Cycling again?

Just tested my tank and my ammonia looks like it could be 0.25, nitrites are 0 and nitrates are 40! What the heck has happened? I added two fish on Thursday but didn't think that it could have made an ammonia spike that big

I have done a 50% water change but what else can I do? Thankyou

Rachael

 

The number that you give for ammonia really is not that large. Have you tested it since to see if it is dropping?
40 ppm nitrate is a little high IMO, but then it all come down to what fish you introduced ( some fish produce more waste than others). You might test your source water to get a baseline to check tank readings against,

 

So if I just get it straight out of the tap or should I add tap safe then test it? What ammonia reading would be dangerous?

Also I haven't tested again since the water change

 

Just tested my tank and my ammonia looks like it could be 0.25, nitrites are 0 and nitrates are 40! What the heck has happened? I added two fish on Thursday but didn't think that it could have made an ammonia spike that big

I have done a 50% water change but what else can I do? Thankyou

Rachael

Your ammonia is at 0 from what I can see which is good. For the nitrates it is pretty high, but not deadly. Is your tank cycled? It also sounds like you don't have enough beneficial bacteria in your media filter. If you did then your nitrates would be lower. Do you replace your filter media?

 

It was cycled, I got it second hand with everything in, I have just started running an additional filter in it with some filter media from the old one, as I'm going to cycle another tank. Could this be affecting it?

 

It was cycled, I got it second hand with everything in, I have just started running an additional filter in it with some filter media from the old one, as I'm going to cycle another tank. Could this be affecting it?

Most likely. But it will go down soon enough.

 

A butterfly pleco is a bit large for a tank that size and I'll bet that beauty is the culprit behind the high nitrates.
You'll likely see a trace of ammonia for a few days to a week after switching filters and it's normal. You can dose prime to the volume of the tank until the bb repopulate.

Edited my typo! It's early

 

A butterfly pleco is a bit small for a tank that size and I'll bet that beauty is the culprit behind the high nitrates.
You'll likely see a trace of ammonia for a few days to a week after switching filters and it's normal. You can dose prime to the volume of the tank until the bb repopulate.

Butterfly pleco? Do you mean a butterfly loach?

 

Butterfly pleco? Do you mean a butterfly loach?

Nah. Profile info lists pleco.

 

If this is your 30 litre tank, it's way too small to house 5 zebra danios and a pleco. I suggest upgrading to a 30 gallon or rehoming those fish. You're going to have a really tough time managing those nitrates.

 

It has 6 bronze corys, 4 guppies, a peppered cory (moving to new tank soon) in.

How do I change my profile on here? I had that tank about 6 years ago rehomed the fish and sold tank. I now have 1 X 20 gal (the one I'm writing about) and going to cycle a new 30 gal tank but awaiting a heater

 

How do I change my profile on here? I had that tank about 6 years ago rehomed the fish and sold tank. I now have 1 X 20 gal (the one I'm writing about) and going to cycle a new 30 gal tank but awaiting a heater

Click on My Profile and then About Me. You'll see pencil shaped edit buttons to edit your stock list and tank size.

 

Thankyou!

 

The new additions could have caused that small spike in ammonia. I would dose Prime daily until your BB catches up. How often and how large are your water changes? You'll want to aI'm for 20ppm or less.

 

I change about 2 gals every day but had missed a couple of days. I add "beneficial bacteria" ( will check the name when I get in) and ApI stress zyme each time.

 

I change about 2 gals every day but had missed a couple of days. I add "beneficial bacteria" ( will check the name when I get in) and ApI stress zyme each time.

Changing just 2 gallons every day isn't as effective in removing those wastes. I would aI'm for at least 30-50% once a week after you have cycled your tank. Adding Stress Zyme isn't needed with each water change. Prime would be all you need for water changes.

 

Thank you for the help I will get some prime when I next get paid. This is what it is looking like now. should I continue with large water changes for the rest of the week?

 

That looks like 40-80 to me. I would do a 50% today and another 50% tomorrow. That should bring you down to 20ppm. Maybe do another 50% after that to get it down even further to 10ppm.

 

Thank you again for your help! I will keep you posted. Really do appreciate it!