Beyond frustrated - tank won't re-cycle

[LMOUTHBASS]

My understanding is that Prime is pretty much the best stuff out there and that it converts toxic ammonia to ammonium which is non toxic and still edible for BB. Using it because I don't want to poison the fish.

Still doing water changes I just not seeing any signs of cycling. Should I do 50% daily, or 20-30%?

 

[Fozzybear]

I would say do whatever size changes are needed to keep your ppm down

Sorry about the confusion with prime...I had just assumed locked ammo is useless lol. Learn something every day

Sent from my Droid using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[LMOUTHBASS]

No worries. I didn't know that either until another member had told me that awhile back when I had a different tank issue. I did 50% today, tank still read .50 ppm after the change.

This is just blowing my mind, I can't understand why its not going down. I've reduced feeding, and even stopped feeding at times (up to a week). I've decided now that I won't feed again for a week or so in addition to daily changes.

I lost my Clown Pleco today, he was about 7 or 8 years old I 'd say. Really sucks. He had lived through all sorts of things in the past. He was looking great lately too, not shy, out grazing, eating fruits and veggies, enjoying the new bubble wand. Then I found him today, dead and stuck against a plant and the back of the tank. Lost an oto the day before, and a Ram last week. But I continually am detoxifying the ammonia so I don't get it. And there's no nitrite yet. Added air to make sure there is ample oxygen in the water too during this stressful time.

I've also noticed my room smells strongly of fish tank, and not in a good way. Its gotta be the ammonia its giving off. I can't understand where the BB is and what is taking so long to get its act together.

Tank is not overstocked either.

 

[stephcps]

Remember it takes weeks to cycle a tank. You really are starting off like a brand new tank.

 

[stephcps]

Really sorry about your losses. That is never easy.

 

[Humblepie]

First off, I know the pain of a long cycle time. I've been trying to get my 60g tank cycled since December. Believe it or not. Why so long?

Simple answer is my tap water contains 12ppm of Chloramines. Which is above the EPA recommended amount of 4ppm. So when I put Prime, or Ammo'lock, or anything with a hydrosulfide salt compound that bounds with the ammonia, it gets left in the water but in a LARGE amount of 12ppm or so. That's just my tap water.

First, I recommend doing this. If you have prime or ammo'lock handy, douse your water that you are using to do water changes first with it. Douse before adding the water to the tank. The after a few minutes test the water for ammonia and check the levels of it. If any ammonia is present, then your water you are using contains chloramines. Too much can make the tank take forever to cycle. So I suggest using water without chloramines if this is the case from now on to do water changes.

Also, to protect your fish, I highly recommend using a dose of Prime, or similar, for now until the tank is fully cycled again. This will keep the fish alive and going until then. Eventually it will all settle down with patience. It might take awhile, but it'll get there.

 

[Rbishop]

or, depending on GH/KH, cut it with RO....

 

[Star_Rider]

how's the pH?

sometimes a crash will cause a pH drop.. remember it's harder for bacteria to establish in acidic pH..it still does but
it is bacteria that thrive in acidic water..your normal bacteria in water may have issues if the pH dropped.

the ammonia test in the kits usually test for total ammonia..(NH3+NH4) and does not discern one from the other...

NH4 is safer but can still be a problem in high enough ppm..

btw the additive that state the contain bacteria..pobably do but the bacteria may be in 'hibernation' and prob will need time to kick back to life.

these bacteria that establishin the tank are drawn from external sources.. air , dirt, dust etc..etc
they also will need time to establish..once they do.. they multiply pretty quickly.