Stupid Mistake - input appreciated.

[JazzyB]

Well, I made a really stupid mistake. :sick: I was switching the filters on my 27G from an AC150 to an Ecco 2231 completely forgot about the lack of bacteria in my 2231. I meant to put the sponge from the AC into the canister to help seed the new filter, but in my excitement forgot. Darn!!

To cut to the chase, my tank had a huge spike in nitrites (no ammonia present). I've done a major water change on the 25th. Unfortunately, my silver dollars seem to have been labouring a bit under these conditions, i.e., opening/closing mouth, appear to be breathing heavily. One of them looks a little weak.

Would adding "Cycle" help the situation? If you have any other suggestions then fire away.

Cheers!

 

[Prometheus]

Best bet that would clear everything up (overnight) is bio-spira... As for the cycle, I've never had any dealings with it...

 

[ewok]

skip the cycle but add some salt. salt is helpful for nitrite poisoning. from what i gather the effect of nitrites on a fish prevents the uptake of oxygen somehow, maybe by binding with the red blood cells. on a positive side, it is reversable, unlike ammonia burns.

keep up the water changes too.

good luck

 

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

ive done that a few times and ive found just do lots of water changes

 

[TKOS]

So far there is no bio spira in Canada that I know of. Just keep doing the water changes, small ones every day if needed. The more often you do them the bigger the change can be as there should be huge fluctuations in pH and such if you are doing it a lot.

I think the salt is 1 tsp per gallon?

 

[JazzyB]

Promotheus,
Cycle is live bacteria, which I believe is similar to Bio-Spira.

Ewok,
Why should I skip the Cycle? Wouldn't that add in establishing a new bacteria colony in the new filter? Would adding Cycle with the salt cause any adverse affects, i.e., would the salt affect the bacteria?

TKOS,
Could you confirm the amount of salt to be added? Can I use table salt or does it have to be "aquarium salt"? The tank is 27G.


*I added an 8oz bottle of Cycle to the tank about 10 minutes ago. Any idea how long it takes for the bacteria to "kick in"?

Thanks.

 

[ewok]

do what you want, it really won't help tho. if you had already made up your mind to do it, why did you waste everyones time asking the question?

maybe if you did some research and reading on bacteria you would understand why it "really won't help". there are **** few shortcuts in this hobby and "bacteria in a bottle" isn't one of them. (except *possibly* bio-spira, i have heard it will, but i have no judgement.)

salt however is an effective aid for nitrite poisoning. i'm not sure the exact amount, i honestly never measured. you don't want to exceed like 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons or so. table salt will work, but i prefer using aquarium salt. i usually just pour it in "by eye", because i know what i'm dosing isn't very heavy.

i don't have all the fancy terms handy to explain bacteria, but the bacteria you need is very hard to keep alive outside of an aquarium or other such unit. as such, it's lifespan is very limited and it cannot be kept on a shelf indefinately, waiting for someone to need to cycle a tank. the bio-spira is kept refrigerated (i think) and has a very limited shelf life, which may be why you cannot get it. there are however "other" bacteria which are basically waste eaters which can be encapsulated and will keep pretty well. that's what cycle has, and many other products also have them. they do not however actually "cycle" the tank, they just eat the waste products. it's NOT the same thing. RTR wrote a good article explaining this i think, i don't have a link handy tho. there have also been several people that have tested these products and posted the results on several forums. i, personally, have tried several products also, but the only one i would recommend is bio-zyme and that is for waste "cleanup" not "cycling". i have also discontinued all of them myself as i have had several unexplained bacterial deaths around the times of my dosing, and something about releasing millions of any kind of bacteria in the tank at the same approximate time would make me suspect them.

go ahead and waste your money tho....... we all have to learn somehow.....

 

[JazzyB]

Hey Ewok!

I think you might've misunderstood my post. I posted the question because I was looking for some general advice. As indicated in the title, I made a stupid mistake. That's all. :sick:

Just wondering how I could help build up the bacteria colony in the tank again such that it would assist in alleviating the current water and fish condition. Whether I know an answer or not, I tend to ask questions because it's good to have a confirmation of something. No question is stupid. Plus, I don't see myself as a "know it all".

I did ask you a few questions specifically because I wanted to add the salt, as per your suggestion. If I've wasted money on adding the Cycle, oh well, so be it. Sometimes you learn through your mistakes. The tank had already cycled but with the new filter, coupled with my mistake, it pushed it right back into cycling again. I was going to get some filter media from a friend, to help re-establish the tank, but he's away this weekend, thus the Cycle. I've personally never used "bacteria in a bottle" because I tend to question the lifespan. Plus, I agree that there's few shortcuts in the hobby.

I'm adding the salt as per your previous suggestion. I'll keep you posted as to the results.

Thanks.

 

[TKOS]

I am not really sure of the tsp per gallon ratio but a low dose with cories is generally a good idea, so 1 tsp per 5 as Ewok said is probably best. Some people don't like table salt as it may have anti caking agents. That is why aquarium salt is probably better.

Cycle won't really do anything. There might be a few bacteria still alive in the bottle but there is no guarentee. There has also been reports of cycle causing ammonia spikes in tanks due to the fact that as the bacteria die they create waste. BioSpira is kept cold and the bacteria survive this way.

How old is the tank? A well established tank should be able to handle filter media being changed. There should be plenty of bacteria int he rocks and any decorations to take over while the filter media builds back up. I know my tanks have never had any trouble during these few moments when I did change media. Of course my tanks are really understocked.

Water changes are still the best way to go until things level out.

 

[JazzyB]

This particular tank has been running for a number of months and was fully cycled. But as I mentionned, I had removed the bacteria-laden AquaClear filter and added the bacteria-free Eheim 2231 canister. I was initially hoping that the bacteria present in the gravel, wood, etc. would've sufficed but I guess not. I was hoping that adding the bacteria would've helped. I guess I should've went with my "gut instinct" and not bought it. I've never used bacteria products before. Oh well, I must've been a bit emotional when I bought it. Hahaha!

I'm about to add the salt and keep up small water changes until I notice a difference.

Thanks for the advice.