laritheloud Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 (edited) Update: Changed the water today, cleaned up the tank, did some substrate-vaccing around the plants, rinsed off residue from my tank decor and rocks in dechlorinated water, and everything is looking pretty good. Diamond Tetra boy's face isn't 'normal'-looking yet, but he's eating, schooling, and behaving like a normal tetra. No other signs of disease in any of his tank mates, save for a tiny bit of a swollen eye in one of the females (it's really minor and hard to see unless you're looking for it, I'm thinking she bonked it on something -- only on one side and again, acting normal). I'm taking a wait-and-see approach now and hopefully he'll continue to improve without further treatment! Edited April 18, 2021 by laritheloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 (edited) Morning Update! I'm checking water parameters after a water change and I'm seeing 0.25 ppm Ammonia. Nitrite is still zero but I'm worried I'm starting to see a slight color change in the light blue. Last night when I changed the water, I swirled all my media in dechlorinated tap water and algae-sponged the rocks and other decor. I added prime to the water (a full cap for a 29 gallon), added a carbon filter to my HOB Aquaclear 50, added a full dose of Seachem stability, and fed them a light snack afterwards. I have not fed them today yet. Should I continue to dose Prime and Stability daily? When should the parameters worry me? Will the cycle recover quickly??? Edited April 18, 2021 by laritheloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 If you seeing ammonia do small daily water changes of 25% and keep adding prime and stability till your ammonia levels go back to zero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 Thanks, @Colu. I'll change out some more of the water tonight and add more prime/stability. I'm keeping a close eye on water parameters in the meantime. Hopefully it bounces back quickly! I'll change the feeding schedule to light feedings every other day until parameters are back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 Another quick question, since I added Prime last night, these levels are still detectable but not toxic to my fish, is that correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Yes when you add prime it will detoxify the ammonia and nitirte for 24hr it will still be detectable on your test kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 52 minutes ago, Colu said: Yes when you add prime it will detoxify the ammonia and nitirte for 24hr it will still be detectable on your test kit Thank you again for your patience and helpfulness. Fingers crossed that this doesn't spike horrifically and it won't last too long. I'll do another water change tonight and continue to add prime and stability. Switching to very light feedings for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 (edited) Nitrates increasing throughout the day (from 5 ppm to 10ppm), nitrites approaching 0.25, ammonia around 0.25-0.5. At least I'm seeing some cycling activity. I'll go ahead with the water change and prime/stability dosing. Is the activated carbon in my filter affecting my cycle at all, since it's absorbed the leftover antibiotics? I feel very silly asking these questions, but I'm trying to cover all my bases. Edited April 20, 2021 by laritheloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 47 minutes ago, laritheloud said: Nitrates increasing throughout the day (from 5 ppm to 10ppm), nitrites approaching 0.25, ammonia around 0.25-0.5. At least I'm seeing some cycling activity. I'll go ahead with the water change and prime/stability dosing. Is the activated charcoal in my filter affecting my cycle at all, since it's absorbed the leftover antibiotics? I feel very silly asking these questions, but I'm trying to cover all my bases. I don't use it but it shouldn't effect your cycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 20, 2021 Author Share Posted April 20, 2021 Current water parameters: Ammonia 0.25 - 0.5 (it's SO HARD to read the difference between these colors) Nitrite 0 Nitrate around 10 to 20 Still dosing Stability (and Prime as needed). I skipped a water change last night to see how this goes. Ammonia has never ebbed up past 0.25/0.5, I have started feeding once per day. If ammonia ebbs up further tonight I'll change the water again. Fish don't appear to be stressed or struggling, and the fish with the fungus is continuing to heal. The waiting game to make sure my cycle is back and fully functioning is extremely nerve-wracking! This was why I did a fishless cycle! 🤪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 23, 2021 Author Share Posted April 23, 2021 It's been a little less than a week and my ammonia levels have dropped to between 0 and 0.25 (not quite matching the green of .25 but not quite the yellow of 0). I'm holding off on dosing prime and I'll check levels again before going to bed, but I'm feeling optimistic. Levels were steady at 0.5 ppm for the majority of the week, even after water changes! I water changed last night, fed rather generously this morning and this is where we're at. Hoping we're nearly back to a stable tank. Fingers crossed! Out of curiosity, I did check my water hardness levels and they dropped 2 degrees each, 10 dGH and 10 dKH. Interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 Nevermind, I chickened out and dosed Prime just as a safety net. I don't trust ammonia with my high Ph! Fingers crossed that ammonia will cycle out soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 My fish are doing well, and ammonia has dropped back to zero with once-daily feedings. Nitrites are just barely elevated (the color doesn't match a straight 0 but it's too light for 0.25 ppm), but I'm thinking since Ammonia is 0 again that should cycle out pretty fast. Hopefully that's that, I can let my quarantine tank cycle, and everything is getting back to an equilibrium. Does anyone know when or if I should panic and do another water change with regard to nitrites? I have both test strips and the API master test kit, and the test strips say 'stress' levels of nitrite start at 1. Is that accurate? Should I dose with Seachem Prime again tonight just to be safe, or let it go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 4 hours ago, laritheloud said: My fish are doing well, and ammonia has dropped back to zero with once-daily feedings. Nitrites are just barely elevated (the color doesn't match a straight 0 but it's too light for 0.25 ppm), but I'm thinking since Ammonia is 0 again that should cycle out pretty fast. Hopefully that's that, I can let my quarantine tank cycle, and everything is getting back to an equilibrium. Does anyone know when or if I should panic and do another water change with regard to nitrites? I have both test strips and the API master test kit, and the test strips say 'stress' levels of nitrite start at 1. Is that accurate? Should I dose with Seachem Prime again tonight just to be safe, or let it go? I would dose with prime again just to be on the safe side 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Just now, Colu said: I would dose with prime again just to be on the safe side Definitely doesn't hurt. I'm just relieved my ammonia is back to being in control, and I can move on! 😉 Let my mystery snail have a little blanched zucchini this morning as a treat. Thank you for your help, Colu! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted April 27, 2021 Author Share Posted April 27, 2021 Truly I feel insane. I've been looking at these tests for so long that I question what I'm seeing. Are these Zero readings? I swear there's a slight tint in person but I'm also concerned I'm driving myself nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 52 minutes ago, laritheloud said: Truly I feel insane. I've been looking at these tests for so long that I question what I'm seeing. Are these Zero readings? I swear there's a slight tint in person but I'm also concerned I'm driving myself nuts. Ammonia look to be between 0 to .50 it's difficult to tell nitrite look like 0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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