Old food encased in fuzz

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guppygal

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Jun 30, 2006
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I just did a wc and now I am seeing some old food floating around that in encased in fuzz. Should I do another wc to get more of these fuzzy floating things out?

AND I am still showing all 0s on Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate (19 days into my recycle). My ph has stabilized at 6.8 - I have not added baking soda for 2 days.
 
Is this a fishy cycle? Just curious...

In order to cycle, there has to be ammonia. If ammonia=0 then there will be no formation of nitrifying bacteria, a.k.a cycling. Since everything is at 0 levels, it doesn't sound like anything is going on.

What are you using to test the water? You may want to take a little sample to the LFS and have them test it to verify all those zero readings. A bunch of decaying food (which I would remove, by the way) should be producing ammonia...

The fuzzies sound like moldy decaying food, and I would get rid of it asap. If this is a fishless cycle and you are using decaying food to form ammonia, I would still say that the undesirable presence of mold spores outweighs the benefits of ammonia production by decay. If they aren't too small, you might get them out with a net more efficiently than by doing a water change.

Hmmm.... Just thought of something... How much water did you change and how soon after that did you test the water?

Sorry to answer a question with a bunch of questions...
 
CaptnDan said:
Is this a fishy cycle? Just curious...

In order to cycle, there has to be ammonia. If ammonia=0 then there will be no formation of nitrifying bacteria, a.k.a cycling. Since everything is at 0 levels, it doesn't sound like anything is going on.

What are you using to test the water? You may want to take a little sample to the LFS and have them test it to verify all those zero readings. A bunch of decaying food (which I would remove, by the way) should be producing ammonia...

The fuzzies sound like moldy decaying food, and I would get rid of it asap. If this is a fishless cycle and you are using decaying food to form ammonia, I would still say that the undesirable presence of mold spores outweighs the benefits of ammonia production by decay. If they aren't too small, you might get them out with a net more efficiently than by doing a water change.

Hmmm.... Just thought of something... How much water did you change and how soon after that did you test the water?

Sorry to answer a question with a bunch of questions...
Click to expand...

Lets see:

Fishy cycle
API tests
Tested before the water change
Changed about 25%
Last week brought a sample down and they got all zeros also

You would think with all the decaying food I just vaccumed up, that I would of seen ammonia!!
 
guppygal said:
You would think with all the decaying food I just vaccumed up, that I would of seen ammonia!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too... Or at least a bit of Nitrate. Weird.

Oh, I hope I didn't insult your intelligence by asking if you tested right after the wc... No offense was intended at all. Every now and then though, we all do something that makes us slap our forehead and say "Doh!"

Dan
 
What fish are in the tank and how big is it?

If it's 3 guppies in a 10g (as from your sig) you should be seeing SOME ammonia

Do you have lots of algae? Algae can eat nitrogeneous wastes. Fast growing plants will eat the nitrates and with a low bioload can zero out all 3 readings.

Also since you have a slightly acid PH its possible all the ammonia has ionized into its non toxic form. But its not THAT acid so your total ammonia would still ahve to be pretty low. Some tests only measure toxic ammonia. Im paranoid so i use at least 2 tests (a total and a free ammonia test)

The fuzzy stuff is probably simple water mold. Unattractive and a visible reminder of rotting material in the tank, but unless the tests say otherwise pretty harmless. Back when I had Otocinclus i would give them a piece of broccoli. THey would only start eating it when it got quite moldy. They were perfectly fine until i killed (by accident) them with marycin to get rid of BGA.
 
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maaltan said:
What fish are in the tank and how big is it?

If it's 3 guppies in a 10g (as from your sig) you should be seeing SOME ammonia

Do you have lots of algae? Algae can eat nitrogeneous wastes. Fast growing plants will eat the nitrates and with a low bioload can zero out all 3 readings.

Also since you have a slightly acid PH its possible all the ammonia has ionized into its non toxic form. But its not THAT acid so your total ammonia would still ahve to be pretty low. Some tests only measure toxic ammonia. Im paranoid so i use at least 2 tests (a total and a free ammonia test)
Click to expand...

See - I am seeing NONE in my 10g or my 5g!! I tested the API test with straight ammonia and it did turn green. I NEVER see ammonia! What other tests are out on the market that I could use. Would Prime alter my test results?

No algae or plants
 
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YES. Since you said green it means its the 2 part wait 5 min test.

Prime binds the ammonia in a way that its not toxic and will not show up on the green ammonia test but still allows the bacteria to eat it (unlike cycle). The prime eventually breaks down releasing the ammonia. if you let the test sit for quite a while (as per seachem's warning), you might see some come through.

STill, unless you are using alot of prime you should see SOME ammonia.

AP is good. It shows total ammonia - bound compounds. Seachem's ammonia alert badge (hangs in tank) measures Total ammonia - ionized ammonia - bound ammonia therefore measurign only toxic ammonia.

You should start seeing nitrites after a week or so even if everytthing is bound/ionized.


I would stay away from red sea's tests. I really hate them. I think you have to be a tetrachromate to read them. The colors shift is minimal at best.
 
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Don't forget, all test kits have an accuracy issue. They could read/indicate zero and it really be at .01

It could read 3 ppm and really be at 4ppm.

All of these chemical tests are only so accurate and indicate a range actually. Ammonia could be there and enough to sustain the nitrogen cycle, but not indicate on your test.
 
it would be very low though. 3 guppies i would estimate would generate about 2-3ppm ammonia in a 10g per week. try not changing the water for a while. you can keep a tank TOO clean. If you remove the ammonia before it can be metabolized you are hindering the cycling process.

I could be wrong though. I am basing this on 3 fullgrown swordtails in a 10g generated about 15-20ppm per week. This came from my first tank where i didnt bother doing research first. twice daily water changed got very old and i still lost 2 of the swords. I only do fishless cycling now.

Most bottle tests lose accuracy at the high range and are more sensitive at low end (easy to see on the cards). Bottom line is if ammonia or nitrite change color at all there is too much in the water.
 
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