I Think I’ve Started A Mini Cycle! Noooooo

[HeathC]

My ammonia and nitrite test result after adding a bn pleco doing 50% WC tonight!

 

[HeathC]

Here is my tank its a 15 gallon 60 litre fluval flex with a modded filter.

 

[philyoosays]

Hey man. Total newbie. Is that how you know if cycling is still happening or started? Because my ammonia is low but nitrates high. Still 3 weeks in. Mostly this is my impatience talking.

 

[HeathC]

my tank has been cycled for about 1.5 years got a bit of old tank sydrome or as I like to call it lazy fish keeper syndrome, fixed that think I just added to much bio - load at once I think!

Yes that means your cycle has started, good job! But still not sone yet!

 

[kallililly1973]

You definitely have something going on with your cycle. Your BN will soon outgrow your tank which i'm sure your aware of. I would do more of an 80% WC personally.

 

[HeathC]

Ok cool

 

[Truckjohn]

Any idea what boinked your existing cycle?

My causes of a crashed nitrification cycle were tracked down to:
1. Too much water conditioners.
2. Too much ammonia lowering products.
3. Excessive cleaning.
4. Replacing the HOB filter with a new one
5. Junk TopFin or API "beneficial bacteria" product.

 

[HeathC]

I think number 3 and possibly number one may be the suspect.

 

[kallililly1973]

Any idea what boinked your existing cycle?

My causes of a crashed nitrification cycle were tracked down to:
1. Too much water conditioners.
2. Too much ammonia lowering products.
3. Excessive cleaning.
4. Replacing the HOB filter with a new one
5. Junk TopFin or API "beneficial bacteria" product.

I would say 3-4-5 were the main culprits.

 

[philyoosays]

Junk TopFin or API "beneficial bacteria" product.

NO! Are you saying that it's always junk or that you can get junk bottles?

 

[HeathC]

Btw I don’t have a job filter and have never used the bacteria bottles, although I did do a light cleaning of my filter two weeks ago

HoB filter

 

[Truckjohn]

NO! Are you saying that it's always junk or that you can get junk bottles?

Tried both of them twice.

Crashed my nitrogen cycle both times each for a total of 4x by those products....

Let's just say that I have ridden the bad idea rodeo and am long way down the path to figuring out how many different ways I can crash my nitrogen cycle....

Tetra Safe Start Plus or Dr. Tim's are the ones that work.

I think number 3 and possibly number one may be the suspect.

I have crashed mine 4 or 5 different ways overdosing water conditoner products.... I even managed to crash it at least once with Prime.... You *can* add too much and it will crash....

 

[philyoosays]

Tetra Safe Start Plus or Dr. Tim's are the ones that work.

Bummer...
I used Topfin Readistart Nitrifying Bacteria Starter and API Stresszyme+
I honestly don't know if they are the same thing but they say they do different things.

 

[HeathC]

I use API water conditioner, could that possibly be a suspect?

 

[Truckjohn]

It's probably fine if you use it according to bottle directions when doing your water changes.

If you super-dose to try to beat down an ammonia or nitrite "spike" it is very possible.

But....

Since your initial suspicion was over-cleaning... what's the possible scenario there?

Bummer...
I used Topfin Readistart Nitrifying Bacteria Starter and API Stresszyme+
I honestly don't know if they are the same thing but they say they do different things.

If it cycled and your ammonia and nitrites are fine - then no problems. Good to go.

If you are fighting ammonia shooting up to 3-4 ppm 3 months later - maybe it's a problem....

 

[Atomicfish]

I believe the Bristlenose Pleco only gets to be
About 4 or 5 inches if I’m not mistaken. I never had a BN pleco before.

 

[HeathC]

As my tank was overstocked I was doing 50-60%WC every week now I do a 50% once a week but I think the filter cleansing could be the main suspect.

 

[Truckjohn]

Are your nitrites coming back down?

 

[HeathC]

Test results are better didn’t test nitrate yesterday but it was extremely high 40ppm -80ppm

Ph 6.8 ammonia: 0ppm Nitrite: 0ppm



nitrate 40ppm - 80ppm (the photo makes it look higher)

Still going to do another Water change today not sure how much as the nitrates are very high,Advice would be appreciated.

 

[Truckjohn]

That's pretty normal. Looks like things cycled fine. Off you go - just watch out for overcleaning and such.

 

[HeathC]

Yeah I think I might still do a 25% water change tonight as I do like my nitrates at about 20 ppm and below, I think the green beans I put in for my bristle nose pleco might have triggered this, as they started to rot!

 

[Momgoose56]

75% water change. You want nitrates at less than 20.

 

[HeathC]

just finished a 60% water change!

 

[Momgoose56]

What are your nitrates now?

 

[HeathC]

Not sure I’ll test tomorrow morning so it’s more accurate.

 

[HeathC]

My test results were

pH: 7.0 ammonia: 0ppm nitrite: 0ppm



nitrate 20ppm (photo makes it look like 40ppm)

 

[RyanLee]

Hey, that's better. BN plecos poo a lot.

 

[Momgoose56]

Hey, that's better. BN plecos poo a lot.

I'd do another 50% water change if it were me just to put you in that "<20 ppm" bracket and get you through to the next water change...just sayin...

 

[HeathC]

I’m going to clean my filter pump today (only the pump not the filter) so I think I may do a 20% water change as my scheduled water change is only in two days.

 

[Momgoose56]

I’m going to clean my filter pump today (only the pump not the filter) so I think I may do a 20% water change as my scheduled water change is only in two days.

What's this "sausageboi" avatar name? Do you have a weiner dog (dachshund)??

 

[HeathC]

What's this "sausageboi" avatar name? Do you have a weiner dog (dachshund)??

no I don’t have a sausage dog, it is just a nickname I got from creating a colour from paint that looked like the inside of a sausage, now basically all of my friends refer to me as sausage on all of my socials.

 

[Momgoose56]

no I don’t have a sausage dog, it is just a nickname I got from creating a colour from paint that looked like the inside of a sausage, now basically all of my friends refer to me as sausage on all of my socials.

Oh, lol! So "sausage" is a new color haahaha!
"Boi" made me think 'dog' with all these dog memes that have the dogs referring to themselves as 'good boi's' etc.!

 

[HeathC]

I hound this coming out of my male BN pleco not sure if it’s his privates but I think it may be worms, they are red and they are moving in and out of.

 

[HeathC]

It is infected with tapeworms would this work?

 

[RyanLee]

Your link doesn't work for me but I would use Prazipro. Dose it once and then again a few weeks later.

 

[HeathC]

Ok thanks this medication contains 4mg praziquantel which is the main ingredient in Prazipro and Levamisole 20mg per tablet.