Fish keep dying
- Thread starter Minnow1980
- Start date
Weird. Just did a test of the water and I still have no Nitrites, but nitrates look to have increased to 10.0. Ammonia is still 0.25. Followed up the test with a 50-60% water change + a dose of Prime, as I have been doing daily.
Well my tank has been setup for a month now. Still no sign of Nitrites, but nitrates have been about 5ppm. I'm starting to have Diatoms forming on the decorations and still show 0.25ppm ammonia on my master test kit. I'm still dosing with Prime daily on top of daily 50-60% water changes. Any suggestions?
How often are you doing water changes? Does your tap water contain ammonia? If so then that number may not go down below .25 until the tank is matured, which takes longer than cycleing. It has something to do with the type of ammonia that is contained in municipal water supplies.
I would suggest you let the tank go for a few days at this point if you have been doing daily water changes and see what happens. The nitrites may have built slowly enough that the nitrifers that eat them and turn them in to nitrates may have kept pace and you were not able to detect them. The presence of nitrates would suggest this also. Stop dosing prime and let the tank run for a day and see what happens. If nitrates build but nothing else then you are finished and can finish stocking and just do your maintenance water changes, (50% once a week).
I would suggest you let the tank go for a few days at this point if you have been doing daily water changes and see what happens. The nitrites may have built slowly enough that the nitrifers that eat them and turn them in to nitrates may have kept pace and you were not able to detect them. The presence of nitrates would suggest this also. Stop dosing prime and let the tank run for a day and see what happens. If nitrates build but nothing else then you are finished and can finish stocking and just do your maintenance water changes, (50% once a week).
I just re-read the previous page and am pretty confident that you are finished with the cycle. The presence of nitrates for this long even though you have been doing daily water changes would tend to confirm this also. Congratulations! Now you can begin to relax, do your regular maintenance and enjoy your fish without having to stress yourself out. You should continue to test each day for a week and then assuming all is normal you probably only need to test each week before water change time.
The diatoms you mentioned are also a sign of the tank finishing it's cycle. You may get some brown algae looking diatoms for a week or two and this is also normal in newly cycled tanks. With just your regular maintenance this also should go away.
The diatoms you mentioned are also a sign of the tank finishing it's cycle. You may get some brown algae looking diatoms for a week or two and this is also normal in newly cycled tanks. With just your regular maintenance this also should go away.
Cool. Thanks a bunch. The diatoms I'm seeing are of the brown variety, just a few spots on plants and structure. I'll Let the tank go for a day and test to see if I get higher ammonia levels. I also went to Petsmart tonight and bought a single live plant, an Anubias Nana. Tank is looking great and fish are happy.
I just read the entire thread, and I'm glad to see your tank is doing so good. There are very few newbie's that actually implement the advice given on this forum.
BTW, is there a LFS in your area? They tend to be a much better source to buy plants/fish from.
Diatoms are nothing to be worried about, they usually show up in a newly established tank when the nitrate level rises. They will go away in time.
Oh and by the way, you should post some pics of your tank! I figured after 5 pages we deserve to see it!
BTW, is there a LFS in your area? They tend to be a much better source to buy plants/fish from.
Diatoms are nothing to be worried about, they usually show up in a newly established tank when the nitrate level rises. They will go away in time.
Oh and by the way, you should post some pics of your tank! I figured after 5 pages we deserve to see it!
I've yet to locate an independent LFS that is dependable. I've got a Petsmart and a Petco nearby and I'd rate them a C- and C+ respectfully. In the pic if you look carefully in the foreground, you can see my Anubias Nana. It is tied to a small piece of lava rock.
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Very nice, and your water is sparkling clear, another sign that the cycle is finished. Continue testing for a few days but I think it's safe to say that you will not see ammonia or nitrites. You should see a slow steady rise in nitrates which are easily controlled with weekly water changes. Nitrates are not very toxic and I try to keep mine below 50 PPM, although since my tank is planted heavily I try to keep them above 10 PPM for algae control.
Excellent. Thanks for everybody's help. I did not do a water change or add any Prime today for the first time. My water parameters tonight are PH=7.8, Ammonia=0.25ppm,Nitrites=0ppm, and Nitrates=10ppm. Since my water from the Tap already has a small amount of Ammonia, I can assume that the bacteria will now take care of this and lower the levels do to zero on the water test, correct?
