RyanU Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Hello Everyone and Thank you for taking the time to help me understand what is going on. I am new to this hobby and I unfortunately was given some bad advice from the Bix Box Pet stores. My kids wanted to get a fish tank. I love animals so I was all for it. We went to the Bix Box pet store and purchased a 25 gallon bow front tank kit. I asked the worker what I needed to get the tank started and they sold me some API quick start and API stresszyme for water conditioning. the worker said come back tomorrow and you can get your fish. not knowing much about the hobby I read the bottle of quick start and it said instantly add fish so I believed what I was told. After putting the fish in(5 mollies and 3 Zebra Danios) I started doing some research on fish keeping(probably should have done that before diving in to this hobby) I quickly learned about the nitrogen cycle and how important it is. Over the past week I have been religiously reading everything I can to try and do the right things to keep my fish healthy. Now to the issue. Once I learned how the process happens I started testing my water twice a day(am and pm). I also purchased Seachem Prime based on some forums and youtube videos I have watched to help detoxify the ammonia and let the Beneficial Bacteria start to grow. I am dosing that every 24 hours. 2 days ago my ammonia jumped up to 1ppm in the morning. I called my Local Fish store and asked if they had any used filter media that I could put in my HOB. They gave me two decent size pieces and a I bought a Bio Ball and jammed all that in the filter. I know any amount of ammonia is toxic to fish and can do serious harm even death. This morning I measured my ammonia and it was still at what looks like 1ppm. the fish were happy and swimming fine and eating very well. Also this morning I dosed the tank again with quick start in hopes that if there are any bacteria in that bottle that are alive they will process the ammonia. Questions I have How long should it take for that used filter that may or may not have BB on it it start multiplying to be able to handle the load of the tank? Am I putting my fish at risk with the 1ppm ammonia level even thought the Prime seems to be Detoxing the ammonia? I also have plans on Hot Rodding my HOB based on a video i watched last night that Cory did and was wondering when I should do that, should I let the tank get established with what media I have in the filter then slowly change over to a coarse sponge and bio media? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) Each tank is different one tank might cycle in a week another a month what you need to is small daily waters changes to dilute the ammonia and keep using prime add the api quick start daily till your ammonia and nitirtes read 0 and you won't your nitrates round 20 if you have some live plants for your hob filter let it cycle then gradually replace filter media over a period of a couple weeks so you don't see ammonia spikes Edited March 12, 2021 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanU Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Thank you for the help. I will start doing 25% water changes Daily and Dose with Prime. Can i add another dose of the Quick Start tonight when i do the water change or should i give it a full 24 hours and dose in the morning. One thing i read on line was that Prime will actually kill the bacteria in Quick Start. is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I would dose with quick start after your water changes prime wont harm your beneficial bacterial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanU Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Ok Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Mollies tend to be pretty hardy fish, for what it's worth. Keep an eye on the the fish for signs of disease for the next couple of weeks, if you haven't already, you should do some research so that you know how to identify the symptoms and how to treat if necessary. I believe that even if you detoxify ammonia with Prime or something similar, that it will show up on your test kit. Be sure to do regular partial water changes and test your ammona/nitrite/nitrate levels and you should be fine. Follow the instructions on the nitrate test kit (if you are using API), you really have to shake the vial and the bottle hard to get the test to come out correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanU Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 ererer thanks for the information. Yes the research I have done says that Prime only Detoxifies the ammonia into ammonium, "harmless" to fish for 24 to 48 hours but is still a source of food for the BB. One question I have. Wont daily water changes remove the nitrites that I need for the other bacteria to consume them and produce nitrates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 It will help lower your nitrite as well but it won't effect your benefial bacterial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanU Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Just so I make sure I understood all the advice. Daily water changes at 25%. With a dose of prime and quick start. Should I be aiming to keep my ammonia below a certain level? Also when I do the water changes should I vacuum the gravel as well or just let that stay as undisturbed as possible until my BB catches up and can process the ammonia in the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I would not gravel vac till your tank has cycled 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 i personally would not be doing daily water changes on a new tank. as far as i know, prime can/will give you ammonia readings on your tests even though it has neutralized it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gestaltgal Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Every tank is different! I'm learning all of that, too. I also know that we get ammonia readings that are sometimes misleading because of our type of water (we're on a well), so get to know your water! It's going to be your best friend. With new tanks, I found these very helpful in the ammonia balancing hunt: The Truth About Dechlorinators and Why Your Ammonia Test Kit is Probably Lying to You!. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkG Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) Plants consume ammonium, lowering the ammonia quickly and safely. You can get random stem plants or hornwort or floating plants at your LFS and just put them in there (maybe not pot and all, in this case) - you don't need to plant them right away or anything like that. Many (most?) houseplants will be cool dipping their roots into the aquarium, if that is an option that fits your situation. For short term especially, it doesn't have to be "proper" or sustainable, just need something to eat that ammonia! Edit: Lowering the temperature to what is still nice for the fish but no more helps a little bit too, Edited March 16, 2021 by darkG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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