kacie

Hi,
Background info, I have a 4 week old 20g tank. I started the cycle with 3 Zebra Danios, still with me, and I've been doing very small 3/4 gallon water changes every 2 days. After 2 weeks my water tested good but with a high pH. The next week I added 1 Dwarf Gourami and 1 Corycat. I just (week 4) went in to the store to test my water and hopefully add a couple cories and/or plants but found my ammonia very high. I ran home and did a 25% water change. I hope this will help with the high ammonia. My question is was my tank cycled? Is the high reading due to overfeeding? Also, I am due for a filter change. I don't have a biowheel so should I do it or wait? Please any advice.
Thanks!

mrsmuffin

It doesn't sound like you are cycled. Did the store give you your readings for nitrite? nitrate? Ammonia? Do you have carbon in your filter?

The answers to these questions will help us give you answers to your questions.

Lucy

Hi kacie welcome to Fish Lore

It would help to know what your exact readings are for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

Left over food can cause an ammonia spike.

If you have carbon on your filter media, I would empty that out, it expires and can release the toxins it collected back into your water.
Then just rinse your media in used tank water.
That'll preserve any beneficial bacteria that may have grown on it.
Some people replace the carbon while cycling.

I'd do daily water changes until your tank completes it's cycle.

You should consider getting a test kit. The API master kit is very reliable.

Good luck.

kacie

Hi thanks for the quick responses everyone. I will try to get a test kit today. I think the nitrates,ites were at a good level or the store would have told me. Also I have been overfeeding that catfish. How often and how many sinking pellets are needed to supplement the flake foods for just one corycat? Can I really just shake out the loose carbon and pour in more? My filter is one pre sealed bag.

jdhef

I have 3 cories in my 36 gallon tank. I just give them one or two sinking pellets approximatley every 2 days. They seem to be doing fine.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...m?pcatid=4231& - this is what we use in our filters instead of the cartridges or bags they want to sell us. It can be cut to fit any filter and lasts ages, saving lots of money. I don't run carbon in our filters, unless I want to clear meds. I've seen this filter padding at Petsmart too.

Lucy

You can, but I don't use carbon at all. One less thing to worry about messing up your water. It's good to have some handy in case you ever need to filter out meds in the tank. I have a bunch of cartridges, once they're gone, I'll be using the filter padding like cobettacouple suggested.

kacie

Okay, here are my readings
Ammonia 1.0
Nitraite .25
Nitrate 0
ph 7.4

clinton1621

You are definitely not cycled... ammonia and nitrite should be 0, and nitrates should be anywhere from 5 - 20 in a fully cycled tank. You need to start doing daily 50% water changes or the ammonia spike will kill the fish. Also, do not change the filters out every 30 days.... more and more people keep saying they do this and their tank never cycles, why? because your bacteria lives in your filter... everytime you change it you are throwing away 90% of your tanks bacteria, which means your tank is NEVER going to cycle fully. Do what the other members suggested and cut open the filter bag and pour the carbon out... then fill it with a plain filter pad or fiber floss. The carbon is the only reason they tell you to replace the filter once a month, so eliminating it is the smartest thing you can do to have an established tank that isnt constantly trying to cycle. Another plus is you dont have to keep buying new filter packs... you just rinse the filters you have in dechlorinated water to get all the large waste and gunk off of them and then put them back in. This will save the bacteria, and you can keep the filters until they are starting to rip or fall apart. Now, when they start to do that, then you need to buy new filters and cut the carbon out again... put these in the filter box with the old filter for about 2 weeks before you take out the old filter. This will let your bacteria build up in the new filter and prevent you from hurting your cycle when you change them out.

kacie

I rinsed out the carbon and just put the filter back in. thanks.

clinton1621

Hopefully with dechlorinated water?

kacie

Yes, I soaked it in water from my tank as I began my water change, then I rinsed excess carbon off with untreated tap water, then I soaked it in my fresh declorinated water bucket for my tank. An okay process?

Lucy

You need to toss the old carbon, not rinse it, sorry if I wasn't clear.

Rinse the pouch and out in used tank water or warm dechlorinated waternewcarbon in, if you choose to use it.
chlorine will kill the bacteria.

kacie

Sorry, yes I took the carbon out. It was stuck to the bag so I did rinse it briefly in clorinated water. I hope I didn't kill the bacteria. I am so upset that I got more fish last week when I thought my tank was cycled. So stupid. I hope my Dwarf Gourami and cory can survive the cycle. Should I return them?

clinton1621

Never rinse your filters in tapwater, the chlorine will kill the bacteria without a doubt... I would personally either keep up with the daily 50% water changes until the tank cycles, or try to find one of these products...

1. Tetra Safe Start, this will cycle your tank in 1 week and make it safe during that time

2. Seachem Stabilty, this does the same thing but its not quite as good

DO NOT get a product called Cycle, to put it simply it does not work

kacie

I've heard that using chemicals to speed cycling isn't good in the long term.

clinton1621

Thats because of the product called Cycle that I said not to use... it will never actually cycle your tank

kacie

Got it. I will try to find some Tetra safe start. My water just got a little cloudy. Good or bad?

clinton1621

Its a bacterial bloom, probably from rinsing the filters with chlorine. The bacteria have to reproduce to replace the dead bacterias place, this causes a cloudy look to the water.