wilbee

ok i have a 6 1/2 week old, 110litre tank, my father inlaw gave me over 9guppies and the same day the wife went and bought a cory, before i did any reading up on tropical fish, so thats what i started the tank up with and in week 3 i lost 1female to peaking nitrite levels at which i treated with 50% daily changes until the levels dropped below 1mg/l then kept an eye on the levels, week 6 was saturday just past and as all lvls hd peaked, ammonia was now at 0, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was 20mg/l i decided to introduce a few more fish 3female guppies and a 1male guppie and another cory!

saturday = 12 guppies and 2 corys
sunday = 12 guppies and 2 cory's
monday = 11 guppies and 2 cory's 1 x male dead
tuesday = 11 guppies and 2 cory's
wednesday = 9 guppies and 2 cory's 2 x male dead

now my levels have been rock steady for over a week and still the aint changed

ammonia =0
nitrite =0.8 mg/l
nitrate =20 mg/l
GH =7
kh =6
pH =6.8 -7

now its my belief from reading that ammonia needs to be kept below 1ppm, nitrite below 1mg/l, nitrate below 50mg/l

so in theory everything is ok but i have 3 dead fish in 3 days and as a pure novice this is really getting to me and i am beginning to wonder if i really do understand what i am reading.

my tanks cycle


ammonia levels will rise as water becomes polluted (this happened)
nitrite levels remained at 0 for 2 weeks then they started to climb and the ammonia level fell but not to 0
nitrate levels remained at 0 for a further week then started to climb nitrite levels remained high, ammonia was high 1mg/l, after a further week nitrates started to get higher (25mg/l) nitrite was alarmingly high at 5mg/l so i did 50% water changes for 4 days and this took the nitrite levels down to 1mg/l after another week the tank read
ammonia =0
nitrite =0.8 mg/l
nitrate =20 mg/l
(I THOUGH THIS WAS TANK CYCLED?) 6weeks

the tank readings are still the same today and i am puzzled to why i am losing fish

i have cleaned the filter every week

white sponge just in the bucket of dirty tank water massaging it(changing at week 8)
carbon sponge the same as above (changing at week7)
ceramics these i have kept in their cage and just given them a shake around in the dirty tank water(dont know if this step is correct or not)

IF anyone can assist me please feel free to try as i say i am a complete novice and i think i understand the cycle but need clarification to weather i do or not and if not where am i going wrong

ty in advance

wilbee

oh and i now have 4 baby guppies also!

I AM A DADDY again

kieley

sorry to hear about your troubles!
it is my understanding that you cant have any readings at all for ammonia or nitrite to have a fully cycled tank! this might be the reason for the deaths.

i guess i didnt read your post correctly.. you said your cleaning out the filter every week? you really shouldnt be doing that because it could be killing your beneficial bacteria. if you think it needs it then just rinse it out in USED tank water in a bucket dont put it under the tap because the chlorine will kill everything

wilbee

yeah i have been cleaning my filter on a weekly basis when i do my 20% water change,(i am using interpet pf3 pump and the product recommends weekly cleaning, 2-4 weekly mechanical filter sponge replaced, 6-8 week chemical sponge replaced) but as you have said it just in dirty aquarium water!

is this too often?
should all readings be 0 and not as i believed below 1mg/l (PPM)?

sgould

kieley has it...your tank is not fully cycled until both ammonia and nitrite have both dropped to 0. Nitrate will not drop to zero (unless you have a planted tank) and must be controlled by water changes to remain below 20.

You are cleaning your filter properly in order to protect the bacteria by rinsing it in tank water rather than tap water (which would kill the bacteria and put you back into a cycle). However, I would do 2 things slightly different there...1) don't do anymore cleaning/messing with the filter until the cycle is complete 2) don't massage the filter in the tank water...just swish it around a bit.

wilbee

then my understanding of the cycle was slightly out by 1ppm!

that was due to the tetra test's saying the reading should be below 1ppm mg/l



kk if thats the case i am getting prepared to lose a few more fish

ty for the help guys and i hope 1 day to be able to reply to a few posts and not just bombard you with questions!

regards
lee

wilbee

hmm this has me puzzled as is this not the same as when i change the pads and if it is it means my tank is going to be on a permanent cycle? or are the ceramics enough to keep e decent enough colony of bacteria ? or should i cut pads in half and change only 1 half ? or space out carbon and normal filter changes to aprox 4 weeks apart so at least they retain some good bacteria?


help and real sorry for the noob questions


regards
lee

Fish Addict

What type of filter pads are you using? Most you should keep for about a month...
And, I'd keep everything the same besides the water, since not only do the bacteria colonize ON the filter a lot of the time, but I've found that it takes a while for a new filter to be working its best...

Lucy

I don't use carbon and never change my filter media unless it's in shreds. When you change filter pads you toss a good amount of bacteria in the trash.

wilbee

Interpet PF3 internal filter
with interpet PF3 replacement pads

sgould

If you are using the ceramic "rings" in your filter you are probably ok. I have never used them myself, so maybe someone who has can comment on their effectiveness as a bio-filter. The filter on my freshwater tank has 2 seperate cartridges, so I only change one of them at a time. With a 1 cartridge filter, you can cut a good sized square of the old cartridge out and leave it in with the new cartride for a week or two, then dispose of it. Again, with the ceramics that may not be necessary...it is just what I do with my particular filter style (Whisper). The cartridges do not need to be replaced all that often, by the way. The manufacturers will tell you once a month, but lots of folks keep them for much longer.

wilbee

is that why you keep a cat in your tank lucy?lol

why the filter ? does it save combing it ! hehe sorry but i had too

regards
lee

wilbee

well tbh this is the first i have really talked to anyone about my kids new pets! didnt know it was gonna become a new found addiction lol! but from what i am reading here and correct me if i am wrong but their doesnt seem to be a correct way and incorrect way just a common set of good practices and trial and error to suit you and your tank with these good practices!

i am glad i came here and i expect you will be seeing lots more of me

Lucy

You're right, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.

Good luck with your new addiction.

wilbee

ok more help needed i now only have

6 guppies
2 cory
lots of fry
a snail

i am taking it you guys were right and my tank had not finished cycling as my readings are now

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 25

but what i did notice one of my fish was what could be best described as a white mould looking substance on its side

immediatly i thought oh no and refered to books and internet for diagnosis and the best diagnostic i can personally give is either glossatella or fungus

so yesterday i went to the aquarium and showed them what i thought i had and they gave me "sera costpur" to treat my tank with, so yesterday i took the carbon filter out administored the medication and have left my tanks lights off, woke up this morning the fish that had white fluff is dead, tonight i look again at my tank and another fish has slight white fluff on its tail.

comon people help me is their anything else i can do! this losing fish bit is real and after the work i put into this it beginning to become downheartening

i am trying to look on the bright side by saying at least if it all happening now i gonna be prepared and have the knowledge in the future but information overload is frying my brain, and now i read even more it time to ask the experienced people for assistance so HELP!