- Start date
it's not really " cleaning". After your tank has cycled u can do 20% waterchanges every 1-2 weeks to dilute the nitrates down below 40ppm and vacuuming gravel to remove food and poo and other stuff but it's definitly not clean actually in a sense dirty is good u will need the bacteria to break down ammonia and nitrites during cycling it's actually better to not do changes, but since u r doing a fish in cycle u will need to watch ammonia and nitrite and any time either goes above 1.0 do a water change. Also treat ur water with PRIME this will help keep ammonia and nitrite low. If u can afford it go buy tetra safestart make sure it's kept in the fridge. If u can't afford it find a friend with a tank or go to a pet store (a good one ) and ask for a filter pad or some gravel and squeeze the filter pad in ur water or put the gravel in pantyhose In front of the waterflow on ur filter
i'm going to suggest you get rid of the ammonia filter pad. cycleing a tank is the growing of good bacteria that will break down the ammonia for you. if you don't have, or enough of, this bacteria in your tank and the ammonia filter goes bad you will get an ammonia spike that could potentialy kill your fish, espically when they get bigger and create more of a bioload. the bacteria never leaves your tank (since its on decoratins, in the gravel and in filtermedia and not in the water) and will constantly be breaking down the ammonia so no more pads to have to purchase( saves on your pocket book so more money for better things). try and get a test kit so you can monitor your tank more readily and easier than having to make trips to the pet store(ka-ching more money saved). as joeyb said if your ammonia hits 1.0 or above do a water change and if nitrites go above 1.0 do a water change and soon all you will have to deal with is nitrates.
GUESS WHAT GUYS!!!
MY AMMONIA IS AT 0!!!
but yeah she tried to sell me more stuff though, kinda disappointed her though by saying no, but i will get that master kit from there, i mean ive gone there ever since i was a little kid getting ferrets and iguanas and snakes. plus they sell fish at a better price than petsmart and a better variety
MY AMMONIA IS AT 0!!!
but yeah she tried to sell me more stuff though, kinda disappointed her though by saying no, but i will get that master kit from there, i mean ive gone there ever since i was a little kid getting ferrets and iguanas and snakes. plus they sell fish at a better price than petsmart and a better variety
Cool!
Now I would take out the ammonia filtering pad. CAVEAT: With possible ich in the tank, you could experience fish loss while trying to properly establish your bacterial colonies by removing the ammonia pad. Get some more opinions.
You have to be feeding the bacteria colony for it to multiply and thrive. Since they apparently consumed the ammonia that the pad wasn't filtering, you may need to remove the pad so they can continue to multiply until there's enough of them to consume all the fish's waste. Otherwise you could possibly starve them back to a smaller amount, which wouldn't be good. On the flip side, you don't have your test kit yet and your fish may already be weakened.
Remember, if the ammonia number goes back up, you need to use water changes to keep it under control. Your tank will be okay, you're working on the problem, but you can't be guaranteed no losses.
I didn't respond to your thread about possible ich on your puffer because normally I would treat ich by adding aquarium salt and raising the temp, but I've never had puffers and I think they may have different salt tolerances. Plus, I'd have to look over your livestock list.
Until you get a test kit, you should probably do daily water changes of at least 25% to keep things under control without the ammonia pad. A fish-in cycle is tough... but not impossible. Don't despair, it may get worse before it gets better, but you are making progress. Hang in there.
ETA: The fish lady will be okay when she sees you'll still be buying fish from her.
Now I would take out the ammonia filtering pad. CAVEAT: With possible ich in the tank, you could experience fish loss while trying to properly establish your bacterial colonies by removing the ammonia pad. Get some more opinions.
You have to be feeding the bacteria colony for it to multiply and thrive. Since they apparently consumed the ammonia that the pad wasn't filtering, you may need to remove the pad so they can continue to multiply until there's enough of them to consume all the fish's waste. Otherwise you could possibly starve them back to a smaller amount, which wouldn't be good. On the flip side, you don't have your test kit yet and your fish may already be weakened.
Remember, if the ammonia number goes back up, you need to use water changes to keep it under control. Your tank will be okay, you're working on the problem, but you can't be guaranteed no losses.
I didn't respond to your thread about possible ich on your puffer because normally I would treat ich by adding aquarium salt and raising the temp, but I've never had puffers and I think they may have different salt tolerances. Plus, I'd have to look over your livestock list.
Until you get a test kit, you should probably do daily water changes of at least 25% to keep things under control without the ammonia pad. A fish-in cycle is tough... but not impossible. Don't despair, it may get worse before it gets better, but you are making progress. Hang in there.
ETA: The fish lady will be okay when she sees you'll still be buying fish from her.
if ammonia is at 0 ur on ur way. Just watch for nitrites. Listen I did a fish in cycle with a fully stocked tank and lost no fish. Not only was my tank fully stocked but over stocked. U can make it through, Ill never do it again trust me, but the fish can survive. Just be prepared for it to get worse before it gets better. And watch for ich.
