why won't my sister's tank establish?

[Lauren]

We set the tank up 12/26. Treated the water, added some biological median from my tank, and let her run. Did a water change a week later, tested the tank, put the betta in. Betta stayed for a week, added 3 tetras (took betta out) and it was down hill from there. I'm getting ammonia and nitrate readings every time I check, I do a 1/4 the water change two or three time a week. I even bought some ammonia and nitrate nuturalizer. Still nothing.

Here is one problem that I know. A week and a half after I added the three tetras we put in four cardinal tetras. The problem is that my sister is only 8. I can't get fish for my tank and return home empty handed for her tank. She would throw a fit and I wouldn't be able to explain to her that her tank isn't ready. The tank now has 7 cardinals and 3 glow light tetras. There were 8 cardinals, one was found dead this morning.

Her tank simply won't establish its self. What can I do to get it to? I've added so much stuff from my tank: one plant, 5 pounds of gravel, and one cave. I change the water, I even add that biofilter in a bottle. What is going wrong?

[PumaWard]

How long did the tank sit without fish in it? When you seed the tank, there has to be food for the established bacteria. I'm guessing the bacteria starved before the betta was added. Just add some more filter media or gravel from your tank to hers; it should help.

[jeffro426]

What kinda readings are you getting? The only thing i could say is give it some more time.

[anonapersona]

I suspect that if the little sister is feeding, she is likely giving them too much, too often.

You may need to clean excess food out of the gravel to give the bacteria a chance to catch up to the waste.

[Lauren]

The tank was left empty for exactly a week and one day. I was feeding the empty tank, but I got a bacterial bloom, so I stopped to let it clear, and never picked up again. The readings are usually .25-.50 on both the nitrite and the ammonia. When I clean the gravel, I don't suck up any uneaten food, so I don't think my sister is feeding the fist too much. I showed her how, and watched her do it for a few days, she seems pretty capible of feeding the fish.

[sunnygirl]

you know how the "biofilter in a bottle" instructions usually tell you to use a double dosage the first two weeks? its usually 2 tsp per 10 gal. use that dosage for about four days straight. that should do the trick.;)

[aquabillpers]

Hello,

I agree that the tank might need more time, but there is also limit to how much ammonia the bacteria can handle. If you have reasonable light, you might consider getting some easy to grow floating plants, like duckweed or water sprite. These should take care of the ammonia and make your tank a little prettier too.

A good alternaive would be an inexpensive sponge filter.

Good luck!

Bill