eric_m

Hi folks..
I was at Big Al's last friday to get some extra tubing for my filter and for some reason I ended up with 12 Cardinal Tetra's.. After acclimitizing them into the tank and feeding I noticed that they only eat when the flakes float to the bottom and not really touch the food on the bottom.. On Sat I picked up 4 Otocinclus thinking they would eat the left over food.. they only stuck to the glass, and found they are algae eaters (doh!!).. on Sunday my wife got 4 Sterbai Corydoras and 12 redline rasboras (I just love the whay they school)..

I've been reading a lot in this forum getting aquainted with being a fish owner (at the time was soon to be fish owner). So before you go on with OMG thats waaay too many fishes at once and hasnt even cycled his tank.. etc.. etc... I just wanted to say in my meager defence.. is .. I got excited and the inner child in me took over... So now as a responsable adult.. i'm trying to save these guys from a horrible demise.. if possible..

Ok now back to business.. pH 7.0, ammonia .5, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, Temp 79 degrees F.
Last night my Ammonia was 1-2 .. but did a 20% water change and level went down to .5, I'm going to my brothers this weekend and steal (ahem borrow) his filter insert (ill replace it with a new one as a favour to him)

whats considered a dangerous level for Ammonia and nitrite.. I keep reading that ammonia is dangerous for the fish.. but they never say at what level.. Considering that you can cycle with fishes.. and a side note.. I cant find that spira stuff.. I dont think they import to canada...

I'll continue with the water change untill it stabilizes...

so remember folks be patient.. it will be less work in the long run...

ok you can line up to smack me now...

Alessa

welcome
dont feel bad, at least you did some reading and figured out you were doing something wrong.

ammonia is dangerous for fish at ANY LEVEL but like poison, the more it is the worse the results can be. Levels should ideally always stay at 0 for nitrites and AMMONIA....

keep up with daily 50% water changes and add that filter you're gonna ehem... borrow. also get some Prime Water Conditioner. It wont cycle your tank but it will alleviate any ammonia toxicity when overdosing it to condition the water.

Good luck and Welcome To Fishlore .

tzqng8

Um, did you mean 0 for Ammonia & Nitrites? I think you want the Nitrates to be somewhere between 5-20? Just from what I have read...

Butterfly

Yep when you have ammonia 0, Nitrites0 and some Nitrates your tank will be cycled. Live plants will help suck up the Nitrates.
Carol

Fish Addict

If you can find prime, then you probably can find stability, which helps cycling

Alessa

OOOPS! Sorry Yes, I meant 0 ammonia and nitrites nitrates under 20 (just corrected it btw)

So much studying... I cant even type!

Lucy

Don't be so hard on yourself, you've made a mistake and have learned from it, thats what counts.
Your brother's filter media, if his tank is established, will be a great way to seed your tank.
I agree with the other, keep up the daily water changes.

Good luck.

Shawnie

also something to mention, only "BORROW" a piece of the filter media or u will throw his tank into a mini cycle

COBettaCouple

You could also put some extra filter sponge in that established filter for a week to seed your uncycled tank.

Until the tank is cycled, I would do 50% daily water changes and I'd use Prime for the water conditioner.

goggles

how big is the tank?

Evelyn1919

just keep up with the 50% daily water changes.

good luck!!!

eric_m

Goggles - the tank is 78 gallon.. I got a great deal on it and a perfect spot for it.. it acts as a room divider between the dinning and living room..

Shawnie - why would my brothers tank go to a mini cycle if I take his filter media is changed.. wouldnt the rocks and stuff in his tank have the good bacteria.. or does this happen when the filter media is changed? ill just use some of his substrate instead...

50% daily water change?? that seems excesesive but if thats what needs to be done thats the price for being impatient.. i'm still waiting for the nitrite or nitrate to start showing up.. testing for nitrites once a day.. my ammonia level is at .5 and seems to be maintained at that level after the water changes (testing Ammonia twice a day).. I've come up with a effiecient way for the water changes.. using the filter to do the job..

- Unplug the output hose (has a quick connect) and put into bucket.. dump bucket outside .. might as well water the plants... repeat like 5 times
- plug output hose, and unplug the input hose.. prepare water (temp and conditioner) put input hose in bucket untill near empty... repeat like 5 times.. make sure temp matches to whats in the aquarium to minimize temp fluctuations.. I got a digital thermometer to get a more accurate reading
- this is with the Ehiem Classic..

eric_m

almost forgot.. since it is still going through a cycle.. are Cardinals really that sensitive? should i expect a high casualty rate.. and if so.. when does this usually occur.. if I keep my ammonia levels low (50% daily water change) will the tank ever cycle if the ammonia level stays low?

COBettaCouple

Yea, unfortunately the water toxins can build up very quickly in an uncycled tank. But those 50% water changes help keep the levels down by daily diluting them.. and Prime works for about a day to lock the toxins, minimizing the toxin damage to your fish.

Shawnie

Hi eric....IMO , and alot of others also, MOST of your beneficial bacteria is in the filter media...yes some are on the rocks and decorations, but the filter is the majority of it...so YES it will go into a mini cycle if you change out the filter and put a new one in...but you can rip some of it off for your tank to help seed it faster filter is your best bet to "borrow" a lil bit ...as far as patience, I WAS SO THERE!! I knew nothing of the nitrogen cycle and with my 75 gallon, I was doing DAILY 50 % water changes for almost 9 weeks ...it was the pitts for sure, but it saved my fishies life...I wish the LFS either educated us more, or sold big jars of patience! goodluck

eric_m

I'm not sure if I can play ignorance on this one.. the first thing I did when I got the aquarium was checked the internet.. and I landed on this site.. I read about the cycle.. but once I had all the decorations up . .the urge to get the fishes grew.. Went to Big als for some supplies and BAM!! I had a bag of a dozens cardinals.. once those were in the tank I tottaly forgot about the cycle.. and like a kid in a candy store after recieving his/her birthday present.. I'm going with temporary insanity..

9 weeks!! i'm going to need more prime...

Shawnie

awwwww ...I know that feeling...but now, I keep plain old mesh sponges inside each of my filters so if and WHEN my MTS itchy finger takes over, I put those seeded sponges in the new tanks to move them along...Im not saying 9 weeks will be your time frame, was just giving you an example of mine...I still have to do it 2-3 times a week because im overstocked, but it beats everyday!

Evelyn1919

i think most of us have been through this so don't feel so bad about it. my tank was cycling for like 4 months and i was also doing 50% water changes. if you can you should get this http://www.jtdiscountstore.com/servl...sh-FILL/Detail it is really good and helps a lot with the water changes. i recently got it and i love it. it was a present from my b/f. before having it i was using 20gal buckets to take out and bring back water everyday and it was killing my back.

good luck!