NEED HELP
- Thread starter goalieman59
- Start date
test the tank this morning, nitrites were still up a little so I will do partial water change and then we will go from there.
water is not calming down, going on day three of the tank readings being out of whack. I have been doing 50% water changes and treating with 5x the normal amount of prime. I looked over the tank again everything is accounted for what else could be the problem.
I still think you're experiencing a mini-cycle. What exactly are the results today of the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
It may be you cleaning all of the filters before you left AND the extra food. When we clean the filters we have to affect some of the bacteria - no way around it. So the bacteria would be a bit lower than normal. Then put in extra food, which produces, as it decays, extra ammonia. So, while you were gone, your tank was working with less bacteria and more ammonia than it normally does. Hence mini-cycle.
Do you think taking one of the filter medias out of one of my other tanks will help the process along?
Your cycle seems to be moving along, today you have less ammonia, more nitrite and more nitrate. So.....the ammonia produced is being converted better, but it's not done yet. As long as you have any ammonia or nitrite readings you need to be cutting them down with water changes. With a daily 50% water change you will cut those values in half which is what you need to do for the fish.
And yes, if you have media from an established tank to throw in a filter, by all means do it. It will definitely help put a quick end to your mini-cycle.
If you clean all your filters on any tank all at the same time, it's pretty certain you'll encounter a mini-cycle from disturbing/destroying too much of the good bacteria (the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite then to the less toxic nitrates) at once. Always alternate weeks on cleaning filters on a tank.
And yes, if you have media from an established tank to throw in a filter, by all means do it. It will definitely help put a quick end to your mini-cycle.
If you clean all your filters on any tank all at the same time, it's pretty certain you'll encounter a mini-cycle from disturbing/destroying too much of the good bacteria (the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite then to the less toxic nitrates) at once. Always alternate weeks on cleaning filters on a tank.
It could only be OTS (old tank syndrome) if you hadn't done a water change in a long time and if you had OTS and did a large water change, you would have killed some fish, which you didn't.
