hevalump Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 :oops: heh heh, my tank is quite discombobulating, its 4 weeks old, and has had fish in it for about 3 weeks... and all my levels were low if not non existant and my fishies are happy and feeding well, (well i only got a nitrite test kit last week) but my tester kit is telling me my level is just over 0.3 (yet i have not noticed any change in fishy behaviour).... i got a nitrazorb to stick in last week also, and it confuses me that i can have levels rising slightly when i have nitrazorb in....... isnt it suppose to reduce the levels somewhat? I have had my eel on hold at the store for weeks now and I want to take him home......... would i get away with taking a handful of fish out of my tank, giving it a thorough vacume to be able to have my preeeeeetty boy come home... whats your opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 The tank isnt cycled properly by the sounds of it, how big is the tank?? I am right in saying that is was only cycled 1 week??? I never rely on products to help solve problems, they tend to help but never really prevent or stop if there are problems. I instead try & use proper practises. Constant water changes & the like. Have you done any water changes since you first set up??? With a new tank, especially with a short cycling period. Constant little water changes are needed to prevent nitrate/ammonia levels becoming a problem. So yes do a thorough water change, followed up with constant little changes till the levels are nil again. I wouldnt be adding anything new for a while yet too. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 ps; I think Pegasus has some good info on this sort off thing somewhere. People here cheat by using products like "Easy Life fluid filter medium" & "Geo Liquid" Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hevalump Posted March 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 Tank 80L Cycled with "Cycle" added for one week week later 10 rasboras added week later ram and 2 gorami........ Amonia (cant spell) been zero Week ago reading 0.1 today 0.3 Nitrazorb added as precationary measure Contemplating taking bigger gorami and rasboras into other tank to lighten the pooping load Im sure some of you can admit to being a impatient fishy person........ hur hur Water changes were weekly been bumped up to every three days since monday.. although have discovered muck somehow managed to find way UNDER heavy sunken ship...... which i missed vacuming over until just the other day.. smacks for me :roll: Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 Hevalump Your problem is simply that your tank has not cycled, and you have added fish while the tank is now cycling. Removing the fish will help, but the tank is going to go through it anyway, its more a case of the fish survivng the cycle than anything. Amonia is deadly, so water change it out is easiest (30% water changes every 2 days perhapps until it reads and stays at 0. You mentioned cycle. I personally think this stuff is 'snake oil' but since you have some may as well keep using it. It may help kick start the bacterria and thus reduce the time for the tank to cycle. Have a search around the net or any book for an explaniation of how the nitrogen cycle works. The bottom line is you did not wait long enough before adding fish, however all is not lost. Keep testing the water and you will be fine. Nitrozorb etc, not many people use these products I, I know I don't. Just concentrate on the basics and all will be well. Get a good book and find a good site with lots of info and you will be sweet. Good luck Pieman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interfecus Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 I've used the cycle stuff in the past, but don't make the mistake of thinking it does everything. It must be used at about 3 or 4 day intervals in a tank which already has a few small hardy fish to produce ammonia. The trouble with liquid bacterial solutions is that very few of the bacteria will actually attach to the filter medium or media used. Most will simply drift around until they come to rest in a low oxygen area then die. One week is not enough to cycle a tank, no matter what you use. At least a fortnight is required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 Keep you pH as close to 7 as possible, but slightly acidic. 6.5 - 6.8 is good to aim for. When the pH is less than 7 the ammonia is not nearly as toxic as it is in the ammonium form which is much less toxic. Ammonia becomes 10x more toxic for every pH point above 7, so don't let that pH rise. Be careful with waterchanges. If your pH is below 7 and the water you use for the waterchange is above 7 you can actually do more harm than good as the ammonium will become toxic ammonia. Best to check the water first... Nitrites are a sure sign that your tank has only just begun to cycle. It means the bacteria have formed to convert ammonia to nitrite, but not nitrite to nitrate. It will be another week or two yet. Fish should never be added to a tank before the cycling process is complete as it causes them undue stress or death. It's very easy to do a fishless cycle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 How is it going for you hevalump?? Yes it is so so hard to be patient. Here is a simple piece from a book:- Once set up, the tank is left running for a week or so. Then the aquarium is stocked with fish, possibly to its maximum capacity. Soon afterwards, fish start dying and the owner is at a loss to explain the cause. Eventrually all, or nearly all, the fish die. In desperation, the aquarist strips the tank down, cleans the gravel and starts again, believing that it was some sort of disease that wiped out the fish. The same process is repeated and the fish die again. There is no disease involved here. The basic problem is that the filtration system is not being given long enough to establish itself and break down waste. The fish then die from a build-up of nitrite. Washing all the gravel out at this stage simply destroys any useful aerobic bacteria that have developed. And the situation is usually exacerbated by the beginner's tendency to overfeed. The best course of action would be to do a partial water change and leave the tank for a further two weeks before beginning to introduce new fish gradually. To avoid new tank syndrome from the outset, allow the tank to mature for at least two weeks, stock it with fish gradually, do not overstock and do not overfeed. A bove all, be patient when setting up your first tank. However a way you can help is if you know of someone with a tank which is already established with all the good bacteria. Water change 50% of your tank water and replace with water from their tank. Maybe exchange your new filter media with 50% of their established media. This is what I did when setting up my third tank and it sure helped get over the new tank syndrome. Testing was / is a wise move and your fish are lucky you care. Please keep us posted on how you go............it may get a little rough for a short time. Best wishes. Fins crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hevalump Posted March 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2004 Its hard to be patient for a impatient person like me, but Ive shown some restraint in that i havent really gone mental and thrown a huge amount of poor little fishies into my tank only to have them die. SInce i last put a message on I have removed the pearl Gorami and this is what we have in the approzx 80 L tank, 1 dwarf gorami 1 bolivian ram 6 3cm harelquin rasboras 1 pleco and eddie the batik eel (also known as a tyre track eel i think) Nitrites HAVE spiked up to over 1!! and i have opted to cut down on the feeding, step up the vacuming and water changes to 2 days if not daily and observe the fishies, They are not showing any signs of distress such as gasping at the surface etc etc, (actually, i think they are kinda happy because i took out the "boss" of the tank the pearl gorami). I feel mean though, so the next tank i set up im gonna be more carefull with, poor fishies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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