I Used Bacteria Supplement By Top Fin.. What Now!??

So, I got a blood red parrot cichlid on september 22, I thought the 29 gallon tank was cycled. All the water parameters were showing up pretty good. (According to the info I was reading at the time, I can't remember what the parameters were exactly tho.) I have the API master test kit.
NOW My parrot has showed some signs of stress, I thought it was just that his tank is too small, I JUST set up his 60 gallon today. He has black stress lines now.
I tested the water and everything is coming back close to 0, no ammonia, no nitrites or nitrates. I read that that bacteria supplement by top fin is probably the issue... I tested my 10 gallon snail tank and it too had the same readings... I always used the bacteria supplement and seachem prime with every water change as I was instructed.
Now I feel like a serious amateur, how can I fix this? How can I get the 60 gallon to cycle fast enough that he doesn't get too sick or potentially die on me.
Is there any way that I can move him from the 29 gallon to the 60? Neither tank is cycled properly now, so I wasn't sure what would be the best move for me at this point...
This parrot is special LOL, he has so much personality I would be devastated if I lost him because I took the wrong advice and didn't look farther into the product... I mean, this fish wants me to pet him (I don't very much because of his slime coat.)
I am a beginner and have only had a few months of experience with tanks.
Any advice at this point would be great!

 

Are you following the directions with the nitrates? Literally use a timer and follow it exactly or you won’t get an accurate reading.

 

Yes, I did. I time it because I lose track of time easily. I tested it several times because I was so confused. Now I did some looking into the products and Ive read that the bacteria from the supplements die quickly or something like that.
All three test low, like a new tank... I don't over do the water changes and I wait a bit longer to change the filter media so I should have at least ammonia in the tank...

 

What model of filter do you have and what type of filter media you using?

I have never used the Top Fin brand of bacteria supplements, but I have used Tetra Safe Start+ to cycle two different tanks.

I asked about the filtering because the beneficial bacteria needs a place to colonize. Many times when a tank is having trouble cycling, there is insufficient places for the bacteria to colonize.

This happens especially with cartridge based filters where no extra media is added.

 

Ive heard the tetra safe start is the one to get. I just haven't been able to find any in my town. So I'm going to have to find it online.
I have a 50 gallon aquaclear filter with just the sponge and the white balls (can't remember what they're called), I left out the carbon because I read that it can take meds/fertilizer out of the water and I have live plants and use seachem flourish as well (not as often as directed but sometimes).
I have two amazon swords in the tank and a bamboo in the filter as well.

 

Tetra Safe Start (TSS) is readily available and costs less online.

The Aquaclear line of filters are great. I own 2x AC30's and an AC70 and AC110.

The "white balls" you described is the ceramic bio-media. Their brand calls it Bio-Max.

Using an AC50 for a 60 gallontank is underfiltering it.

I would recommend adding a 2nd filter, or at least a large sponge filter driven with an airpump, such as the ATI Hydrosponge IV or V.

Sponge filters ran off a decent air pump offer great mechanical and biological filtration. I am amazed how much muck my sponge filters trap.

Also, I would suggest adding Polyfill and more bio-media to your AC50's basket, since you're not using the carbon. The polyfill give you fine mechanical filtration catching fiber muck that slips by the sponge. It also keeps the bio-media cleaner. A bulk roll of filter media mad that can be cut to fit also works well, like in this / .

I have awalys felt the AC's don't include enough bio-media.

You can get a box of Aquaclear/Fluval Bio-Max rings for under $7 online. This will give your beneficial bacteria extra room to colonize.

Here is a pic of my AC30 media basket. It is probably about 1-2" less wide than yours, but gives you an idea how much extra media can be shoved into it.

AC30 media basket 1

• Islandvic
• Nov 18, 2018

AC30 media basket 2

• Islandvic
• Nov 18, 2018

In all my AC filters, I cut the sponge down so it is not as tall. That way I can most more media on the tray. I also use sponge pre-filters attached to the end of the intake tubes.

In the pic, it has the sponge, layer of Polyfill, a filter pad cut to fit froma bulk roll, a 100 micron pad and a bag of Seachem Matrix. Matrix is just another type of bio-media.

 

The 50 gallon filter is on the 29 gallon tank he's currently in, which I know (now) is way too small. (my initial research said that one parrot would be fine in a 29 gallon, which I don't believe anymore, I believe he wants a friend and def more room).
It also has a sponge filter that, I think is only a 10 gallon aerator but the sponge is about 5 inches across. (It's obv I'm not sure what things are called, :s lol.)
Ive already added a bit more of the bio media but can add some more, and some of the other things as well, thanks for that.
The 60 gallon is currently on its first night cycling, I added some media from one of my other tanks as well as some rocks. It has a 50 gallon aqua clear filter as well as a fluvial U3, I'm waiting to get another aqua clear but I want to get the 110 and have to wait for that one, so I threw in the U3 that I had.
My problem is I thought the 29 gallon was cycled as it had been before I put my fish into it. All the tests showed safe. That was was sept 22. He started showing signs of stress so I tested the water again (I I usually test every second week, things seemed good.), showing no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates... I haven't done anything unusual.
so I'm confused.
But that's some great info thanks!

 

Gotcha, yeah those Fluval U3's are very slick in tank filters!

You mentioned you're wanting an AQ110.

Here are some pics of mine, along with the ATI Filter-Max III that is on it....

AC110 media

• Islandvic
• Nov 15, 2018

AC110 sponge, polyfil, 100 micron pad, poly media pad cut from bulk roll, 1 liter of assorted...

AC110 back view of reservoir stuffed with media

• Islandvic
• Nov 15, 2018

AC110 Flow 1

• Islandvic
• Nov 15, 2018

ATI Filter Max III

• Islandvic
• Nov 15, 2018

ATI Filter Max III with Aquaclear 70/110 intake tube

ATI Filter Max III assembled

• Islandvic
• Nov 15, 2018

ATI Filter Max III pre-filter coarse sponge attached to Aquaclear 70/110 intake tube

 

That's great thanks!!

 

Wait a minute.

You have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and undetectable nitrates in the tank with the parrot currently in the tank? I'm really confused as to why you are freaking out about that.

What are you using as an ammonia source in the 60 gallon to cycle it?

Please ensure you are literally beating nitrate bottle #2. I hit mine on the counter 60 times instead of 60 seconds. The bottles are made of a tough plastic, mine has dents in the bottle corners within the first 10 tests.

As for the 60 gallon, you can add 2 ppm ammonia to the tank, dump in a bottle of tss+, and then add whatever dose of ammonia it took to get you to 2 ppm 2 days after adding the tss+. Wait a day and then start taking readings. Ensure you haven't added dechlorinator within 24 hours before adding the tss+.

If your ammonia and nitrite are 0 24 hours after adding the ammonia, add another dose up to get you to 2 ppm and then check ammonia and nitrite levels again. They will likely be at 0. At this point do a 100 percent water change, ensure ph and temp match the 29 gallon, and move the fish over. As long as the ph isn't more than .5 difference its close enough. Try and get the temps exactly the same.

 

I've never had nitrates levels of over 5ppm in a cycled tank in over 14 years. Most of the time my tanks test at 0ppm, no matter how long I go between water changes, and that was before I had live plants. It's not exactly normal, but it does happen and it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the tank.

 

I tested the water and everything is coming back close to 0, no ammonia, no nitrites or nitrates.

I'm having a hard time understanding what you mean. "Close to zero" and "zero" are miles apart when it comes to trying to decipher what's going on with your water during cycling. If you really show zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and zero nitrates, either you've never had fish in the tank or your test readings are off.

You do have to shake the #2 nitrate bottle for 30 seconds before adding the indicator solution, then shake the test tube with drops from bottles 1 and 2 for 60 seconds, then let it sit for five minutes. There's an urban legend that you have to violently smash the second nitrate bottle against a brick wall while wildly banging your head on a crossbeam or it won't work, but that's a hoax, albeit a pretty amusing one. I guess it won't hurt anything, I just wish folks would post YouTube videos of the process! LOL

I know some folks swear by bottled bacteria, but this is one reason I never use the stuff. It sends your test readings all wacky and you won't be able to tell what's going on with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in your tank. I like to see exactly what's going on so I can completely control it with water changes.

 

The nitrites and nitrates are at 0 and the ammonia is at .25ppm. The tank has been running since the beginning of September, one fish added on september 22 when the readings showed safe nitrate levels (can't remember exactly what it was at.)
I did test properly, with a timer as well. I'm just super confused with why it shows such odd levels.
I have a bunch of tanks all of them running since at least the summer.
Ive had weird readings on all but the betta tank, I let that one go longer without cleaning. The readings are 5.0ppm for nitrate and no ammonia or nitrites, the betta's are doing great.
I siphon/clean the tanks once a week, 20-30% water changes. I add Seachem Prime as well as the top fin Bacteria supplement. I usually test the water once a month which was not enough because I might have been able to see the problem before it got to this point.
I rinse/clean the ornaments every couple weeks as well, I never use soap of any kind and I never take out all the water or rocks.
I change the filter media every 6-8 weeks, but not the bio media.

Tanks I currently have:
10 g - 20 gallon aquaclear (no carbon - using sponges and bio media) - just mystery snails.
10 g - 20 gallon top fin filter (no carbon - using sponges and bio media fitted) - split tank with two betta's
10g - 20 g aqua clear (no carbon - using sponges and bio media) - 4 zebra danios, some molly fry (breeder cup)
3.5g - top fin little filter (no carbon - using sponges and bio media fitted) - two red rams horn snails and two nerite snails
29 g - 50 gallon aqua clear filter (no carbon - sponge and bio media) - just one blood red parrot cichlid
60 g - 50 g aqua clear filter (no carbon - sponge and bio media), Fluval U3 internal filter (being changed to another aqua clear when I can) - no fish presently on its second day of cycling

The 29 is the one in question in this post tho all of them have been off lately.

Wait a minute.

You have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and undetectable nitrates in the tank with the parrot currently in the tank? I'm really confused as to why you are freaking out about that.

What are you using as an ammonia source in the 60 gallon to cycle it?
.

The reason I was freaking out is because he was showing signs of stress and I couldn't detect any nitrates, so I thought that meant the cycle was thrown off. He doesn't have stress lines anymore and is acting normal..
I want to get the pure ammonia but need to find some in the stores around me. Currently I'm just "feeding" the tank.

 

That's good hes no longer showing signs of stress! The best thing I can say is to do what Wraithen said, dose with ammonia and then use tss. Its the fastest way to cycle a tank and I'm sure your fishy friend will be fine in his current tank for 2 more weeks

 

I can't seem to find any TSS that will ship to me! Some will ship to canada but none will shio to my town without $20 for the products and $30 for shipping, that is just too much... Is there another product similar? Or a way I can use just the ammonia?

 

I can't seem to find any TSS that will ship to me! Some will ship to canada but none will shio to my town without $20 for the products and $30 for shipping, that is just too much... Is there another product similar? Or a way I can use just the ammonia?

You can use just the ammonia, it will just take longer

 

I can't seem to find any TSS that will ship to me! Some will ship to canada but none will shio to my town without $20 for the products and $30 for shipping, that is just too much... Is there another product similar? Or a way I can use just the ammonia?

Dr Tim's one and only bacteria is on Amazon with free shipping

 

This is the test I just did on my 60 and just wanted some input. Is this on point for where I’m at in the cycle? Been 13 days now since I started.
Any advice?
Thanks again!!

 

Test your nitrites but that looks like a cycled tank of they come back 0

 

I just tested. It’s at 0! Yay! I used just ammonia in the tank. But added media and gravel from a ten gallon. Which had baby red ramshorn snails, I’ve been seeing them popping up here and there and moving them to my snail tank when I see them.
Is it safe to move my parrot fish now?

 

Thanks so much for the input! Means a lot!!