Stability, Ammonia and cycling question

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Sac Fury

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2011
35
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Sacramento.Ca.
Need quick advice. Day seven using stability on my 240 freshwater. I have been adding correct dose each day. I have had zero ammonia and nitrite everyday. I added arowana, tsa (both 10 inch) and 5 inch gt, 5 inch soft shell turtle on second day. yesterday I added my 6 inch red devil and 5 inch 5 star general. Feedingn everyother day light amount....today Ammonia is at .50 per API test kit Nitrite is zero. due I have a problem and need to water change? please advise!!!
Thanks!!!
 
First question is do you have nitrates? If not then you tank is not cycled, if you do then, I don't see it as a real serious problem, but from what I understand you always want your ammonia and nitrites at 0, so yes i'd say its time for a partial water change. Depending on what your nitrates are at would determine how much water I would change. For instanc,e if nitrates are above 80, id change at least 50% of the water but if nitrates are about 20-50, a 30% water change should clear up the amonnia issue. Just my opinion.
 
Hello,
my nitrates are zero. It's a new tank.On day 7 with stability...So do you think I am ok iwth a 30% wc or should I move my fish back into my old tank? The fish look fine. again this is the first day I had any Ammonia at all and it looks between 0.25 and 0.50 on the api test kit.
Thank you for the response!!!
 
Okay, i would move my fish back to the old tank, becasue you have no nitrate, which means your tank is probably not cycled. For the process to start and be complete, you should have ammonia which you have, then a bacterial eats the ammonia, turning it into nitirtes which you have, then another type bacterial eats the nitrites and turns it into nitrates, which you don't have. So the end results you should have some nitrates. Having said all that again you tank does not appear to be cycled, but appears to be starting the the cycle process. And since it is not cycled, do not change the water, you need to leave it and find a way to feed the bacterial more along with adding more stability if you trying to do a fishless cycle.
 
Did you have any ammonia source when using the stability? Are any of your filters seeded, if you have an old tank and multiple filters on it try moving it over to your new tank, or maybe substrate.

As great as stability is you are adding some pretty big fish to a lot of water and it does have limits.
 
mitchb said:
Did you have any ammonia source when using the stability? Are any of your filters seeded, if you have an old tank and multiple filters on it try moving it over to your new tank, or maybe substrate.

As great as stability is you are adding some pretty big fish to a lot of water and it does have limits.
Click to expand...

what are the limits? it seemed to work for me, i added alot of fish from the start and have zero ammonia even with pretty good size feedings
 
clekchau said:
what are the limits? it seemed to work for me, i added alot of fish from the start and have zero ammonia even with pretty good size feedings
Click to expand...

Yes I have cycled 120 gallon tank. However I have those small worms that look like hair...and did not want to transfer to new 240 tank. I thought stability woruld do the trick and added my fish slowly... I will take some ceramic media out of my cycled tank and place into the new sumps working for the 240. I just thought I would be safe as I did the exact dose as per the stability...
also will lowlevel ammonia kill my fish? I just did 20 % water change
Thanks!
 
An ammonia level of .5 will not kill your fish.

The problem will be if it keeps rising due to the tank not being cycled. Best thing to do is transfer the ceramic media, test and keep doing water changes so it doesn't spike any higher.
 
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