Chad Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I had a fluval 9 that just wouldn't cycle. Except when it finally did and was then very robust. It simply took longer than I intended since I added more fish than I should have. I did what @xXInkedPhoenixX mentions to do above. Kept cool, test regularly and small water changes if it rises much above .5 or .75.ppm. Personally, I think the term "crashed" has too much of a "do over" ring to it. Your cycle is simply playing catch up right now. Basically treat it as a fish-in cycle, that means proactive monitoring. You're gonna be fine and so are your fish, it will all settle down once a few more days and/or weeks have passed. My one specific thought is to monitor your neons closely. They can sometimes be a bit temperamental to water parameters. Mine turned out to be bullet proof but I've read that others have issues with ich and neon tetra disease. Mine had ich from the pet store but shook that off with some Ich-X easily. Again, good luck and hang in there. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 @Chad Thank you for the info i will definitely keep everyone updated! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) (Update) I'm still doing a water change daily. Still no success in ammonia going down. Almost through the whole bottle. Hopefully things will start turning for the better soon. Edited January 21, 2022 by MICRO-TANKER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 This is the method I followed to do a fish in cycle. I didn't lose any fish and completed it in under a month which is fast. I did get filter media from a friend and dosed bacteria daily. I think that's what sped up the process. https://fishlab.com/fish-in-cycle/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 @Cinnebuns Water change every day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Every. Day. Water change, dose Prime. Until your levels go where they need to be. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 @MICRO-TANKER you do need to do as Phoenix says. That's why fish in cycles take so long. Water changes will slow down the cycling process and it may take over a month but you HAVE to do it or your levels will get too high and kill the fish. That's why fishless cycles are faster and easier. No lives to worry about so you can let levels go crazy. You can dose Prime up to 5x the dose. Put prime in 1 dose for every 1 ammonia and 1 nitrite rounding up. Prime detoxifies ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours and will save your fishes lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 @xXInkedPhoenixX @Cinnebuns Yes i am still doing water changes every day i just wanted to confirm with the last comment. I have been doing them the same time everyday and my daily readings show that the ammonia is now .5 every day from the 1 it was before. Hopefully in a couple more weeks it will be at 0. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Yes, that is correct. Thing is your work isn't necessarily done then either, after ammonia is at 0 you have to make sure Nitrite is also 0- this would also require water changes as this is also toxic and basically step 2 of cycling. When/if Nitrite is at 0 and you start reading NITRATE things are good again. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) @xXInkedPhoenixX How often do you think i should do feedings? Cory says to not feed every day.. Maybe every 2-3??? Edited January 21, 2022 by MICRO-TANKER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Honestly, the reason he says that and it's a good one is so the fish don't create MORE ammonia by peeing/pooping. So yes, not feeding every day is a good thing. Every 2 or 3 days is fine. I personally fed every day but I feed very, very sparingly anyway and I was doing water changes every day when I crashed a cycle so I felt at the time like it wasn't going to make THAT much of a difference plus hopefully keep my fish happy. Fish can actually go many days without feeding. It will definitely help your situation to not do it every day. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 Now I want M & Ms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 @MICRO-TANKER here's the thing. In your case you are doing a fish-in cycle. It is going to take a very long time for the ammonia to go down. In no way can you expect it to happen in days or even a week. You really need to understand the nitrogen cycle. In order for the ammonia levels to fully go down, you need a good population of bacteria. That doesn't happen very quickly. You can speed it up with things like bacteria in a bottle and filter media from an established tank, but that won't fix it over night. I've been there. Fish in cycles are a long and stressful process. Keep doing daily testing, water changes, and dosing prime to help the health of your fish. Limiting feedings also helps but it's not going to be the silver bullet until you get enough bacteria eating that ammonia. Before you have that bacteria you have nothing helping you get rid of the ammonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) Sorry if this is something you already understand. I just know it's the base of fish keeping and is essential to understand when dealing with a crash Edited January 23, 2022 by Cinnebuns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 *Quick Update Post* Still doing the daily water changes! However fish are doing great!! Hoping that I'm getting closer!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 *Quick Update* Still doing water changes.. Fish are acting normal BUT the PH dropped drastically today. No change in routine in the last couple weeks not sure why.. PH 6 KH 1 maybe 0... Not sure what happened I have been following everything to the T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 Fluctuations are not abnormal during this time. If you have fish that NEED a certain ph or don't tolerate acidic waters well- get yourself some crushed coral and put it in the tank. It won't raise it instantly but it's a better way generally, and it will eventually help with the kh. Just keep doing what you are doing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted February 23, 2022 Author Share Posted February 23, 2022 **Update** It is finally starting to cycle!!!!! it took a long time but with persistent water changes I am finally starting to see nitrites. Thank you everyone for all the help! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 (edited) You did it! Keep going! Almost there! The day you see NitrAtes you'll be very happy! Edited February 23, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 Haven't had an update in a while.... it is fully cycled! All the fish are doing well. I would like to just thank everyone for the support! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 That's awesome! Did you do a little dance when you tested the water? 🙂 I knew you could do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICRO-TANKER Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 @xXInkedPhoenixXyes I did hahaha. I am very relieved and happy that my fosh are happy now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 1/18/2022 at 1:26 PM, Fish Folk said: Maybe you killed off your bacteria colony. Anyone you know keep a sponge filter? So… there’s risks in this, but I’m crazy. Here what I’d do: If your LFS keeps sponge filters, ask if you can buy a new one, and exchange it for a used one from their tanks. So you walk out with a primed, bacteria-drenched sponge filter in a plastic bag full of tank water. Bring home. Plug in to an air pump. Voilà… instantly cycled. I second this ^. On 3/6/2022 at 3:41 PM, MICRO-TANKER said: Haven't had an update in a while.... it is fully cycled! All the fish are doing well. I would like to just thank everyone for the support! NM my last comment. Happy to hear this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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