New fish less tank with HIGH AMMONIA

[HollyMack]

I’m kinda new to the hobby.  I was the person that went out and got fish and threw them in my tank.  Luckily killing very few fishies!   However, this time I’m educating myself, thank you Aquarium Coop YouTube videos, and I have questions.  I got my test kit and these are my readings.  2ppm ammonia.  8.2 ph, 0 nitrites and nitrates.  No fish, but I did add food to “ghost feed”.  After doing further research, I learned that my a penguin 100 probably isn’t filtering my 29 gallon adequately.  So I’ve ordered a prefilter, and a medium or large sponge filter from you.  And a Java fern.  I don’t want to burn up my Java in ammonia.  But I’m concerned what to do.  I don’t believe I have cycled completely yet.  My tank has been set up about 2 weeks.  
 

[lefty o]

i agree it has not cycled yet. imo, putting the plants in the "cycling" aquarium is one of the best things you can do to help it along.

[FishMonger]

If all else fails - I do like Tetra Safe Start. 😉

I had aquariums in older times and never cycled, don't remember losing any.

In more recent times I started with an un-cycled tank: 1. (small tank & fish) also did not lose fish. 2. (larger tank & more fish) did not lose them - but used something similar to TSS 3. (2 more tanks 10-20g with a couple/few fish) - tried cycling and eventually went TSS route But ALSO used sponges from cycled tanks. 

I know these are not the preferred methods to all, but there were additional/different/life responsibility circumstances going on with each case too - so in the end my goal was simply to get the fish in the tank and have it cycled/not kill them - which was achieved every time.

If I ever do another tank cycled sponge with TSS is my new go to. 🙂 Failing that just TSS. Good luck regardless HollyMack! Just figured I would relate my experiences if it helps. 

[Fishdude]

On 3/21/2021 at 5:37 PM, HollyMack said:

I’m kinda new to the hobby.  I was the person that went out and got fish and threw them in my tank.  Luckily killing very few fishies!   However, this time I’m educating myself, thank you Aquarium Coop YouTube videos, and I have questions.  I got my test kit and these are my readings.  2ppm ammonia.  8.2 ph, 0 nitrites and nitrates.  No fish, but I did add food to “ghost feed”.  After doing further research, I learned that my a penguin 100 probably isn’t filtering my 29 gallon adequately.  So I’ve ordered a prefilter, and a medium or large sponge filter from you.  And a Java fern.  I don’t want to burn up my Java in ammonia.  But I’m concerned what to do.  I don’t believe I have cycled completely yet.  My tank has been set up about 2 weeks.  
 

It actually sounds like maybe you'll have plenty of filtration and a sponge will never be a bad addition to any tank. Be sure when you set up the airline that it includes a check valve so that a power outage doesn't inadvertently drain the water from your aquarium!

Cycling will take time for sure, but you can speed it up either by adding a little filter media from an established aquarium (from a friend or local store) or you could try the tetra safe start if you'd like to get the ball rolling. Having your ammonia around 2ppm is where you want it to be to get the process going with conversion to nitrites and nitrates. I would actually recommend adding a java fern, especially if it's one from a cycled tank. The nitrifying bacteria make their home in places other than just the filter and so more surface area can be helpful. If you're adding a plant be sure to look into fertilizer (and iron/carbon as per Aquarium co-op). The java fern will be fine in there while the tank is cycling. 

The biggest thing is just to keep testing everyday and keeping the ammonia levels up so that the colonies of bacteria are always growing - if you stop feeding them ammonia the colonies will die back and the cycle will stall. It takes patience but it's definitely worth the wait!

Best of luck!