cycling, ammonia high all the time?

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bobsaget

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Feb 19, 2011
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got the tank about 3-4 days ago. been cycling with 6 tiger barbs in a20g tank. my api liquid test kit says ammonia is betweeen 0.50 to 1.0. ill check this every day, and follow up with removing about 4-6 gallons of water, then refill and feel accomplished. then wake up next day, and notice ammonia is back to where it was, and do another water change.

is it normal for the ammonia to be getting to where it was so fast? when will the nitrite/nitrate do their job?
 
That's what happens in an uncycled tank. I would recommend doing even bigger WCs and feeding less until tge tank is cycled
 
Err, you may want to read up on the nitrogen cycle. Fast.

To start;
3-4 days is not enough time for the cycle to really kick in. Another week or so probably before you see ammonia going down. Then you move on to nitrite increasing, which is toxic and likely to kill your fish if you don't keep the levels low. The nitrite eating bacteria take longer to establish, so figure this will be 2-3x as long as the ammonia phase.
Change more water if you are going to cycle with fish. Ammonia burns the fish, nitrite damages the organs. Both can kill your fish.
 
Khemul said:
Err, you may want to read up on the nitrogen cycle. Fast.

To start;
3-4 days is not enough time for the cycle to really kick in. Another week or so probably before you see ammonia going down. Then you move on to nitrite increasing, which is toxic and likely to kill your fish if you don't keep the levels low. The nitrite eating bacteria take longer to establish, so figure this will be 2-3x as long as the ammonia phase.
Change more water if you are going to cycle with fish. Ammonia burns the fish, nitrite damages the organs. Both can kill your fish.
Click to expand...

yeah, i already knew all of that..it was in the very back of my head just been awhile. i think i just forgot how long the ammonia is like this for, and i didnt know ammonia bounced back up s ofastl ike that
 
Just feel glad it is staying where it is even with water changes. It could even get higher. Have done similar % twice a day if necessary back in the days as beginner. You may need to do so depending on the pH as well as cutting down on the food.

When will NO2 starts to registered? Ive seen NO2 presence in matter of a week-3 weeks from the day you put the fish in but on the average, 2nd -3rd week..

Hope all goes well!
 
The ammonia is going up so fast because 6 tiger barbs in a 20 gallon tank is alot when it's uncycled (varies by size of the fish). Generally you want to start with a lighter fish load when doing a "fish in" cycle, to keep the ammonia & nitrite levels from becoming too dangerous too fast for the fish you're cycling with.

As was mentioned, increase the size of your water changes to around 50%, and use Prime or another reputable "detoxifier" to neutralize the negative effects of the ammonia & nitrite on your fish. Even better, if you have another cycled tank to keep some of your tiger barbs in, move a few out, and cycle with a few less tiger barbs, while still doing the large water changes and using prime. This will help keep the level of toxicity down for the remaining fish you cycle with.
 
I went through the same thing when I set up my first tank, lost a few fish :( just check levels everyday with a testtube kit (not the strips) and do water changes religiously. Hopefully they will make it through, I had some rather fragile fish make it through my cycling drama :)
 
okay, so i just found it interesting..im still doing water changes for the ammonia, but i tested nitrite and nitrate. there is no nitrite yet (ok thats normal so far) but there IS nitRATE. about 5ppm. !?! im confused?

i did take out the filter from my girlfriends 2 gallon tank and kinda squeeze the water into my filter stuff, i dont know if that'd make a difference? im just not sure why im showing nitrate.
 
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