Tank levels good...fish dying?my pbass...

[gangster]

So id imagine id pull out my plants as well..And how much do I add? After the 2 weeks what am I doing...an big w/c? Update me guys...im up for it. What would this cost me roughly?

 

[zennzzo]

So id imagine id pull out my plants as well..And how much do I add? After the 2 weeks what am I doing...an big w/c? Update me guys...im up for it. What would this cost me roughly?

First off forget the 2 weeks!!
You need to have faith in your HONEST test results...
It's like you want this to cycle so bad you are willing to forego the nessasary steps...forget a time frame for now, you will only know how long it took to do after it is done...
Everybody wants their tank to be cycled, it's essential to healthy fish keeping, but there is NO shortcut...

Plants, fish, out...Everything you are going to put in there like decor, put in now...

 

[alleykat0498]

So id imagine id pull out my plants as well..And how much do I add? After the 2 weeks what am I doing...an big w/c? Update me guys...im up for it. What would this cost me roughly?

If you've already got the test kits for ammo nitrite and nitrate, the pure ammonia cost me about 97 cents a gallon I think and I've cycled 4 tanks with it. I dosed my tank up to 5 ppm ammonia and then tested 24 hours later, if ammonia was still higher than .05 ppm I would dose it back up to five again. After about a week of carrying on like this I would cut back to dosing the tank up to about 2 ppm and start measuring nitrites, these should be really really high by then. continue dosing the ammo to 2 ppm until you get a reading that says 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite and do huge water change like 50-65 % these are just the methods that I have used and a short description of how I have cycled tanks in less than three weeks.... good luck and happy monster keeping.

 

[gangster]

Cant afford no 120 dollars for 120 gallons worth of pure ammonia...Might be better off just letting it be and do its thing?

 

[alleykat0498]

First off forget the 2 weeks!!
You need to have faith in your HONEST test results...
It's like you want this to cycle so bad you are willing to forego the nessasary steps...forget a time frame for now, you will only know how long it took to do after it is done...
Everybody wants their tank to be cycled, it's essential to healthy fish keeping, but there is NO shortcut...

Plants, fish, out...Everything you are going to put in there like decor, put in now...

The two weeks was just an estimate, and it has taken some people as long as six months to stabalize poorly cycled systems... Zennz is giving good advice and I'll leave it at that.

 

[alleykat0498]

Cant afford no 120 dollars for 120 gallons worth of pure ammonia...Might be better off just letting it be and do its thing?

Nah your only gonna need the one gallon of unscented white (clear) ammonia. If the ingredients say anything other than ammonia and water, dont use it. An easy way to test the ammonia is to shake the bottle and if it bubble's, or foams like soap its not the one you want.

 

[zennzzo]

Use 5 drops per gallon
120 gal x 5 drops = 600 drops or 30 ml.=1/8th cup,
do this every day, you should be getting an Ammonia reading.
Zero NitrItes,
zero Nitrates...
continue this till you get a NitrIte reading.

When you do,
Start putting 3 drops per gallon
120 x 3 = 360 drops = 18 ml. = 1 1/4 tablespoon daily
till your Ammonia and NitrItes are at zero...
then you should see Ammonia 0 / Nitrites 0 / NitrAtes 20-40ppm

Do a 50% W/C adjust the temp, quit with the Ammonia drops and add your fish...
you are now cycled...

 

[gangster]

Sweet....thanks a ton zennz. Should I even mess w/ my temp or just leave it at it's current 84. Now my only problem is gettin my raphaels out of my fake log.

 

[zennzzo]

Sweet....thanks a ton zennz. Should I even mess w/ my temp or just leave it at it's current 84. Now my only problem is gettin my raphaels out of my fake log.

Bacteria flourishes over 80f, so yeah leave it there at 84degrees...
Tell ya what...drain the tank if it will help you get the Cats out...
Add your declorinator (stresscoat/prime) whatever you use, and fill it back up... then add your 1/8th cup Pure Ammonia,
take a reading and post it here...

 

[gangster]

When I drained the tank I left that fake log outta water for a good 3 minutes and they still wouldnt come out.....Maybe I'll pull it out and stick it in a tub w/ water from my 55g after a w/c.