vin

Yup, using Proper pH and Stress Coat which both dechlorinate and detoxify tap water. But thanks.

vin

Went to pet shop and got a handful of their gravel out of one of their tanks. Put it in cooking grade cheesecloth pouch and dropped it in. Within 12 hrs, nitrites started to climb.

As of today:

Ammonia - 4 (ouch) Treating with Ammo-lock
Nitrites - .25 (partial water change, adding aquarium salt)
Nitrates - 0
pH - 6.8 (lower pH should help the ammonia toxicity)

Perhaps we are starting to come toward the light?

Fish seem stressed, but are active and hungry. Doing my absolute best to keep them comfortable.

Butterfly

Hang in there, it really does get better Would you list all the chemicals your using in your tank please? Thanks
Carol

vin

Ammo-Lock (7ml/every other day as per directions)
Aquarium Salt (tsp./gal)
Proper pH 7.0 - though my tap water once gassed is at 6.8

Maintaining temp. between 76-78 degrees.

Butterfly

Personally I think your using too many chemicals. I would drop the chemicals and see what your water perameters REALLY are. refresh my memory as to why your using the salt please. just my opinion.
Carol

vin

I'm using Ammo-lock to combat the ammonia toxicity.
Salt (1tsp/gal) is being used to neutralize the nitrites + I have live breeders.....
I haven't used the proper pH for past several days because I want to drop the pH down to about 6.8 to help the remaining ammonia become less toxic. Ammo-Lock and AmQuell only detoxify 3.0ppm according to their labels.....My water is currently at 4.0ppm
The only other thing I am using is Stress Coat - (which I forgot to add earlier) in order to dechlorinate the water when changing.

What I'm doing seems to be working because the fish are acting normally, eating, chasing, playing.....I do notice the rapid breathing which is the stress caused by the ammonia and nitrites. It wasn't until I added the gravel from the pet store tank that the cycle actually started to kick in.

I know my parameters as I have the AP complete test kit. I have tested the water everyday both prior to adding the chemicals and after. As I had mentioned above, it wasn't until I added the gravel from the established tank that the cycle actually kicked in. I've also tested straight from the tap to get my base pH, nitrites, ammonia and nitrates without chemical enhancement. According to the AP test kit, using Ammo-lock with the two part test will not skew the readings. Salt will not skew the nitrite readings as it doesn't remove them, only helps to neutralize them to make them less toxic while the cycle does it's work. I've read that in several places.

The day before adding the gravel the readings were:

pH - 6.4
Ammonia - 2.0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0

Tap Water after gassing out:

pH - 6.8
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0

My readings in the tank today:

pH- 6.8
Ammonia - 4.0 (steady from yesterday)
Nitrites - .5 (on the rise)

If I don't try to combat the toxic compounds, the fish will die, which is what I am trying to avoid.

vin

I took your advice and haven't added chemicals for several days* - since Feb. 2 and have done only one water change in that time.....

Readings as of yesterday...

Ammonia -8.0 (rose 4 pts since last post)
pH - 6.4 (dropped .4 since last post)
Nitrites - <.25 and dropping (were on the rise several days ago)
Nitrates - 0 (have remained steady for several weeks.
Water temp 78 degrees 8)

Water has been cloudy white for at least a month.

Fish appear to be fine. No rapid breathing, healthy appetite, playing and chasing - Male sword trying to mate with pregnant female! (guess he's not too bright)

To recap:

15 gal, Whisper 30 filter, Ebo-Jaeger 75 w heater.
Stock: 3 emerald Corydoras, 3 Green Swordtails (2 female - one is pregnant, 1 male), 4 sword fry 4 weeks old

I am at a COMPLETE LOSS and am tempted to start over completely from scratch.

Butterfly

If you start over you will just have to do this all over again Keep doing the water changes to keep your ammonia down. Thats the only thing you cant't stop doing. Using a lot of chemicals kind of hides what stage your cycle is really at.
I know it's a slow process but it will be worth it when it's done.
Carol

vin

I hear ya! This is taking far too long to cycle. Nowhere have I read that it should take any more than two to three weeks.....We are in week 9........with constantly fluctuating readings. Nothing steady.......

Readings yesterday:

Ammonia: 4.0
pH - 6.6
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0

So from what I can tell, the ammonia is falling, but the nitrites and nitrates remain at zero. It just doesn't make sense. The water is milky white and has a serious odor to it. I haven't added chemicals other than the water treatment when changing water. Which I have done twice since last week. There is also a film on the water's surface......

I feed only once a day and there is nothing left after feeding with the exception of the shimp pellets I feed the corys....Though they don't last much longer than the time it takes for them to break down. And if the sword tails get to them, then they really don't last!

jim55379

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/...3;pcid2=Thanks gunny for the water testing info. It doesn't say how many test you get with this kit and kind of spendy but at least the results would be accurate. You said in a previous post that "cycle" is a waste of $. I don't know much about this product but how about that tetra stuff that claims you use it once a week and you don't need to do partial changes for 6 months. I tested my goldfish water before and a few days after using this stuff and it was almost identical results I am skeptical of all these chemicals. Lately I feel like a chemist buying all these chemical for ick ect and most don't seem to work.

Butterfly

Jim, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Even the stuff that says that if you use it you don't have to do water changes for six months. During that period of time without water changes you will be adding food and your fish will still producing waste. The water might look ok but your ammonia and nitrates will be out the roof. Besides who would want to swim around in their own waste for six months. YUCK!!!
As for the testing supplies their is enough for quite alot of testing.
Carol

vin

Still no progress....

Water readings as of today:

pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 4.0 (and steady despite water changes every other day)
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0

Fish swimming, eating. Active as if nothing wrong.....

I am at a total loss.........

EmpPleco

IMO I think with an ammonia level of 4, you could raise the water changes to 30% every single day, but NO gravel siphoning - leave that alone. You may be disturbing beneficial bacteria. Also, If i were you, i would never use the Proper pH again. Its way better to have a consistent ph of 6.8 than one that is constantly changing.. Hope I helped a little, and hope things get better for you. Just make sure to leave the filter media alone and the gravel alone (unless grabbing up uneaten food) for a while. Let that good bacteria establish itself (Not to say to give up siphoning altogether, it's a vital part in maintaining the health of your tank, just give it a while.

vin

Thanks, but I haven't vac'd the gravel in a few weeks....I feed the fish once daily and they eat EVERYTHING....It's actually funny to watch because they eat like they've never eaten! The water is starting to smell and I'm doing 30% water changes every other day. I haven't used any chemicals for two weeks other then stress coat to condition the water and remove the chlorine. I haven't changed the carbon pouch in over a month and have never changed or cleaned the bio sponge. I even have a separate bucket for clean water that's being aerated......What more can I do?

EmpPleco

Like I said, with an ammonia level this high, start doing 30% water changes daily.

vin

Thanks. Was doing that for a while and the ammonia level never declined.......It was as high as 8.0 at one point and after I stopped using the chemicals it went down to 4.0 with water changes......The nitrites and nitrates haven't moved.....

EmpPleco

I know it seems crazy, but the beneficial aspects of doing water changes will soon kick in and you will see the LIGHT!! 8) LOL

vin

I've been doing so many water changes, the water company sent me a gift basket and a big thank you card!!