Zero nitrite but high ammonia and nitrate

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
How dangerous is it introducing fish before the cycle is completed?I think that's the boat I will be in. I plan using bottled ammonia and seachem.
Ill stop with the ammonia when I get my fish.
 
Depends on general size of the tank and fish. Assuming it's a relatively large tank compared to the size of fish the amount of water will generally off set the potency of nitrites until they become much more harmless nitrates. If your putting a big Waste machine you'll want to do a water change while nitrates build up so they don't become too toxic for your fish. The issue of that is that it upsets the natural flow of the cycle and drags it out, risking resetting the cycle or causing a minicycle from ammonia to nitrites again. For obvious reasons that is not ideal so it's much easier to do the cycle completely fish-less. It can be fairly safe to use a small fish in addition to the bottled stuff to create more nitrite destroying bio. This will allow you to add more fish when the cycle is finished without worrying about having to build up more. It's important to note that you should not water change when the nitrates are below a toxic level. What that number is to some is different to others, I've seen 20ppm-60ppm so I choose the middle ground. If you change when nitrates hit a low number like 10-20 you will be changing out nitrites that will also slow the cycle like mentioned earlier. There is a good bit of leeway so as long as you keep a cool head about and don't bite off more than you can chew, the danger is quite minimal. Seeded filter media will always jump start the process as well, having nitrite eating bio present really lowers the stress on the fish.

And when I say fish I don't mean you can only have one, I'm just a bit of a cichlid guy so I don't like to push my luck. Smaller peaceful fish can be taken in a pretty large number because waste output is minimal.


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Hmm... Unfortunately it's a relatively small tank, 40 gallons. On 3/14 I will be picking up seven 3" Discus. The original plan was a 75 gallon, but yesterday while sterilizing it I found it leaks. So temporarily I'm working with a 40. Right now it's drying out, I sterilized it. Tomorrow I'll set it up with a sponge filter and AC110.
Thanks for your help also :)
 
If you use the bottled stuff you may or may not be cycled by then, I've had mixed results. Using preseeded media should make it close enough. If you have an ac 110 already you can mix bio, or put stuff like seeded ceramic rings in and skip filter floss in favor of sponge. I'm not sure if there is anyway to make sponge filters cycle more quickly, I'm guessing it won't be an issue anyway. With seeded bio I cycled a couple of sponge filters in a 40 with sseachem stability and additional ammonia in about a week and a half I think. That's a pretty decent sized bioload so you may want to overdo the ammonia if you haven't already started the process. As long as your water doesn't smell like a public restroom it shouldn't be an issue as long as no fish are in yet. I would start with a bottle of stability and household ammonia, or another ammonia source, and then not touch the tank until the day you pick the fish up. Do a big water change the night before/day of and you should be okay. You can't really have to much nitrifying bacteria, so it's better to shoot for more than you need. After the fish settle in more will grow, or some will die off depending on the waste output. As long as you get the ball rolling soon I don't think there will be an issue, just monitor the water heavily when they arrive. I have no experience with discus so I can't say for certain that they won't be more difficult to plan for, but water quality should be okay by then. Crank the heat up on the tank too, and give lots of air, good bacteria will thrive in these conditions.

Answering your questions makes the insomnia easier heh. Someone more experienced will probably wake up and be able to provide more help as well.


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Sweet man, I already feel better about this. While I do have mature media I guess I could pull from my established tank, the whole reason I went with new filters and sterilization of my tank is out of fear of transferring bugs to my "delicate" Discus.
 
True that, you shouldn't need it but it helps. People say a lot of good things to say about stability and my experience wasn't bad. I'm sure you'll be alright as long as you don't wait to start cycling with only a week left.


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Well, I know Im cutting it close.. I know once I have the fish, I'll be doing lots of water changes, hopefully I don't hinder the cycle too much by doing that.
 
If you overdo it now it might save you some time, I think I've read people saying they are fully cycled in a week as well. If you keep up in changes afterwards it should work itself up, even if it has to do it slowly.


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That sounds sound lol! :D
I'll get it set up, and ask more questions.These are my first Discus, I've never dropped so much $$ on fish, only to catch a few snags before I even get the fish, I'm kinda stressed out. Thanks again!
 
The price tag and worries of discus are a bit intimidating for me at present, so I've collected a number of severum instead. I'm sure once you get your ducks in a row and sit back to watch the fish you will be able to relax. Until you decide to test the water and do a water change every few hours anyway haha. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be happy with it after you get the stressful bits out of the way.


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