my params are:

ammonia 0.25
nitrites 0
nitrates 0

I was just checking the water yesterday as I was going to introduce the first fish and it appears its going to be a bit longer before that happens now.

What do I do? Can I cycle again with the ammount of plants in there or do I need to take them out?
There must be some sort of cycle but the plants are sucking up ammonia before it gets to the filter so not much is happening.. If I can get some liquid ammonia should I just dump LOOOOADs of it in?
Or would it be safe to cycle with the fish. 180 gallons and one 3-4 inch fish shouldnt be too harsh would it?
But frequent water changes will be a problem if they will need doing.. will they? If its just one fish the ammonia shouldnt spike very high at all should it?
Ellie's getting stressed in the tub and I really want her out there ASAP, but not if bad params are going to stress her more.

hey lucy, i'd just cycle with the fish in the pond but get yourself some salt to ease the stress.

the ammonia didn't work for my pond if you recall...i only added something like 68g for 300gals.

also don't add ammonia if your danios (?) are still in there!

oh yea! I forgot about those.. they hide a lot and my mind is on the goldfish! oops They appear on sunny days..

Where can I find a big cheap bag of salt in the UK? I dont have the money to buy that much aquarium salt. my stupid bonus still hasn't come through.

i looked up tesco online and they have 'rock salt' for ice cream making aparently....it does the job so i'm told. i haven't checked my local store yet but i intend to at the weekend!

b&q sell rock salt in their gardening isle but it's seasonal so is currently out of stock...just our luck...i'm gonna stock up in the autumn!

omg mum just this minute got home from tescos!! I'll have to go down tomorrow and have a lookie

lucy, jen626 has just posted in the 99.5% pure salt thread

"I just wanted to say that if you look at the ingredients list (provided there is one) just make sure the only ingredient listed is salt and you are good to go!"

i hope you read this before you go to tesco's later!

Jude

Cheers, I just replied in that thread

I did a 50% water change yesterday using just one 3 gallon bucket.. it took 4 hours and I've damaged my back but its a lot clearer now before I had like 4" visability through all the murkyness. I also added some filter floss to the filter to help with that.. but anyway that doesnt have much to do with the cycle.

The fish is still not in because I haven't salted it yet because I remembered the frog.. how would a frog take 0.1%? I dont want to salt it and drive him out in this weather as he'd just shrivel up and die. He sits in there all day. There are ponds in the neighbours gardens he could go to if he wanted but they both have cats.. id worry about the little guy

oh lucy...you must have been knackered after that and then you hurt your back...you poor thing!

i really don't know about frogs and salt but i'd go ahead and salt it ready for you fish, after all your fish is more important and didn't you say it was getting stressed in quarantine so it'll be glad to get into the pond!

I can seee the bottom of the pond again

I put more towels round the edge of the tub so its like a pond now and she's calmed down again. Before she was swimming into the sides as if she thought they werent there.
I think I'll salt it today and leave a tray of fresh water next to the pond for the frog.. I'll have to make some sort of cave to go over it so he doesnt get eaten.

Ok, so its salted to 0.1%, fish is in, frog is out and in a bush next to the pond, with a tank of fresh water on its side for Mr. Ribbit the froggy to sit in if he wishes so
Pics and other stuff in here.. http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=48510

Lucy I am so glad everthing has sorted itself out. Your pond is lovely and so is your fishy, i love her colors! Mr. Ribbit cracks me up silly froggie!

lol, Thanks Maceo

ARRGGGGHHHHJFIJBSKDFNSBLKNGPSOVHSLKVNKNHHHHHHHHHHHHH

..Its gone green.. very very green.

So theres no way its going to cycle with greenwater as its sucking up the ammonia.. its salted.. and green.

Ok so I wanted some greenwater but not in the pond!

I'm angry at the filter as it has a UV thingy in it which is supposed to kill GW.

..should I make the best of the situation and stick the fancies out there for the summer?

I'm scared of GW pH.. I haven't tested anything yet. I'll do that in a minute.

Its a bit more yellow than green..

lucy, perhaps try reducing food and small water changes...that's how george chen got his grren water cleared up...i think i'm feeding too much and can see the water starting to go a bit murky so i'm cutting back from now on! my water went green when i had the uvc running too!

I'm not feeding anything yet though! I haven't needed to as the pond has been set up for so long without fish there are plenty of bugs and stuff in there, all the fish are very fat.