choochiegirl

tested today, no change ammonia 1 no others, i am getting so frustrated *pulls hair out*

COBettaCouple

the tank may be re-cycling slowly. I think the Prime locking the ammonia does slow things some, but it's better than letting the fish be exposed to the high ammonia.

Luniyn

It shouldn't. Prime is only locking up the toxic ammonia (NH3), but leaving the rest (NH4+ which is the majority of what's in the tank) alone. The only thing about it that can be said as to it "slowing down the cycle" is that the bound up ammonia takes longer to be eaten. So even after you are technically done with the ammonia part of the cycle, you still might show a reading of 0.25 ppm ammonia which is really just the bound up stuff lingering.

The only thing I can offer you Choochiegirl in hope is that while cycling with fish it took me 17 days into the cycle before I finally got nitrites to show their face. Let's just say that you didn't have any live bacteria from when you were letting the filter dry out during water changes. So now that you are keeping them wet, let's call that day one (it was around Aug 1st or 2nd). So using that as a baseline, you are still about a week away from getting nitrite. I know that's not exactly what you wanted to hear, but just going from my own cycling with fish experience it's all I can offer. Keep up with the water changes, and all the good work and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for sooner. Good Luck!

choochiegirl

I'm hoping sooner than later myself. I have not tested the last few days, my daughter has lice (urgh!!) and when I get home from work, get dinner and do clean up and go thru her hair it's late and I have no energy left and my eyes just want to shut. Hopefully today I will be able to check and change if needed. They all look ok tho

Dasha

Hi !

Hang in there!!! I'm so sorry your patience is tested like this.

I just got my first 0 amonia 0 nitrites reading last night - I cycled with 4 red eye tetras. I did not do any water changes the whole time (19 days) and the fish were fine. I hope I didn't torture them too much but they seemed happy all through the process. I didn't get the test kit until Day 8 but here are my results since.

Date Ammonia Nitrites Nitrates Day
8/8/07 0 1.0 - 1.5 40 14
8/9/07 0 1.0 - 1.5 40 15
8/10/07 n/a 0.5 n/a 16
8/11/07 n/a 0.5 n/a 17
8/12/07 0 0.25 20-40 18
8/13/07 0 0 20-40 19


What kind of fish do you have in there and how many? Maybe you just need to let it take its course for a little bit...

choochiegirl

i have right now 1 Female guppy 3 Cardinal Tetras 1 Albino Cory. I had others but they went to the lil fish tank in the sky

Dasha

I see... The cories are very sensitive to changes in water parameters... I am assuming the cardinal tetras are too (neons are). Not sure about guppies but I don't think they are recommended for cycling the tank either..

Do you have anybody who could take your fish in while you finish cycling? You could just get some other fish and cycle with them. I'd try the hardier tetras (I have red eye tetras and they've done great... serpae tetras might also be hardy enough) or zebra danios. I cycled my tank with 4 red eye tetras and it's cca 33 gallons. You have to have enough fish to spike the amonia enought for the bacteria to kick in but not too many that they produce too much amonia and die.

I read that there has to be spike in amonia and then nitrites to trigger the bacteria growth. I'm guessing by trying to keep the levels low so that it's safe for the fish there was never enough of a spike for a colony of bacteria to establish itself. I know you don't remove bacteria when doing water changes but I would guess that removing too much of their food would also dampen the growth.

I hope you find a solution and your fish make it!

Dasha

Oh ... I just noticed your have your tank info in the signature, sorry...

Luniyn

There doesn't have to be a spike, it's just the norm that it happens. You can keep the ammonia at 0.5ppm max and still cycle your tank just fine. Removing the ammonia doesn't necessarily dampen their growth, it just keeps the colony at a minimum. If you finish cycling at that low of a level and then add too many fish to the tank, then you will drop into a mini-cycle until the bacteria can catch up with more growth. So it's a balancing game you play when cycling with fish. That's why it's always recommended to cycle without fish. Not just because it's safer for the fish, but because when you are done you will have a tank that is ready to accept it's maximum amount of fish right off the bat.

choochiegirl

wow a good update, I had to go out of town suddenly last Thursday, was able to put on the auto feeder and cross my fingers. Came back late last night, all my fish are there & alive & look great. Tested the water and.... *drumroll*

Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 10

it finished up while I was gone *dances* Have a huge Algae bloom on the walls tho, so I'm thinking an oto or 2 is in order if I an find any, and maybe some platys and more tetras SLOWLY to add some colour. I'm so very happy

sirdarksol

"A watched pot never boils"

Congratulations.

COBettaCouple

when did we start talking about pots?

choochiegirl

rofl!!!