Sora Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) I went on a short vacation and left my dad to feed my fish, I pre measured out the amounts for him to just put in at night. When I got back, I noticed that my female betta’s fins had turned clear. I tested the water and my ammonia was like 1ppm so I did a large volume water change and it went back down to 0. The next day I tested the ammonia again and it was back up to one, I did another big water change to get it back to 0. Today I tested the ammonia and it was back to almost 1 ppm. I don’t know what to do or why my cycle crashed other than water changes. My filter is still running and has been cycled for almost a year now. The test on the left is last night and the right is today. Edited March 23, 2023 by Sora 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) Any potential water change/topping up without a dechlorinator? I would vacuum clean those big gravels too, maybe too much food stucked on the floor rotting gradually if your dad does not know how to feed fish potentially? So uneatend food ended up sinking fast and being trapped in the substrate? Edited March 23, 2023 by Lennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) I always use water conditioner when I do water changes, and I did vacuum the gravel when I got back but it just looked like normal amounts coming up. I have never had problems with ammonia before. Also I always use spring water with my water changes because there are nitrates in my tape water. It might be hard for me to keep getting 8 gallons of spring water a lot so would it be ok to use my tap water? It’s like 20ppm nitrate Edited March 23, 2023 by Sora Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Do you have any snails that may not be accounted for that may have passed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 5:49 PM, Guppysnail said: Do you have any snails that may not be accounted for that may have passed? Only one and he’s moving. I do also have platy fry but I can see all of them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/24/2023 at 12:44 AM, Sora said: I always use water conditioner when I do water changes I meant your dad if he topped up the water or made any changes. Just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 5:58 PM, Lennie said: I meant your dad if he topped up the water or made any changes. Just a thought Ohh ok! No he did not the water level was actually pretty low when I got back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Any potential power outages? especially if you have HOB that dries out during power outages or something? If not then Idk, these are the main things come to my sleepy mind :') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 6:05 PM, Lennie said: Any potential power outages? especially if you have HOB that dries out during power outages or something? If not then Idk, these are the main things come to my sleepy mind :') Nope no power outages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 Hey I’m still having this problem and idk if there’s anything I can do but if anyone has any other ideas that would be much appreciated 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 (edited) How is the tank's filter setup, what media is in it? If you're running filtration that doesn't have a lot of strong bacteria something could happen where the bioload increases but there isn't enough strong bacteria to react quickly enough. This is very common in filters without ceramic media or with cartridges. Adding some ceramics would help stabilize the tank (bacteria likes that surface) and it's easy for them to grow on. Especially in high flow setups, hang on back filters, it's helpful. If you're running a sponge, you can add a small bag of ceramic media to the top of it. Edited March 26, 2023 by nabokovfan87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 I have a HOB that came with a filter cartridge and I don’t think I’ve ever changed it. I also have a couple bags of seachem denitrate. I could get more filter media if you think it would be useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 Also I forgot to mention, a few days ago my chlorine showed above zero, so maybe I did forget to add conditioner before I left? after I saw that I dosed more water conditioner and have been using it ever since. also, I ordered a sponge filter to start cycling to see if that helps, at least in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 11:20 AM, Sora said: after I saw that I dosed more water conditioner and have been using it ever since. Do you mean that you add it during water changes or constantly? I would recommend looking at the various filter mod videos and upgrading your filter to use sponge and ceramic media. This will help with the long term health and stability of the cycle. There's a thread on these forums called "Show of your filter mods", but I am unsure that there is one for that specific filter yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sora Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Yes, just added water conditioner with water changes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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