Evan Ganser

@ARMYVET @GameCzar @mommygourami Hey thanks everybody!! This forum really is a life saver and I appreciate everyone's input. A friend from work was actually saying he had some floaters that were taking up too much space in his community tank, so how perfect! But yeah as badly as I want to do something I just can't, so I am waiting and letting nature do it's thing. The tank looks really clear, which is really mean and deceiving btw haha, and I am waiting to see those ammonia levels drop... 3 days in to recycling the tank... so nothing happening yet lol 😅

That actually occurred to me early today! I was at work all day so I wasn't able to try and test the bacteria. It struck me while I was at work, "like crap... what if the bacteria are dead and I'm just adding ammonia to the tank and doing the exact opposite of what I am trying to do." The bacteria have been kept in the fridge, which I heard doubles their shelf-life. But upon doing some research, it seems like there isn't a lot of trusted bottled bacteria and I am pretty sure it's just the basic imagitarium nitrifying bacteria. So I am going to try what you said and dilute some bacteria into my RO water and give y'all an update. Edit** well I am delighted and equally frustrated to say it's not the bacteria. I diluted some into a 1/2 gal of RO water at the same ratio that I've been dosing her tank with and the test came back as 0ppm. So it's good that I'm not damaging my tanks with this stuff, but it doesn't solve the mystery haha. But yep I am in the waiting game now, I added some mulm and now I... do...... nothing 😅 not easy for me but ever since I got my first fish tank people have been telling me I am a more patient person 😂

I added root tabs when I added crypts to her tank a month ago. Just the regular root tabs that API makes, so I don't think that would be the case. But at this point I am not sure, so I'll look into anything lol

I'm wondering that too because I don't know where else the ammonia could be coming from. I was going to do one last water change today, so I'll make sure to clean the substrate really well also, and then I'll let the tank set for a week. Hopefully testing throughout the week will show that the ammonia is going away and the new beneficial bacteria is growing and doing its job.

I always learn so much whenever I post here, so I really appreciate it! But okay how exciting!! That means I get to go fish shopping today which is the best day ever haha. But you're spot on! I plan on having a total of 3 kuhlis in my 10 gal

Hmm okay thanks, this gives me a lot to think about. I am going to my local fish store today to fill up my RO water jugs and do some window shopping. I'll ask around there and see if they think they have a fish that would be suitable for my aquarium right now. But I'm thinking I just need to keep my betta in it a little longer and let the tank get more established. I hate how much waiting there is when it comes to this hobby 😅

Hey no dumb questions when it comes to trying to solve aquarium problems! I haven't tried a second ammonia test kit only because I use the same test kit with my other tanks. Additionally I was worried about the test kit being the issue so I tested the RO water that I purchase from my local fish store and it came back as 0ppm, so it doesn't appear to be the test kit itself. And for the substrate I am pretty sure we used imagitarium black aquatic substrate (I included a picture of what she bought). It is sand, so it is very fine.

Nitrites are at 0ppm and the nitrates have been testing around 10ppm. But I do have my betta in the tank currently, however I don't want to keep him out of his tank for longer than I have to. So maybe I should return him to his tank and replace him with some type of cleaner fish in the 10 gal.

If that's the case then I should just chill out and let the tank keep building up bacteria. I already have my betta in the tank and don't want to create any bio-overload issues. I could put my betta back in his tank and replace him with a kuhli, but the tank is probably better off just sitting for another week or so before I start adding different fish

@NanoNano Are you asking if she used cleaning products when she did the full tank cleaning? If so, then no she did not use any cleaning solutions. Just a sponge, that I exclusively use for tank maintenance, and tap water to rinse off the algae... which I wasn't too thrilled about but thought if the filter and heater were sufficiently dried then it wouldn't really matter that she used tap water to clean her tank equipment. It should be noted that she did not add any tap water to the tank or used tap water to clean the actual insides of the tank.

@Tihshho Okay good that is what I was hoping for! Do you think it is time to start adding fish to the tank? I've always wanted kuhli loaches and am wondering if the tank is stable enough to add a few

@Zenzo Good eye! She did have nerite snails in her tank at one point, but they ended up dying and have since been removed, so she hasn't had a nerite snail in her tank for probably 5 or 6 months at this point. She didn't know a lot about aquarium keeping in the beginning, so it has been problem after problem with this tank lol. Also it could be something in the substrate. But when I planted the crypts (about a month ago), I did a very thorough gravel cleaning and then added root tabs, so I figured if something was under the substrate I would have gotten it. But it is sand, so maybe there is something really packed down in there? But okay I'm going to try and do a bacteria dump and just leave it alone and see if the tank can self-correct itself. I am very ADHD and very hands on, so the hardest part about this hobby is just taking a step back and letting the tank do its thing.

Hey all, I just started a 10 gallon tank a little over 2 weeks ago. I had a filter sponge in one of my established tanks that I used to seed this new tank, added some anacharis and water sprite, and started the cycle going with small amounts of fish food. After about 2 weeks of daily water testing I noticed the ammonia levels reduced to almost 0 ppm and decided to add my betta in order to help get this tank fully cycled. When I woke up today (2 days after I added my betta to the 10 gal) I noticed the water almost had a yellowish tint to it and this orangish/brownish algae is starting to grow on everything. I am hoping this is just a diatom bloom, which would indicate my tank is at the end of the cycling process, but I figured I would post on here before I decide on anything. If this is just a diatom bloom, should I consider getting some type of cleaner fish and continue with the tank? If it is not a diatom bloom, then what is it and how deadly is it to my tank? Additional Info: Ammonia = 0 ppm. Nitrites = 0 ppm. Nitrates = 10 ppm. I also added a picture of the "algae" as reference

My girlfriend's tank was covered in algae and without asking me she did a full tank cleaning.... filter, gravel cleaning, new water, everything. This caused the nitrogen cycle to basically have to restart which has been incredibly frustrating. A few days after she cleaned her tank I did my usual weekly water test and noticed a really bad ammonia spike (like around 4.0 ppm, I'm not sure how her betta even survived). So I immediately removed her betta and placed him in my hospital tank while I tried to reestablish the bacteria in her tank. The day I noticed the ammonia spike I did a 50% water change and replaced her sponge filter with a sponge filter I had in my already established betta tank. And every day since I have been doing a 20%-25% water change and redosing with nitrifying bacteria to try and kick start the cycle. It has now been over 2 weeks since I removed her betta. The first week I noticed the ammonia levels dropping, but every day for the past week the ammonia levels have stayed consistent at around 0.75 ppm. I use RO water from a local fish store (tested to show 0 ppm ammonia), there isn't any fish or other living creature in the tank that could cause an ammonia build up, and I'm not putting any food or other source of organic material into the tank. So I am very confused as to why the ammonia levels are still so high and why the water changes seem to be doing virtually nothing. Additional Info: It is a planted tank with java fern and some crypts. The nitrites have consistently tested as 0 ppm (which indicates there isn't nitrifying bacteria present), but the nitrates show results anywhere from 5ppm-20ppm (indicating there is a source for nitrates somewhere... I don't suspect it to be from decaying plant materials cause her plants look great and there isn't any other organism or organic material in the tank, so the nitrates have to be produced from the nitrites?? which also doesn't make sense because over the last 2 weeks the nitrites have consistently tested at 0 ppm). I am out of ideas on how to get rid of the ammonia because daily water changes is not cutting it and a seeded filter media also didn't help with establishing the bacteria. So any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also I added a picture of her tank as reference.

Thank you so much @Candi!! I trimmed off the melted leaves and cleaned the plants up. Not only do the micro swords look better, but I have seen more growth in the one day after trimming them than I have seen since they've been in my tank! Looks like they're going to survive, thanks for the advice!!