Hi all, I have a question...
I set up my tank and added 3 ordinary 1inch GFs in...
The water got cloudy the next day, I went to the pets store and they told me that this is the "New Tank Syndrome" and that my tank needs to be cycled
I then for these BioZyme and used as directed. 4 days later, my tank cleared.
My question is, now that my tank is crystal clear, does that mean my tank has finished cycling? The fishes don't seem to be showing any signs of ammonia or nitrite poisoning, they eat like pigs and stay in the middle of the tank as they should... just behaving normal overall...
The only thing now is that one of the fishes has developed ick... the other two fishes are ok... I have put in 9 tablespoons of salt into the tank (10G)...
Full Version: Cycling Question
Well,not necciserily-Your tank might look perfect but thats dosnt mean anything-You'll have to check the amonia,nitrites,and nirtates
Hi Xuchen! 
A tank is considered to be fully cycled when the nitrates appear on your test strip/tube. This is a sign that that the nitrifying bacteria (the good stuff) has finally colonized the tank and filter and is established enough to convert the more toxic nitrites to the less toxic (but not entirely harmeless) byproduct of nitrates.
Here is link about cycling:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html
The cloudiness in the water is a good sign indicating that bacteria are indeed starting to grow in the tank. Crystal clear water is a good thing in general and desirable - but it is not necessarily enough of a sign to say that the water quality of the tank is safe.
We would love to hear more about your tank and your fish! Are you new to fishkeeping? This is a great place to get answers to all those questions you never knew you had!
A tank is considered to be fully cycled when the nitrates appear on your test strip/tube. This is a sign that that the nitrifying bacteria (the good stuff) has finally colonized the tank and filter and is established enough to convert the more toxic nitrites to the less toxic (but not entirely harmeless) byproduct of nitrates.
Here is link about cycling:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html
The cloudiness in the water is a good sign indicating that bacteria are indeed starting to grow in the tank. Crystal clear water is a good thing in general and desirable - but it is not necessarily enough of a sign to say that the water quality of the tank is safe.
We would love to hear more about your tank and your fish! Are you new to fishkeeping? This is a great place to get answers to all those questions you never knew you had!
To all,
Thank you very much for the prompt response!!! You can say that I am new to fishkeeping. This is my first time keeping goldfish since I came to the United States 10 years ago. Before that, I was in China, and I had goldfishes. I had a fantail and a black moor I kept in a bowl that was with me for over a year. When I immigrated to the US I had to let them go into a local pond (very good environment, other goldfishes there, but still I think they didn't make it).
So now I'm done with college and got a job, I figured I'd start doing this all over again. Aside from costing about 100x more, goldfish keeping in the US is not that much different than in China. But now I'm doing a lot of things that I never knew about before.
And that leads me back to the topic at hand... After reading your responses I tested for ammonia and the result says it's 2-3ppm. I'm guessing this is a reason for concern, and could explain why one of my fishes has gotten ick. In my test kit it instructs me to obtain Ammo-Lock 2. Anyone have experience with this?
Incidentally I tested for nitrites as well and it's a big fat 0.
Tank has been running for a week now... I got my fishes in there last Sunday. The water cleared around Thursday.
F.Y.I. I found the salt Ick cure on this forum... I have put all the necessary salt in (slowly over 36 hours) already... I hope the fish is cured soon... I am reluctant to use any chemical cures.
Thank you very much for the prompt response!!! You can say that I am new to fishkeeping. This is my first time keeping goldfish since I came to the United States 10 years ago. Before that, I was in China, and I had goldfishes. I had a fantail and a black moor I kept in a bowl that was with me for over a year. When I immigrated to the US I had to let them go into a local pond (very good environment, other goldfishes there, but still I think they didn't make it).
So now I'm done with college and got a job, I figured I'd start doing this all over again. Aside from costing about 100x more, goldfish keeping in the US is not that much different than in China. But now I'm doing a lot of things that I never knew about before.
And that leads me back to the topic at hand... After reading your responses I tested for ammonia and the result says it's 2-3ppm. I'm guessing this is a reason for concern, and could explain why one of my fishes has gotten ick. In my test kit it instructs me to obtain Ammo-Lock 2. Anyone have experience with this?
Incidentally I tested for nitrites as well and it's a big fat 0.
Tank has been running for a week now... I got my fishes in there last Sunday. The water cleared around Thursday.
F.Y.I. I found the salt Ick cure on this forum... I have put all the necessary salt in (slowly over 36 hours) already... I hope the fish is cured soon... I am reluctant to use any chemical cures.
The tank is not cycled and you need to do a waterchange fast!The Amonia is very high.When cycling try to keep it below 1ppm-0 is the desired reading.It'll take alot longer than a week to cycle-
QUOTE
Aside from costing about 100x more, goldfish keeping in the US is not that much different than in China
Hmmmm - so if I move to China, I can have more fish?! Sweet!
Congrats with school and job! Now you have buddies to keep you company after a long day at work.
About Ammo-Lock, I have heard mixed reviews about it... but, it is preferable to using nothing! The ammonia is high and you might want to consider a water change to help the fish deal with that level of ammonia. If you type Ammo-Lock into the search page you will get all the threads that refer to it - I have not used it myself so I can't say anything concrete.
The added salt is good for treating the Ich and it will also help protect your fish's gill function from nitrite when it starts being produced. It is a little early for nitites - so I would say your params sound right for a tank that has been set-up as long as yours has. It can take anywhere form 4-6 weeks to cycle.
What size is your tank? A smaller tank will cycle tank will become toxic more qucikly and a larger tank might colonize more qucikly as it provides greater surface area for the good bacs (that live mainly on the walls of the tank and on the flat surfaces of rocks, stones, and other decor).
QUOTE(Graham @ Sep 18 2005, 12:33 AM)
What size is your tank? A smaller tank will cycle tank will become toxic more qucikly and a larger tank might colonize more qucikly as it provides greater surface area for the good bacs (that live mainly on the walls of the tank and on the flat surfaces of rocks, stones, and other decor).
My tank is 10 gallons. I run a Marineland Penguin 200 filter and it has this Bio-Wheel that's supposed to help.
I think I will go out and get some Ammo-Lock tomorrow since that will be better than nothing. A water change cannot be performed right away since I need to have the water sit there for a while before I put it in, so I think I will use Ammo-Lock first to temporarily solve the problem.
Any one know of any products that will speed up the cycling process? Apparently the Bio-Zymes I got doesn't really do much besides clearing up the cloudy water.
And of course, thank you everyone for your prompt and helpful response! This message board is great!
Well, I happen to be up! Hopefully, more people will join in tomorrow!
I use Prime, myself. It treats the tap water for chlorine and chloramines as well as de-toxifying ammonia. That way, I do not have to leave the water overnight to burn of the chlorine and I am automatically protected against chloramine surges - which happens with the tap water periodically to treat it for bacteriae. Otherwise, I would have to rely on the city government actually notifying me in time - yeah, right!
One thing to keep in mind when using an Ammonia treatment in the water is to make sure that your test kit can read the actual level of ammonia. Ammonia will be bound in a less toxic form but it will not be removed from the water. I believe that it is a salicyclate-based test that will read ammonia toxicity in the presence of bound ammonia.
A ten gallon tank with three fish fish - commons or comets - is not a lot of room! So, ammonia levels will get high regulalry. You might really want to think about getting a water condtioner that is more convenient for frequent water changes.
EDIT: Here is thread with some info about Ammo-Lock, test kits for conditioned water and other WQ (water quality) issues:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...topic=33630&hl=
The best cycle additives around are Bio-Spira and Turbostart. I do not have experience with Turbostart. Bio-Spira does appear to work but it is not as "immediate" as advertised. Rather, it will speed up the cycle maybe by a week but more importantly it will help mitigate the spikes that are so dangerous.
Bio-Spira can be hard to find locally - generally it is not available at the larger chain stores - but you might find it in a "mom&pop" shop. Many of us who have tried it have ordered it online - but it must be shipped overnight! The shipping is double the cost of the product.
Someone here was selling some... I do not know if it is still avaialble...
I use Prime, myself. It treats the tap water for chlorine and chloramines as well as de-toxifying ammonia. That way, I do not have to leave the water overnight to burn of the chlorine and I am automatically protected against chloramine surges - which happens with the tap water periodically to treat it for bacteriae. Otherwise, I would have to rely on the city government actually notifying me in time - yeah, right!
One thing to keep in mind when using an Ammonia treatment in the water is to make sure that your test kit can read the actual level of ammonia. Ammonia will be bound in a less toxic form but it will not be removed from the water. I believe that it is a salicyclate-based test that will read ammonia toxicity in the presence of bound ammonia.
A ten gallon tank with three fish fish - commons or comets - is not a lot of room! So, ammonia levels will get high regulalry. You might really want to think about getting a water condtioner that is more convenient for frequent water changes.
EDIT: Here is thread with some info about Ammo-Lock, test kits for conditioned water and other WQ (water quality) issues:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...topic=33630&hl=
The best cycle additives around are Bio-Spira and Turbostart. I do not have experience with Turbostart. Bio-Spira does appear to work but it is not as "immediate" as advertised. Rather, it will speed up the cycle maybe by a week but more importantly it will help mitigate the spikes that are so dangerous.
Bio-Spira can be hard to find locally - generally it is not available at the larger chain stores - but you might find it in a "mom&pop" shop. Many of us who have tried it have ordered it online - but it must be shipped overnight! The shipping is double the cost of the product.
Someone here was selling some... I do not know if it is still avaialble...
QUOTE(Graham @ Sep 18 2005, 12:33 PM)
QUOTE
Aside from costing about 100x more, goldfish keeping in the US is not that much different than in China
Hmmmm - so if I move to China, I can have more fish?! Sweet!
[right][snapback]396659[/snapback][/right]
if u go to china, u can buy 20 goldfish with the price of one here in the Australia
gaahh envyyy
Hi and welcome 
Graham has given some great advice there
Please do read the link provided for cycling your tank.
I wont go over the size of tank and amount of fish as that wil be repeating info already given to you
but i can say I have used ammolock
I ONLY use it in extreme emergencys, like when its early morning and I have to leave the house and my test kit reads amonia and I know I can not do a water change then and there.
Basically it will not replace a waterchange at all, however it will bind the amonia to tide you over till you get home and change it.
Alot of test kits will still read the amonia so you dont really "know" the true reading as ammmlock binds it to a non harmful form but will not remove it
It also depends on the dose.;
One dose will detoxify 3.0 of amonia , if your amonia is higher then that then one dose is not enough, test the water again before dosing so you know if its enough.
Just curious, why do you need to sit the water?
sorry i cant help you out with advice on this as not familiar with that filter but generally you need x 10 filtration...so 10 gallon needs a filter that does 100gph
Hopefully another member knows that filter and can help out there. I just mention it as if your cycling and over stocked, good filtration is a must.
Other then that no alot more I can add..let us know how things go and dont be afraid to ask lots of questions
best of luck!
Graham has given some great advice there
Please do read the link provided for cycling your tank.
I wont go over the size of tank and amount of fish as that wil be repeating info already given to you
but i can say I have used ammolock
I ONLY use it in extreme emergencys, like when its early morning and I have to leave the house and my test kit reads amonia and I know I can not do a water change then and there.
Basically it will not replace a waterchange at all, however it will bind the amonia to tide you over till you get home and change it.
Alot of test kits will still read the amonia so you dont really "know" the true reading as ammmlock binds it to a non harmful form but will not remove it
It also depends on the dose.;
One dose will detoxify 3.0 of amonia , if your amonia is higher then that then one dose is not enough, test the water again before dosing so you know if its enough.
QUOTE
A water change cannot be performed right away since I need to have the water sit there for a while before I put it in, so I think I will use Ammo-Lock first to temporarily solve the problem.
Just curious, why do you need to sit the water?
QUOTE
I run a Marineland Penguin 200 filter and it has this Bio-Wheel
sorry i cant help you out with advice on this as not familiar with that filter but generally you need x 10 filtration...so 10 gallon needs a filter that does 100gph
Hopefully another member knows that filter and can help out there. I just mention it as if your cycling and over stocked, good filtration is a must.
Other then that no alot more I can add..let us know how things go and dont be afraid to ask lots of questions
best of luck!
QUOTE(LuvMuhFred @ Sep 18 2005, 09:01 AM)
Just curious, why do you need to sit the water?
I sit the water to make sure the temperature is the same as of that in the tank. I've had experiences (10 years ago) that when there's sudden change in water temperature in the tank, the goldfish's scales would stand up, making them a lot more prone to infection...
Question about the water conditioner... Should I add them to the tap water first before I pour the new water in, or should I add them to the tank? Also, should I only use the amount that corresponds to the amount of NEW water, or the amount of water conditioner that corresponds to the size of the tank?
Many thanks!
For teh conditioner,I'd say add it before you put the water in-An amount of the new water.
Okay I got Ammo-Lock and added that to my tank this morning. I then prepared some tap water using Amquel+ and added salt as well, then I let it sit for about 4 hours and changed water (2 gallons, or 20% of my tank).
While siphoning out the water, I was able to get a lot of the dirt that's down in the gravel. I'd have to say that my tank is very noticably cleaner now. And immediately the fishes seemed happier. An ammonia test show that the ammonia is now 1ppm, down from 2-3 yesterday.
I then left for a party, and when I got back, my fishes looked stressed. I could not figure out why. I then took a pH measurement and see that the pH skyrocketed! (out of my test kit's test range) Something in the water made it very basic. I immediately added a Correct pH tablet and it calmed down to 7 again. I need to get more of these tablets, unless anyone here recommends another product...
One of the fishes still has ick, but I think it's better (or could be my feeling, I dunno)... I guess I'll wait a couple more days, and if the ick's not gone, I'll have to resort to chemical treatment although I'm reluctant to do so because I think the drugs will hurt the good bacteria I'm trying to grow... Right now I'm just doing the standard 0.3% salt treatment.
While siphoning out the water, I was able to get a lot of the dirt that's down in the gravel. I'd have to say that my tank is very noticably cleaner now. And immediately the fishes seemed happier. An ammonia test show that the ammonia is now 1ppm, down from 2-3 yesterday.
I then left for a party, and when I got back, my fishes looked stressed. I could not figure out why. I then took a pH measurement and see that the pH skyrocketed! (out of my test kit's test range) Something in the water made it very basic. I immediately added a Correct pH tablet and it calmed down to 7 again. I need to get more of these tablets, unless anyone here recommends another product...
One of the fishes still has ick, but I think it's better (or could be my feeling, I dunno)... I guess I'll wait a couple more days, and if the ick's not gone, I'll have to resort to chemical treatment although I'm reluctant to do so because I think the drugs will hurt the good bacteria I'm trying to grow... Right now I'm just doing the standard 0.3% salt treatment.
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