New tank cycle confusion

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fishfanatic80

fishfanatic80

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 7, 2011
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Long island
Hi mfk, I come to you guys with a problem I'm having. I wanted to give my chili rasboras a little bit more room so I went out and bought a used 6 gallon eheim aqua style. I transferred them from my fluval spec into the newly established aquarium and added seachem stability along with some filter media from the old tank. The next morning I wake up and they had all died. I tested the water and everything was 0 ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. I'm assuming if the water was bad I'd have high ammonia spike. I'm also thinking since stability is a dormant bacteria it might not have had enough time to activate. Now I go out and I buy a bottle of dr tims active bacteria thinking it will instantly cycle the tank and I add 4 pea puffers. I wake yet again to see them dead. I tested the water and the ammonia is a .25 a shade greener then 0. Was that enough to kill the fish? How should I continue? What is the best way to continue to cycle tank? Since there's traces of ammonia the tank cycle has already begun correct? Now should I wait till everything goes back to 0 to add fish? Should I do a water change?
 
fishfanatic80 said:
Hi mfk, I come to you guys with a problem I'm having. I wanted to give my chili rasboras a little bit more room so I went out and bought a used 6 gallon eheim aqua style. I transferred them from my fluval spec into the newly established aquarium and added seachem stability along with some filter media from the old tank. The next morning I wake up and they had all died. I tested the water and everything was 0 ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. I'm assuming if the water was bad I'd have high ammonia spike. I'm also thinking since stability is a dormant bacteria it might not have had enough time to activate. Now I go out and I buy a bottle of dr tims active bacteria thinking it will instantly cycle the tank and I add 4 pea puffers. I wake yet again to see them dead. I tested the water and the ammonia is a .25 a shade greener then 0. Was that enough to kill the fish? How should I continue? What is the best way to continue to cycle tank? Since there's traces of ammonia the tank cycle has already begun correct? Now should I wait till everything goes back to 0 to add fish? Should I do a water change?
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It is very possible for the fish to be killed by .25ppm ammonia, always keep in mind that a 0 reading of nitrates is a sign that aquarium has not completely cycled.
 
Not sure why all those fish died, but it sounds like toxicity. Perhaps something in the new set-up is contaminated with a chemical residue. I would recommend rewashing everything(tank, décor, filters, etc).

When a tank is cycled, only ammonia and nitrite will be 0. There will always be some amount of nitrate, and the only practical way to bring down nitrate is through water changes.
 
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tlindsey said:
It is very possible for the fish to be killed by .25ppm ammonia, always keep in mind that a 0 reading of nitrates is a sign that aquarium has not completely cycled.
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I would say it's possible, but very very unlikely. .25 ppm of ammonia is what anyone who has chloramine in their tap will read. I agree that the tank should be thoroughly cleaned. Also, make sure you have good surface agitation, and make sure you don't have any electrical shorts by inspecting all of the equipment.
 
I vote some type of toxicity as well. with a bottle of stability those fish should not have succumbed to ammo poisoning, especially at .25.
 
I've been saying it forever, and I'll say it again: bottled bacteria is snake oil. Your fish tank is a living eco system and it takes time for beneficial bacteria to properly colonize. Your rasboras probably died from sheer stress during the move. Chili rasboras are very sensitive fish.
 
shookONES said:
I've been saying it forever, and I'll say it again: bottled bacteria is snake oil. Your fish tank is a living eco system and it takes time for beneficial bacteria to properly colonize. Your rasboras probably died from sheer stress during the move. Chili rasboras are very sensitive fish.
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I used old filter media from my tank as well, tonight im gonna wash the tank out throughly maybe add new water. I used ro water to set up the tank so the ammonia is definitely coming from fish. How would you guys cycle the tank successfully? Should I leave everything that's in the tank alone and hope it's continuing to cycle. I'll do a water change after work
 
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