Are these levels ok?

[Zoodiver]

Almost none of nitrifying bacteria lives in the water column. It lives on surfaces--mostly on the substrate & filter media but also on the glass & decor. Doing 90% water changes all day long, won't hurt the cycling process AT ALL. The most important thing right now, is to prevent these fish from being poisoned from their own waste.

What about J-P's idea of adding another established filter on there? That would add a ton of nitrifying bacteria to help out with the bioload.

Underlined part is correct. However, the rest is not. Doing large water changes disrupts the chemistry in the water, and prohibits the bacteria from growing as fast as possible. Not to mention drastically (and daily) chaning that much water adds stress to the fish. Something you are trying to avoid.

These fish show no signs of stress from the current water chemsitry. Let the process happen.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Discus breeders do 100-200% daily water changes. Myself, I do 90% weekly on my discus tanks. Again I stress--the most important thing is not to leave these puffers living in a toilet bowl. How is the chemistry changed in any way, if you are constantly bringing the water back to the pristine parameters of tap water?

 

[Bderick67]

Have to agree with pufferpunk here. ammonia/nitrite(especially 10ppm) are very bad. Doing water changes during cycling does not slow the cycle process at all.

 

[Pufferpunk]

http://www.**************.com/forum/library/water-filtration/aquariummicrobespart1/

 

[Zoodiver]

The self promoting of other website forums is a little overplayed.


The plain and simple fact is you don't want to do water changes to a cycling tank. It DOES have a negative impact, no matter what you guys/girls would like to say or link us to. It will draw it out longer, furthing the negative water chemistry we're trying to get these fish out of. I won't post a link to prove it, I'll tell you that from personal experience. Setting up new systems is part of my career and I'm very well versed in what does and doesn't work to get a tank (of any size) cycled.

 

[Industrial]

I agree not to go overboard with water changes. When my brackish tank crashed and had to recycle, I was doing 50% WCs daily. I lost all of my indian glassfish and a dragon goby, but my moray eel, knight gobies and larger dragon goby survived.

When WCing the tank, if the tank is already brackish, match the salinity of the water to .001 if you can. If not, a large water tank will stress the fish and the bacteria. Salinity in a tank should not change by more than .001 in a day or else you will have significant bacteria losses. Bacteria are more sensitive to fluctuating salinities than fish.

Also, prime is your friend. When I used prime daily with water changes twice a day, it seemed to stop nitrite poisoning temporarily.

Good luck! PS. wait until ammonia and nitrite reach 0 before feeding muscle to the fish. I would just feed them the FD brine, and very lightly!

 

[fishtex]

put an ad on craigslist asking for someone to help you out with some bb - cycled media and whatnot. Maybe someone out there in your area can help you out.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I'm done arguing with you goofs. That article was only linked to because the scientist who wrote it has 50+ years experience in this hobby & he knows what he's talking about. Those fish just can't sit in toxic water, waiting for the tank to cycle. It's overstocked & that just is never going to happen. I have a feeling the OP has gone on to a forum where she can get factual info about keeping puffers.

 

[Industrial]

I have a feeling the OP has gone on to a forum where she can get factual info about keeping puffers.

I did not see any information about pufferfish that was not accurate in this thread. However, it is a fact that without ammonia a tank will never cycle and that the only way that an uncycled tank is okay is if the OP has a flow-through system so there would be no need for BB.

To the OP. If the tank is not brackish yet (SG of less than 1.004), I suggest heading out to a LFS that uses sponge filters (many stores hide the sponge under the gravel you can tell it's a sponge filter from the uplift tube) and ask if they can squeeze the sponge in a bag for you so you can take that home. It will have beneficial bacteria in it and any knowledgeable employee will know that.

 

[Pufferpunk]

The tank has been running for over 2 months. It cannot establish enough bacteria to support the bioload of her overstocked tank. She cannot find any used media. Her best bet is to find a LFS to take those fish & stock the tank with more suitable inhabitants.