30 Gallon Tank How long after TSS can I expect the water to clear?

I started TSS on 5/1/12 - my water is not super cloudy but more like "hazy" - a slight yellow haze color if looked at the aquarium from the side.
I have a 36 gallon bow front, I have not done any chemicals or changes to either the water or fish since I started the TSS.
I have been feeding the fish about a pinch of food, once a day.

I am sure hoping this TSS cycles my tank soon. I am getting impatient.
By the way, Ammonia levels are around 3.0, Nitrates at 20 and no Nitrites as of this morning.

Thanks in advance!

Junne

 

There isn't much point testing your water parameters within 2 weeks of adding the TSS. Sometimes it can take up to 21 days depending on the tank. I wouldn't worry about the high ammonia because the TSS protects them from it. If your fish are showing signs of distress then the ammonia might have been too high from the start and killed the bacteria, but I don't believe this is the case as you have nitrates present. Give it a few days, there isn't anything you can do to speed it along.

The hazy effect could be bacterial bloom which will clear up on it's own over time!

 

Thank you for humoring me.
This is my first real tank and I am so nervous about everything going right. I am pretty sure I did everything exactly to the T so hopefully by next Tuesday I can re-check everything.

Junne

 

Quite welcome! Tuesday will be when you can do a water change. 20-30% should be good. If your ammonia levels are still above .25 ppm I would aI'm for as high as a 50% water change and treat with prime or another ammonia remover.

 

Thank you! Wish me luck!

Quite welcome! Tuesday will be when you can do a water change. 20-30% should be good. If your ammonia levels are still above .25 ppm I would aI'm for as high as a 50% water change and treat with prime or another ammonia remover.

So regardless if my ammonia levels are up or down, I should always do water change WITH PRIME, correct?

 

If you use that to dechlorinate, yes. I use AquaSafe. Prime for me would be more to detox the ammonia until the filter can handle it. That's doing a water change to decrease the amount and detox what's left.

 

okay thanks

By the way, this is what it currently looks like

 

Oh that's completely normal. mine is still a bit like that as well. I had a filter mishap and had to start another cycle of TSS because I couldn't save enough filter media.

 

Oh that's completely normal. mine is still a bit like that as well. I had a filter mishap and had to start another cycle of TSS because I couldn't save enough filter media.

oh bummer about the mishap - I hope your on your way now with the cycle. How many days more before you can check?
I am on day #12 so a few more days I hope!
Good luck!

Junne

 

Day #8 lol. Patience is a virtue and I'm pretty good at it.

 

That's good. Not too far away! Have you done TSS before? This is my first time so I am nervous! So far though, I feel like its working ( yes, I peeked and did some water testing )

Junne

 

Yes! My tank was fully cycled the very same day my filter died. I still had .25 ammonia but that would have been fixed with a water change. I believe that was because my filter was dying and the output was down to a trickle. I don't know how long it had been like that. I'm hoping this time the ammonia is completely gone. No big deal if no, I will need to clean up with a siphon and replace water anyhow!

 

Good luck to you. I can't wait until Tuesday when I test the water. I really don't know what to expect since its been holding steady the past week. I got an Aqueon water changer/gravel cleaner that I am dying to try out. The good thing is, the laundry room is less than the hose length of 25 ft but now I have to find an adapter to use the sink. If I can't find one tomorrow, I will have to use the hose from outside which I am not keen on doing - mostly because I fear a mess - a whole another topic! LOL

 

You can find tubing and a coupler at lowes if you need to extend it. Probably the attachment too.

 

You can find tubing and a coupler at lowes if you need to extend it. Probably the attachment too.

Thanks - I am going to see if the part on the faucet can come off so that there are threads exposed - that's how I always had on previous faucets. I suspect this one can but because its one of those "decorative" faucets, its probably covered underneath. We will see.

 

Ew. :x My bathroom faucet is like that and I had no such luck. I'll be making a trip to lowes later this week to get enough tubing to extend downstairs. xD This will be interesting.

 

Ew. :x My bathroom faucet is like that and I had no such luck. I'll be making a trip to lowes later this week to get enough tubing to extend downstairs. xD This will be interesting.

Bummer. My kitchen sink is also close by but the faucet there is even worse ( decorative Moen type ) so laundry room would be the best OR the garden hose spigot outside would work.
Good luck and I hope you get what you need.

 

Thanks, you as well.

 

I ended up doing 75/80% water change and from this picture you can see why. The TSS did not work - I was 99% sure I did everything right too. Oh well.....
The good part is, the Aqueon water changer was a breeze! First time using it and it worked so well and not a drop of water anywhere it wasn't supposed to be!!!

 

What size bottle did you use?

 

What size bottle did you use?

I used the large bottle that treats up to 75 gallons. I shook it really good and poured the entire contents in to my 36 gallon.
I just started a new TSS cycle for my 5 gallon tank 2 days ago - using the small bottle for up to 30 gallons. I sure hope that one works...

 

Did you test before you added the TSS? One of they things they mention in the help thread floating around here is if there is too much ammonia at the start the bacteria can all die before they get a chance to set up. I'd guess that's what happened with yours.

My water clouded up after I added the TSS but it cleared probably two days later and then a week later I started getting diatoms which are my current plague.

 

Did you test before you added the TSS? One of they things they mention in the help thread floating around here is if there is too much ammonia at the start the bacteria can all die before they get a chance to set up. I'd guess that's what happened with yours.

My water clouded up after I added the TSS but it cleared probably two days later and then a week later I started getting diatoms which are my current plague.

Yes, I did test before and everything was 0/0/0 - I did everything EXACTLY to the T.

 

Here is a thread containing a Q&A with tetra about tss. I would suggest doing two 50% water changes consecutively, to knock ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates down, then giving tss another try. Study up up, then give it another go. I would also suggest using the bottle that treats up to 30 gallons, not the big bottle. I know you have a 36 but tss contains ammonia for the bacteria to eat. May have been too much for your 36. That may have been what went wrong. Good Luck!

Q & A With Tetra about Tetra SafeStart - Aquarium Fish Forum 58116

 

I guess what I am really wondering about and no one has yet to answer this precisely - Almost everyone I ask about the water changes has a different value - some say 20%, others say 50% and anywhere in between. Is there some calculative formula that this is based on? such as how much ammonia is present, etc. THAT'S what I am really not understanding.
I have been doing 75% - 80% water changes only because I FEEL that the more water to get rid of and replace the better. That's my reasoning.
There may not be a difinitive answer but I am just wondering why everyone says something a bit differently......

Just curious!

Junne

 

If you plan to try TSS again and your ammonia is above 2ppm (the guide says 4 but I'd say 2 to be on the safe side...) then do a large (75-80 like you have been) water change and add the TSS.

If you want to just finish the cycle then continue as I have told you in the other thread. Test your parameters, 30% water change, treat with prime to detox (not remove) the ammonia and repeat again in 24 hours. The 30% change will be enough to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels reasonable (below 1) but still let the cycle continue.

As you get more bacteria these will all be converted to nitrates. You will need some of each to keep the cycle progressing, though. Doing too large of a change may actually hurt in the long run. Keep the ammonia detoxed with prime until there's enough bacteria to convert it all to nitrites. I'm not sure if there's an exponential growth relating ammonia -> nitrites and nitrites -> nitrates or not. As in...does there need to be a significant amount of the first happening to see a large enough increase in the second for both ammonia and nitrites to be taken out completely? From what I understand, yes...but I could be wrong.

 

wow I am more confused than ever! The info on the Prime says it "removes" ammonia. But in any case, bottom line is, is this cycle hopeless now if I want to continue WITHOUT using TSS again? Because I did 75% water change, will it ever cycle on its own? I did not do anything to the filter media so I am assuming some good bacteria is growing there? I am leary about TSS right now and really don't want to spend the $$$ unless I can somehow save this cycle without it....
Thanks for your help and explanations

Junne

 

You should be fine, as long as you're showing nitrates still. The fish will always produce ammonia!

By the way, in another thread you were saying something about being afraid of sucking up one of your fish. xD Today my Convict tried to swim inside the gravel siphon!

 

By the way, in another thread you were saying something about being afraid of sucking up one of your fish. xD Today my Convict tried to swim inside the gravel siphon!

I was surprised that the water goes through so easily with not much suction. I was expecting more of a vacuum effect
Glad it wasn't so..... My fish sually move away from it when I put the tube in....

 

That's the wonder of cohesion. You can always control the suction more with the faucet too.

 

Well here is todays reading. Based on this, I will hold off on water changes until I check tomorrow. Is it hopefull?
Ammonia = 0.25
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 5.0

 

Yes! If the ammonia isn't gone tomorrow then a water change should fix it. Weeeeeeeeee!

 

Yeah still had about 0.25 of ammonia so I did a 40% water change - nitrites still there ( small amount as well ) and Nitrates
So its still got a ways to go. Just glad the ammonia isn't off the charts