Thought it was cycled

I have a 15 gal hex. I did a fish in cycle before learning all about it. I thought my cycle was finally finished because my readings were 0 or (or .25) on ammonia and nitrites, and probably 3 on nitrates. I’ve had it set up since early Jan. I have 1 betta that was introduced in early to mid Jan, a Pygmy Cory that was added last Saturday, and an anubias nano installed on Monday. I have a penguin bio wheel 125 filter. It has disposable filters, but I’ve never replaced it or even rinsed the one that’s in there. I checked my water using my api master test kit last night and my ammonia is at 1! (It has been 2 days since I had tested before, and it was .25 or less then). I changed 30% of the water, and this morning I tested again. I’m still at 1! No idea how that would happen. Maybe my tank wasn’t finished cycling? Nitrites are still at 0. Ph is 6.8. Temp is 81. Should I look into a different filter? I feel like my tank isn’t stocked enough to cause a spike like that. Maybe I don’t understand this as well as I thought I did! Oh, I should add that I added 30 drops of prime after my water change, and I do use aquarium salt, carefully measured, with the proper amount for the new water only.

 

Do daily water changes between 30-50% and only use Prime on new water before said new water is added to the tank. Prime shouldn’t be used in place of a water change. Once ammonia and nitrite reaches 0ppm then that’s a sign that the bacteria can deal with it. Daily water changes should be done when fish-in cycling so the bacteria can outcompete the ammonia and nitrite. By changing water it doesn’t remove any bacteria and it also keeps the pH and KH at equilibrium.

I don’t see how the filter is a problem. I’d stick with the one you’re using. Just do daily water changes with Prime to keep ammonia, nitrite and nitrate down and feed your fish only small amounts of food per feeding to reduce waste production.

 

Yes, I will definitely start doing water changes daily again. I went about a week or two without ammonia or nitrite. How will I know when the cycle is done?

 

How will I know when the cycle is done?

Once ammonia and nitrite are both at 0ppm and there is some nitrate (5-20ppm is considered safe). There is no bacteria to consume/convert nitrate and that’s why we do water changes even on cycled tanks.

 

Hmm. I did a water change on Saturday. How long do the levels stay at 0 to be considered cycled? My ammonia and nitrites had been 0 for a week or two (after about a 2 months of ups and downs and very frequent changes), so I thought I was safe to switch to weekly changes and every other day testing. But obviously now with this spike I need to start the frequent changes again in order to get it back down. I think I’m getting discouraged because I had thought it was done. Are the 2 fish causing the spike in a 15 gal tank? Do I need to start thinking about going larger?

 

Hmm. I did a water change on Saturday. How long do the levels stay at 0 to be considered cycled? My ammonia and nitrites had been 0 for a week or two (after about a 2 months of ups and downs and very frequent changes), so I thought I was safe to switch to weekly changes and every other day testing. But obviously now with this spike I need to start the frequent changes again in order to get it back down. I think I’m getting discouraged because I had thought it was done. Are the 2 fish causing the spike in a 15 gal tank? Do I need to start thinking about going larger?

Remember to do 30-50% daily. The fish poo provides a constant source of ammonia to the tank but the bacteria isn’t ready to control it all and keep it at 0ppm at this point in the cycle. I’d feel confident that the ammonia/nitrite is under control if I do just one test that reads 0ppm. For now just keep monitoring the progress with tests as you change the water each day. Are you using a drip test kit? Don’t use test strips because they usually give false readings.

I don’t think you need to go larger. As long as you do water changes daily and only stop changing daily once the ammonia and nitrite are both at 0ppm you should make it. If you ever want to add more fish then only add a two to three fish at a time and wait around a week until you add more.

When I was doing a fish-in cycle one time I made the mistake of not changing the water every day and I had to put the fish in another tank and continue doing the cycle fishless. When doing a fishless cycle you have to add a source of ammonia yourself to keep the bacteria fed but for now we’ll focus on fish-in cycling seeing as that’s what you’re doing.

 

I’m frustrated because I thought I was finally done with the daily changes. Obviously not. I wish this cycle was done already like I thought it was!

 

I’m frustrated because I thought I was finally done with the daily changes. Obviously not. I wish this cycle was done already like I thought it was!

Just follow my advice.

If you ask other people for help on fish-in cycling they’ll likely say the same things. I wish the best for you and your fish!

 

Just follow my advice.

If you ask other people for help on fish-in cycling they’ll likely say the same things. I wish the best for you and your fish!

Thanks!