need some help/advice please

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skrilla

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 21, 2013
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hey guys sorry for the improper introduction but im freaking out right now and would like to settle this issue asap!


first off this is my setup

90 gal
live plants
2x Eheim 2217s
cheap temporary air stone


now after a month of cycling my parameters were at a steady 0/0/~30 with 4 guppies and a pleco living happily until i placed them back in my girlfriends tank. Being all excited i took my ass to the LFS and bought 7 juvenile RBPs ( wanted 5 but felt bad for the last 2) and took em home. 2 are 2-3 inches the rest are smaller. Upon research i came to the conclusion that their constant hiding and skittishness was normal and to be expected no problems there. Fed them bloodworms/brine and chunks of fresh tilapia i cut up into cubes. ive had them for 3 days now


now yesterday before bed i did a routine ammonia test and it jumped to .5 .75! I obviously panicked and did a 50% WC for safe measures. this morning tested again and its still at the same level. Whats going on? I absolutely love my fish and with the time and money i invested i was expecting things to go perfectly.. got the live plants, doubled my filtration.. everything i could think of cept a powerhead. I use stress coat in every bucket of new tap water i put in.. i honestly thought i was doing everything right

also not sure if worth mentioning but theres zero algae in my tank?


thanks guys any advice would be appreciated
 
IMO, 4 guppies and a Pleco is not alot of bio load on a 90 with your filtration. I think your tank may still be cycling. I agee with the water change. Keep on monitoring your params, and regular water changes. If your tank is still cycling, the ammonia should level out as your bio colonies mature.
 
wvance said:
IMO, 4 guppies and a Pleco is not alot of bio load on a 90 with your filtration. I think your tank may still be cycling. I agee with the water change. Keep on monitoring your params, and regular water changes. If your tank is still cycling, the ammonia should level out as your bio colonies mature.
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x2 just because a tank is "cycled" doesn't mean there is sufficent bacteria to handle more. feed lightly but frequently so no rotting food and test your water daily doing water changes to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels low but not untraceable ( your bacteria need to play catch-up and will do so fairly quick as long as there is food for them to grow) once your down to doing water changes to keep only your nitrates in line... your done cycling. it may take anywhere from a few weeks to monthes ( ime 4-6 weeks tops) the cycle is "slower" but the fish are not exposed to heavy levels of toxicity during this phase.

the other option is to return them and do a fishless cycle w/ a heavier bio-load.
 
well the tank supposedly cycled before the introduction of guppies

how did i end up with nitrates if the tank didnt fully cycle
 
if i have nitrates doesnt that mean my tank is cycled though? thats what i based myself off of..
 
It sounds like you have a spare tank lying around? Maybe get some of the bio-media from the tanks filter and add it to your P tanks filtration to help speed up the cycle a little bit...


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skrilla said:
if i have nitrates doesn't that mean my tank is cycled though? thats what i based myself off of..
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Yes, and no... it means you have a bacteria colony there.. its just not sufficent enough to handle the bio-load you added/replaced. hence why its reccomended once a tank is cycled to only add a few fish at a time as a general rule... it allows the bacteria to catch-up often undetected. Think of the bacteria as a living organism in and of itself.. the more food available the "larger" it can grow.. the less food the more it will "shrink" your filteration should be more then enough as per biological media ect to house enough bacteria to support your tank. But it needs to grow into it. It's not just "there" after the initial cycle.
 
All the info given above is correct. I would also add to use prime to detoxify the ammonia while it catches up and keep the fish safe. I also would like to mention that those rbp 's are probably going to kill your pleco eventually. Put the pleco in the spare tank. This will help your bio load and your pleco at the same time


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i have no place other place to put the pleco.. my only spare is my girlfriends fluval CHI ( or whatever its called) which is already overcrowded in my opinion. i thought they would eat him to but he swims around not really caring lol.. Ive seen one of them nip at him but thats it

also my tap water params are 0 ammonia and 6.5-7ish PH
 
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