breese31

Hi, love this site. I am a noob first and foremost. Brief history of 1 month old tank:

55 gal tank, starter tank
Treated normal tap water (very hard in TX)
All fake deco, need a better camera to take a pic
Waited about 2 days to add fish, added 3 guppies, 1 platy, a barb, 5 neon tetra
1 guppie died and all tetra died
Added two glass catfish, 5 more neon tetra, tha red wag platy, all dead
Added some more guppies

I now have 6 guppies with 3 fry that have sprung up, 1 orange platy and the barb, oh yeah I also had 3 shrimp but now down to 1.

I had a 2.0 ammonia level at one point, did a 40% water change and got down to .5 consistently now but want 0 before I add more.

Im guessing these guys are extremely hardy and I've learned adding the tetras to a new tank was a mistake. Here come my questions..

My ammonia level is about .5 while nitrite is .25 but nitrate is 0. I use stress zyme once a week, is there something preventing nitrate formation or do I need to be patient?

I am doing a 10-20 % water change once a week, should I increase the frequency or will this eliminate bacteria formation?

I am done adding until I get my water levels right, how long does it normally take to get ammonia and nitrite to 0 and nitrate to .25 or less?

I've heard the 1 inch per gallon rule but also read that isnt a good rule for larger fish. I would eventually like to add a peaceful 6-10 inch fish or two, I'm sure it depends on the type of fish but is there a general rule for tank size and the larger fellas? Any suggestions on the 6-10 size range that would live with smaller fellas?

Should I add a second filter or just replace the filter that came with the starter tank?

bolivianbaby

Welcome to Fishlore

Unfortunately, Stress Zyme doesn't contain aquatic bacteria. The best advice I can offer is to quit using it and do a 40% water change with just regular dechlorinator to remove it from your tank.

Continue to do water changes daily with Prime, which will detoxify your ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours until your next water change. Once your tank reads 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5-10 nitrates, your tank will be cycled.

Hang in there, most of us have been where you are right now.

I wouldn't replace the filter that came with the tank. A lot of your nitrifying bacteria necessary for proper tank cycling is on your filter media. You can add a second filter if you'd like. IMO, there's no such thing as too much filtration unless your fish can't handle the current.

Hope this helps and please keep us posted Again, we're glad you've joined Fishlore

Lucy

Welcome to Fish Lore
I'm really sorry you're learning about the nitrogen cycle the hard way by losing fish.
Before considering adding anymore fish, let's get you through the cycling processes.
Here's a link that explains the Nitrogen Cycle

What test kit are you using? A good liquid test kit such as the API master kit will give you more accurate results than strips.

Personally, I'd stop using the Stress Zyme. The bacteria it contains dies off quickly so you'd need to keep buying it and add it with every water change.

My suggestion would be to do daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down, both are toxic to your fish.
Continue to do that until your tank is cycled.....readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites with 5-10 nitrates.

Your readings, if accurate show that you're really in the 2nd stage of cycling, or it could be he stress zyme is effecting the growth of the bacteria that processes nitrite into nitrate.

Other members are better at suggesting fish, so I'll leave it for them to answer.
Good luck

breese31

I'm using API master test kit, forgot to add my pH is 7.6. I havent been testing that as much but I know that makes for a more toxic environment. How much should I change daily, 10% or more?

If I could do it over again, I would of went with fishless cycling. Live and learn.

iloveengl

1. When cycling with fish, it takes much longer. Even .25 ammonia is enough to kill fish. A bottle of Prime + daily 35% water changes = no more dead/stressed fish and less time to cycle. Yep, definitely don't add anymore until you are 100% cycled (ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, nitrate = less than 20). This could take another month. Much longer if you add anymore fish. Nitrate will not form until the end of the cycle.

2. You're right -- the inch/gallon guideline definitely doesn't pertain to anything more than a few inches. Hmmmm, some cool, larger fish that won't eat your fish...
--All different kinds of gouramis; though, usually you can only have a few because they get aggressive with each other
--Clown loaches
--Angelfish; though, these, too become every aggressive if they pair off
Probably loads more I can't think of.

3. Do you mean replacing the filter media or the entire filter? Is there a reason to replace the filter? Usually, filters come with replaceable media and one that should never be replaced (at most rinse it in tank water).

Shawnie

great advice from everyone! I just wanted to welcome you to fishlore

joy1125

Welcome to Fishlore!

you are correct, a higher ph does make ammonia and nitrite more toxic. So using the Prime with each water change is very important to detoxify. I suggest at least a 50 percent water change daily, preferably a 25percent change in the morning, and another at night.

Don't worry, your fish will get through this as long as you remain diligent with the water changes ! good luck

breese31

I was talking about the entire filter, I read the filters that come with starter kits are poor quality. I forgot about the bacteria that have formed in there so thinking I should maybe go with a second filter.

I will heed your advice on waiting to add, my biggest mistake was taking advice from Petsmart.

I'm thinking of adding 3 bala sharks as well.....



Just kiddin, read that thread...

iloveengl

That was naughty! You know all our hearts just skipped a few beats when we read that. LOL.

Also, I forgot to say {Welcome to FishLore}!

I use the filters that came with all my tanks and I think they're great. I see no reason to replace your unless it starts acting wonky & actually breaks down.

Lucy

While plugging along getting the tank cycled, a couple of this, be patient, cycling takes a while. Also the #2 nitrate bottle contains crystals that really need to be mixed well or you could get a false 0 reading.
Not only shake it like the bottle advises, bu bang it on the edge a table a few times.

Keep us posted!

breese31

Nice, thanks everyone for the help!!! I'm gonna start daily changes, get things right then worry about my next fish ponders. Getting ahead of myself there.

Here's my next question,

For a supplementary filter what should i get? I've read up on the biological filter but know nothing about mechanical filters. I would think it could be nothing but good, but i guess the drawback is too much current maybe? I want to add neon tetra some day, would two filters be too rough on them?

My questions are all over the place, sorry...

Lucy

Don't worry about asking questions, that's how we all learn
What's the matter with the filter you have?
You can read over this section of the forum for recommendations:
Filters and Filtration

breese31

More Random questions...

What is the limit to water change size, e.g. over 60% to much?
In an emergency how much should you change out?
What are considered emergency numbers?

iloveengl

In most cases, 50% daily water change is for fish-in cycling without Prime or Ammo-lock. That's a typical emergency situation.

If you change too much of the water, there's no chance for any ammonia to build and feed the bacteria needed to start the cycle.

Lucy

If you're cycling with fish, it's recommended to do daily changes of 50%. Just make sure your tap and tank water have the same pH.
You can do 2 25% changes if for some reason 50% at once is stressing your fish.
I've done 100% change, more and never has an issue. However, it's really not recommended.
Use Prime as your water conditioner, that'll detox the ammonia for 24 hours between changes.


Emergency numbers? Do you mean ammonia and nitrite readings?
Any ammount is toxic. You'll want to keep the numbers as close to 0 as you can.
It'll prolong the cycle, but it's for the sake of your fish.

pepetj

There is no limit to WC really. It is a risky business for our fish when we perform a huge one since it is possible that considerable variations in other water parameters could harm them (e.g. a sudden change in carbonate hardness would most likely impact pH and also temperature needs to be as steady as possible).

In a couple of emergencies I have performed up to 90% WC. That's how I saved most of my Rainbowfish (Glossolepis incisus, M lacustris, M boesemani) and Silver Dollars (all were juveniles) from a severe ick in a 40gal tank; and went for 75% WC every other day (prior to adding meds in a long treatment) as I managed to save about half of my betta Sorority while loosing 2 of 5 Giant Upside Down Catfish in a severe case of saprolegnia and columnaris.

Emergency numbers for both ammonia and nitrites are any number different than zero.

Don't bang yourself up, cycling with fish is hard to do but once you get there you will be proud of yourself. We all learn as we go and truth being told (not a cliche) the more I move forward in fishkeeping the more I need to learn.

If you can't get Prime, consider using Tetra Aqua Safe as this product manages ammonia and nitrites quite well for 36+ hours (I recall reading that info carefully but couldn't find the link to it).

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

iloveengl

Are you sure it's Tetra AquaSafe? I have a bottle of that and it's just a normal water conditioner. Are you maybe thinking of Ammo-lock by API or Tetra SafeStart?

Lucy

Tetra SafeStart is the bacterial additive many members have used for cycling, it's one of the very few that contains the correc bacteria.

I don't remember reading that AquaSafe detox's ammonia or nitrites (could be wrong though)
Members have used prime, Anquel+, ammo-lock and I beleive stress coat+ for detoxing.