Newly Set Up Tanks, Ammonia Spiked?

Hello, so I had recently setup the 75G tank I had for my flowerhorn to be in, and used her tank for some shell dwellers that is a 30G tank.

In both tanks I used new sand substrate that I rinsed for hours on hours. The sand is cleared down a good amount.

I'm using a Fluval C4 for the 30G tank, and a Fluval Aqua Clear 110 and a Sponge for the 75G tank which all has already established Biological Media.

My 30G is at 79°F with a PH at 8.2 and ammonia at .50ppm.

My 75G is at 79°F with a PH at 8.2 and ammonia at .25ppm.

Should I do any water changes in either of these tanks? Or let it ride and let the cycle do its thing?

I'm sure its a small cycle that its going through which is strange even with all the Biological Media.

 

Any ammonia is bad so I would try to get that down to zero as quick as possible if you have fish in there. I once had an ammonia spike and it wiped out half my tank, so be careful

 

Most fish will survive an ammonia level of 0.5 ppm, but you definitely do not want it to get any higher. Fish-in tank cycling is normally done using inexpensive, hardy fish, not prized fish like a flowerhorn.

The toxicity of ammonia is also highly dependent on the pH. At a pH below 7.0, the ammonia will be in the ammonium ion state which is far less toxic. If the pH is above 7.5, it will primarily be toxic ammonia.

You might want to consider using a product such as Seachem Prime or API Ammo-Lock to detoxify the ammonia until the bacteria multiply to a level sufficient to consume it.

You need to feed your fish, but try to feed the bare minimum. The more you feed them, the more waste they will produce and the higher the ammonia will spike.

 

If you have any larger fish you could put feeder fish in there then feed them once it looks good

 

You’ll still need a solid 3-4 weeks after seeding a new filter, it isn’t instant. Water changes will be needed for quite a bit through the Am and Nitrite stage.

You could speed it up very quickly with Dr. Tim one and only, or my preferred Fritzyme 700 Turbostart. If you can’t afford the turbo start (and overnight shipping that goes with it), just get Fritzyme 700, it’s the same thing just diluted.

 

Any ammonia is bad so I would try to get that down to zero as quick as possible if you have fish in there. I once had an ammonia spike and it wiped out half my tank, so be careful

Should I do a water change?

Most fish will survive an ammonia level of 0.5 ppm, but you definitely do not want it to get any higher. Fish-in tank cycling is normally done using inexpensive, hardy fish, not prized fish like a flowerhorn.

The toxicity of ammonia is also highly dependent on the pH. At a pH below 7.0, the ammonia will be in the ammonium ion state which is far less toxic. If the pH is above 7.5, it will primarily be toxic ammonia.

You might want to consider using a product such as Seachem Prime or API Ammo-Lock to detoxify the ammonia until the bacteria multiply to a level sufficient to consume it.

You need to feed your fish, but try to feed the bare minimum. The more you feed them, the more waste they will produce and the higher the ammonia will spike.

Used prime when I topped off the tank with new water. The ph is 8.2 in both tanks.

You’ll still need a solid 3-4 weeks after seeding a new filter, it isn’t instant. Water changes will be needed for quite a bit through the Am and Nitrite stage.

You could speed it up very quickly with Dr. Tim one and only, or my preferred Fritzyme 700 Turbostart. If you can’t afford the turbo start (and overnight shipping that goes with it), just get Fritzyme 700, it’s the same thing just diluted.

The bio has been in the tanks prior for months.

The Biological Media has been established for months. I only topped off both the tanks roughly 60% new water. The rest was from there prior tanks.

I'm wondering if I should let the cycle continue or do a small water change to get the ammonia down a little. But not effect the mini cycle.

 

Should I do a water change?


Used prime when I topped off the tank with new water. The ph is 8.2 in both tanks.


The bio has been in the tanks prior for months.

But it is not cycled. You have ammonia. If you have ammonia for more than a day or so it will most likely build. And there will be nitrites.

The tank is cycling. Treat as if you’re doing a fish in cycle.

 

But it is not cycled. You have ammonia. If you have ammonia for more than a day or so it will most likely build. And there will be nitrites.

The tank is cycling. Treat as if you’re doing a fish in cycle.

So don't do any water changes? Or do a very light one?

 

The Biological Media has been established for months. I only topped off both the tanks roughly 60% new water. The rest was from there prior tanks.

I'm wondering if I should let the cycle continue or do a small water change to get the ammonia down a little. But not effect the mini cycle.

Yes, you are going through a mini cycle. As long as the ammonia doesn't go any higher than it is right now I would just let it do its thing. The ammonia should clear out fairly quick. If it goes above .5 I would get it back down by dong a water change. since you used seeded media you really shouldn't get a nitrite spike.

 

Checked again. Ammonia went down to .25ppm which I know on our charts off of our other tanks could potentially be 0

 

Is she already in there? And are you the person who made the post about your flowerhorns scales? Sorry it might be the way I’m reading it but it’s unclear if she is in the cycling tank

 

Fish-in cycle -

Easiest way to do a fish in cycle is to make the Am and Ni nontoxic to fish, by adding Prime. Especially because your PH is so high.

I would add Prime every 24 hours as long as Am or Ni is present until cycled.

Don’t let Am get above 1.0 and Ni .25...but really any Ni. If either of these get above this threshold, do a water change with Prime.

Repeat until cycled.

 

Is she already in there? And are you the person who made the post about your flowerhorns scales? Sorry it might be the way I’m reading it but it’s unclear if she is in the cycling tank

yes she's in the tank already her tank is at 0.25ppm if not lower by now. Because the 30G was at .50ppm but is now at 0.25ppm which also might be 0 because our other tanks sometimes look like .25ppm but in reality its 0 because they never go up and we had 0 issues with fish and we had the tanks running for longer than a year.

Fish-in cycle -

Easiest way to do a fish in cycle is to make the Am and Ni nontoxic to fish, by adding Prime. Especially because your PH is so high.

I would add Prime every 24 hours as long as Am or Ni is present until cycled.

Don’t let Am get above 1.0 and Ni .25...but really any Ni. If either of these get above this threshold, do a water change with Prime.

Repeat until cycled.

Got it thank you so much for the helpful information!!

 

Should I do a water change?


Used prime when I topped off the tank with new water. The ph is 8.2 in both tanks.


The bio has been in the tanks prior for months.

The Biological Media has been established for months. I only topped off both the tanks roughly 60% new water. The rest was from there prior tanks.

I'm wondering if I should let the cycle continue or do a small water change to get the ammonia down a little. But not effect the mini cycle.

Although your media from the established tank contains enough beneficial bacteria to seed the cycle in the new tank, it does not have enough to complete the cycle. In a fully cycled tank, there will be bacteria on every surface of the tank: on the glass, filter intake tube, filter box, filter media, heater tube, substrate, rocks, driftwood, decorations, plants, etc. Thus, when you remove the filter media from one tank for use in another, you are only removing a portion of the beneficial bacteria in that tank. It will still take several weeks for the beneficial bacteria in the filter media to multiply and spread to the remainder of the tank. Only then is it fully cycled.

The presence of any ammonia or nitrite in the tank tells you that the cycle is not complete. When they cycle is complete, you will get zero readings on the ammonia and nitrite tests for several days in a row. Until the, you will need to control ammonia and nitrite levels by doing water changes and adding an ammonia binder. Since the pH in your tank is high, all of the ammonia will be present in the toxic ammonia state making it even more important that you keep concentrations under control.. Once the cycle is complete, you will still need to do water changes to prevent the nitrate concentration from getting too high.