A while ago, the two goldfish I posted about died from being sucked into the filter. I drained the aquarium and after a while I filled it back up and started cycling. Two weeks in, I went on a family trip and added extra ammonia so the bacteria wouldn't die. There was .25 ammonia left when I got back. I dosed it back up and for a week it's been at 4 PPM. I haven't added ammonia at all so what's going on? I have a bunch of fish food on the bare bottom that's breaking down pretty quickly. I also have lava rock that bubbled for a bit when I put it in.
Cycle Stalled What To Do?
- Thread starter imabot
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I can't really follow the OP. I had to guess when things happened and what amounts were used. I have to even guess what was used since you say you added both ammonia and fish food. But when were they each added?
So, my guess is that since you have "a bunch of fish food on the bare bottom" in a tank that was likely uncycled, that you created a bacterial bloom which depleted the oxygen enough to kill off or severely deplete the BB. There could also have been drastic changes in pH which inhibited the BB.
But that's a guess.
So, my guess is that since you have "a bunch of fish food on the bare bottom" in a tank that was likely uncycled, that you created a bacterial bloom which depleted the oxygen enough to kill off or severely deplete the BB. There could also have been drastic changes in pH which inhibited the BB.
But that's a guess.
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I added the fish food on the 20th (around 3 weeks ago) and the ammonia around the 24th. i put a pretty generous amount which has been halved by now. I have noticed the water has a greenish tinge (algae probably). I'm going to do a 50 percent water change in the morning when my dad leaves for work because my dad thinks that it's useless and won't let me do it right now. Guess that shows education doesn't equal common sense..
hello; I hesitated to join in this thread because the challenge to follow the situation may be difficult, but here goes.
Hello; I think you are asking why the ammonia is still around? My guess being that the bb are not yet established for some reason.
Hello; may I ask why you added fish food to rot when you already have liquid ammonia on hand? My suggestion being to vac out all the rotting fish food and use the ammonia only.
Hello; I like these guesses as they may explain why the bb colonies have not established.
hello; you may also want to turn off the lights. Perhaps also clean out any filters that were running while the fish food was rotting. Change out all the water, just remember to add back some ammonia.
I haven't turned on the lights at all. I'm guessing the algae gets light because it's in the living room which has it's lights turned on a lot.
I added the flakes because I wanted to keep the ammonia levels up until I got ammonia.
A vacuuming of the fish flakes and a large (90%) water change is basically what I need to do tomorrow right? I also will rinse out the prefilter sponge.
When i did my fishless cycle i dosed pure ammonia at 4 ppm. They entire process took 4-5 weeks to complete. As stated above if you’re adding pure ammonia to your setup, there is no need for putting food in to create ammonia. Plus since you just completely cleaned out your tank and started fresh i wouldn’t want to pollute it with food that will eventually find a crack or crevice in the tank or filter and get stuck there. I dosed at 4ppm and usually waited for it to hit about 1-2ppm before dosing more ammonia. I tested the water with a liquid test kit at morning and night to closely monitor the ammonia levels and also to see how far along the cycle was. Doing a fishless cycle takes patience but is rewarding knowing that your fish can be added and you have no worries about New tank syndrome. Also, make sure you have enough bio media to support your bacteria colonies.
I’m going to go with no. What size aquarium is it? What type of filter? I apologize if you’ve stated this already. For instance I have 4 of these bags of lava rock in my sump plus ceramic rings, seashells, and a sponge filter to support the Beneficial Bacteria colonies in my 40 gallon sump. Is it over kill? Yes but I’d rather over do it than risk my tank going into a mini cycle because my fish have outgrown the colonies
