blackpearl

i heard that you're not supposed to over clean your tank while it's cycling because it could disturb the bacteria. what exactly would be considered "over cleaning"? could someone tell me exactly how i should be cleaning my tank while it's cycling?

Lucy

Hi welcome to Fish Lore

Do you have fish in your tank?

blackpearl

thanks. no i don't have any fish in the tank.

Lucy

Oh good! Congrats on the fish less cycling. Easier on fish, easier for you.
You don't have to clean your tank while it's cycling, isn't that great?

What source of ammonia are you using? In your aquarium info, are those your currents readings?

blackpearl

ooh that is great! what about water changes though? my tank will be 2 weeks old tomorrow and i havn't done one yet, but i have topped off the evaporated water once. i'm using fish food as an ammonia source and i've also been using that Cycle stuff. and yes, those readings are from last night. but i wrote the wrong thing for nitrite, it's actually in between 0 and 0.1

Lucy

From what I've read here on the forum, Cycle contains the wrong kind of bacteria, so I would stop using that, it's a waste of money.
Do a search here and see what others who have used it have to say.

You don't have to do water changes, just top off like your doing.

blackpearl

great thanks a lot for the advice!

Lucy

Your welcome, good luck. Post some pics when you get set up.

Iron waffle

What exactly does cycle do then?

Lucy

From what I understand, the bacteria cycle contains dies off quickly and you'll have to keep adding it.
Your tank won't be able to establish the beneficial bacteria it needs to control the ammonia.

There's several thread about it, if you do a search, you'll get some first hand information.

blackpearl

ok so i know you're not supposed to do water changes or clean the tank while it's cycling, but is it normal for the water to be very murky during this time? i know it's probably because of the no cleaning thing but i just want to make sure there's nothing wrong... the water's so murky that i can barely see the plants, filter, and heater at the back, and there's like little particles of stuff that come out and float around when i top off the water

Lucy

What are you using to cycle the tank?

blackpearl

fish food

Lucy

I think that's probably what you're seeing floating around. Cycling with fish food is really messy.
The murkyness might be a bacterial bloom, but I'm not positive.

How's the cycle coming along? What are your readings?

clinton1621

In my experience, using the product Cycle causes much cloudier water than a normal bacterial bloom. If you didnt rinse the gravel or the filters well before you put them in, then this will also cause cloudiness. Also, what type of filter and media are you using?

* side note * I agree with Lucy, you should stop using Cycle... it doesnt work, the bacteria in it are not aquatic and will die. If you want to use a cycling product, try Tetra Safe Start if you can find it... if you cant find it then the next best one would be Seachems Stability.

Lucy

We should also add if you're using too much food it can cause cloudiness.

blackpearl

my readings now are ammonia 8, nitrite 7, nitrate between 0.5 - 1. i stopped using cycle, but i don't know what kind of filter i have... it has a black part, and a white spongy part.

so once my tank has cycled, if i clean it and do a 20% water change, it should clear up? or should i do a bigger water change the first time?

blackpearl

ahhh so i could be using too much food... how much food should i be using?

Lucy

I've never cycled with food.

You might want to rinse the filter media in warm dechlorinated water if it's really guny.

I did cycle a tank with used filter media and to keep it going, my daughter used too much fish food.

I had to do a 100% water change and rinse the gravel, it was so nasty!
While we were cleaning the tank, we kept the filter and decorations in used tank water, we were lucky not to lose the cycle.

Once the cycle is done, you can start with a small water change and vacuum the gravel, if need be do more.

clinton1621

That sounds like a whisper to me, those are sufficient enough for a small tank, although I always ran two small ones instead of one large one =)

As far as adding fish food to feed the cycle... its a tricky thing. Too much and you end up with polluted water. Too little and you dont feed the bacteria enough. Most people never use too little though. So if you think the water looks overly nasty and not normal, then I would say you are using too much and should try to suck up a little of the waste and do a small water change.

Note that using too much food in an uncycled tank can also cause fungus outbreaks... if you see long clear-whitish or fuzzy whitish stuff coating the gravel, decor, or glass then you probably have fungus issues already =(

blackpearl

oh no... there is some white stuff on the glass... what should i do about that?

clinton1621

Clean the glass with a magnet cleaner or an algae scraper, and maybe do a light vaccum to suck up some of the waste, that should help clear it up =)

Lucy

I can pm a mod and ask them to move it.
This way your questions will get the attention they deserve and the op won't get confused.

sirdarksol

Done and done
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/fr...-question.html

Speedy

Thanks
sirdarksol
and thanks Lucy for pm the mod. Sorry about the trouble
I will know next time.

Lucy

no problem.

blackpearl

thank you clinton & lucy for all your suggestions! i don't know what i would do without this site, this is my first aquarium, so i'm pretty clueless! lol as soon as you told me on sunday that the cloudiness could be from too much food, i started using less food, and only 2 days later, there's a HUGE difference in the water it's really starting to clear up yay!

Lucy

I'm glad it helped.

pepetj

Hi Blackpearl: Just cut the usual amount of food you were adding to at least half (you are reaching 8ppm of ammonia, which is too much and will likely slow-down your cycle, aim at obtaining 4 to 6pmm). By the way, welcome to fishlore! Feed the tank at least once a day (it could well be twice, as if you had fish in it already).

The black stuff is probably activated charcoal you could keep it or throw it away -your call; the white spongy is your sponge media (here's where most beneficial bacteria colonies will establish), if possible, add extra sponges/fiber/floss. The only cleaning you need to do for now is at the filter intake (if it gets clogged); don't clean the sponge media unless absolutely necessary -even then you only need to rinse it gently in water from the tank.

Since you stopped using that cycle thing -good call!, just keep track of ammonia and nitrites for now. You will notice ammonia going down in a matter of hours while your nitrites spike; keep feeding the tank with half of the amount you were using -for the 4 to 6ppm target, not the 8ppm you have now. It should be a matter of a week or so since your nitrites begin to fade down. At that point measure nitrates, once your nitrites go to zero (your ammonia will be already in zero) your nitrates will spike and you're almost done. Now is the time for that water change! and add your fish (hopefully a betta and a Nerite Snail).


Pepe
Santo Domingo

How the previous use of cycle would affect your cycle once you stop using it, I have no clue. Keep your info log and post it here for future reference.

Good luck

blackpearl

thanks pepe! wow i can't believe what a difference using less food makes! i started to use less food on sunday (half as much as i was using) and my ammonia reading has already gone down from 8 to 0.25! so my tank should be ready for my pretty little betta in about a week! yay!