mochaminiboba Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 So here is my situation.. how do I fix my new tank it's reading .50ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. I did 50% water changed and it's been 2 days it's still reading the same. I have live plants in my tank and I used Prime when I did the water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 Seems like you're not cycled. From the FAQs on the Seachem website: Seachem - Prime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charestv Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 If you have fish in the tank as well stop feeding them every day do a tiny bit every other day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOtrees Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 How long has this tank been running/cycling? Are there any fish in it? Assuming no fish, are you adding any source of ammonia (actual ammonia, fish food, etc)? Live plants will introduce the bacteria that do the "cycling" we always talk about, but they still need something to eat/consume. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mochaminiboba Posted April 25 Author Share Posted April 25 It's been 3 weeks. We did a fish less cycling and when it was done we put 3 tetras and after 4 days they all started dying. Since then the reading for ammonia keeps showing .50ppm and now Nitrite .25ppm and Nitrate 5.0ppm. No fish after they all died and I'm not using any ammonia, also i bought Salifert to test ammonia its showing 0 but API it keeps saying .50ppm. Thank you guys so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 Could you describe how you did the fish-less cycle? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktor zhivago Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 (edited) If you have ammonia and nitrite the tank isn't cycled. Three weeks seems pretty quick for any kind of cycle. The API test uses a salicylate based ammonia test, if I remember right, which is what fritz complete recommends. However I think prime, as noted above, has issues with that test. Sachem recommends using their test kit instead. Edited April 25 by doktor zhivago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOtrees Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 I'm not saying it's good for them, but the level of ammonia displayed on that test (the picture you posted above) wouldn't be fatal. Was it higher than that, when the fish were added and died? I suspect there is more than one cause involved, and I admit that makes it harder to troubleshoot/fix. Other than tank not cycled/ready, the most common causes of fish dying when added to new tank by new owner are insufficient acclimation (parameters too different), and disease (often fish are already sick when you buy them). A lot of these issues are cumulative, eg any one problem might not cause death, and might not even be noticed, but when you add them together it's too much. With other problems, the relatively low ammonia level you're seeing could be more important. Re cycling: letting water sit, even with a filter running, and even with live plants, won't "cycle" a tank. "Cycled" means having enough beneficial bacteria to process the metabolic wastes from the organisms within the tank. The plants you added will have introduced a teeny tiny amount of those bacteria (like a starter colony), but if you're not feeding them, they won't increase in number. That's what ammonia is for, it provides food to grow your tiny starter population from the plants (or from bottled beneficial bacteria) up to the level where they are numerous enough to fully process the fish waste, when you add them. The following numbers aren't meant to be realistic, but I suspect you have a thousand beneficial bacteria in your tank, when you actually need a billion. Because a thousand isn't nearly enough to covert the ammonia to nitrate (with a nitrite step in the middle). 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 I always recommend testing your tap water also. Sometimes you can get an ammonia spike in the tap water and when you do a water change you're injecting more ammonia than the system can handle. I had that happen to me a few years back. I did a partial water change and noticed my fish (an Oscar) looking a bit stressed. I did a water test and saw some ammonia. Being a conscientious fishkeeper, I then did a larger water change to dilute the ammonia. The next day the ammonia reading was even higher, and the fish was looking even worse. What the heck? I checked all my filters again and started to do another water change when it occurred to me to test the well water. That's where the ammonia was coming from. I added some Prime to neutralize the ammonia in his tank and the biofiltration took care of the rest of the problem. We like to think the water coming from our tap is stable, but it's not always as stable as we'd like. The things you're supposed to do with an ammonia spike can just make the situation worse if your tap water has high ammonia content. What is your ph? At a low ph that ammonia level is harmless. At a higher ph, it's more of an issue. Ammonia toxicity is directly related to the ph of the water. Lower ph allows for near invincibility of fish to ammonia levels. Higher ph makes ammonia much more of an issue. While I wouldn't stress about a 0.5 ppm of ammonia at a lower ph, at a high ph, it could be an issue. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mochaminiboba Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 Today I tested the water after I did 50% WC.. the ammonia still have a tint of green but with Salifert Test Kit it says 0 ammonia.. my PH is high also does this reading means it's still not cycled right? Thank you guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Ph values don’t have anything at all to do with your cycle. It’s based on where your water originates. The amount of calcium, magnesium, and carbonates in your water. What is called the kh and gh values. Basically, it is what it is for you. If it’s higher, around an 8 this is perfectly normal in most locations. Most fish won’t have any issues with it. Some sensitive species might. And wild caught ones especially. So when you’re buying fish, best to find a local source where they’re raised in the same water. For your cycle, your ammonia and nitrites are 0, so you’re cycled. You can go ahead and slowly add fish to the tank. Slowly so you don’t overload your cycle. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 I’d keep checking your parameters though. If you see any ammonia or nitrites it’s time for a water change. And more prime. Since you had a higher amount of ammonia 2 days ago. I’d still be really cautious and test daily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mochaminiboba Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 On 4/26/2024 at 4:06 AM, Tony s said: Ph values don’t have anything at all to do with your cycle. It’s based on where your water originates. The amount of calcium, magnesium, and carbonates in your water. What is called the kh and gh values. Basically, it is what it is for you. If it’s higher, around an 8 this is perfectly normal in most locations. Most fish won’t have any issues with it. Some sensitive species might. And wild caught ones especially. So when you’re buying fish, best to find a local source where they’re raised in the same water. For your cycle, your ammonia and nitrites are 0, so you’re cycled. You can go ahead and slowly add fish to the tank. Slowly so you don’t overload your cycle. Yay!! I'm always confused by the readings, especially when it comes to ammonia and nitrite. I'm struggling to determine the correct color because I'm unable to obtain the exact yellow and teal. Thank you soo much and I really appreciate all the advice from everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Exact isn't really a worry just pick the one closest to that color. Big thing to understand about numbers to watch are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The others are things that should stay the same so check them less often to just make sure that you're not having water charges from your source. My water I can't get any nitrate without fertilizer being added I have well water that's acidic and softer. I just watch the numbers to make sure they stay where they always are and does my fertilizer every few days. Once your tank gets mature you will be able to get like that. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mochaminiboba Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 On 4/26/2024 at 12:34 PM, johnnyxxl said: Exact isn't really a worry just pick the one closest to that color. Big thing to understand about numbers to watch are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The others are things that should stay the same so check them less often to just make sure that you're not having water charges from your source. My water I can't get any nitrate without fertilizer being added I have well water that's acidic and softer. I just watch the numbers to make sure they stay where they always are and does my fertilizer every few days. Once your tank gets mature you will be able to get like that. Ohh okay I thought I really have to match the exact color. Also is there any hardy fish you guys can recommend for a 10g? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 On 4/30/2024 at 4:43 AM, mochaminiboba said: Ohh okay I thought I really have to match the exact color. Also is there any hardy fish you guys can recommend for a 10g? Thank you! Cory cats, I used to keep live-bearers like guppies but that was long ago. I would keep some tetra's the cardinal would be pretty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryWithAKatana Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 On 4/30/2024 at 4:43 AM, mochaminiboba said: Ohh okay I thought I really have to match the exact color. Also is there any hardy fish you guys can recommend for a 10g? Thank you! I would recommend reading this article by Aquarium Co-op : https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/top-10-fish-for-10-gallon-aquarium 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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