I do believe I'm having a mini-cycle with my 55 gal and, for some reason, I'm having a devil of a time righting it. In the past, water changes and biozyme have corrected the rare mini-cycle problem, but they aren't doing the trick this time.

Here are my water parameters:

Ammonia Level? Currently .25, but it has reached .5 a few times. I've been doing daily water changes, 25 - 50% for the past week)
Nitrite Level? 10!!!!
Nitrate level? 20
Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)? 7.2


I've been doing daily water changes and have done two 100% changes. I installed a more powerful filter (had 2 dual Aqua-Tech filters with bio-media that supposedly put out 330 gph each, but I think that rating is way off as the water flow looks kind of puny. So, I replaced one with a Penguin 350 bio-wheel), added extra aeration (bubble wand) and have salted.

I seriously do not know what else to try. Help?!?

Lisa

PS: The tank has been set up for 3 months. I cycled it with Tiger Barbs and seedings from my 20 gal (old goldie tank) to be a cichlid tank, but due to cost/lack of selection, I wasn't able to stock it properly so I moved the cichlids to the 20 gal, and my two 3 yo goldfish to the 55 gal. I added 2 new fancies about 2 weeks after the move, and another 2 new fancies 2 weeks later. I lost one the other day, so I have 5 fancies total: one 4" Telescope (3 y/o), one 2 1/2 China Doll (3 y/o) and 3 thumbnail size fantails. Everything was great until I added the last 2 fantails.

Part of your prob is your tank is overstocked as common goldfish require 20gallons of water per fish while fancies require 10gallons of water each.You will have to do daily water changes and consider getting a larger tank as overcrowding contributes to poor water quality.

I have 5 in a 55 gal, so that works out to 11 gals for each fish. I'm confused. I did have 6, for about a week and a half, but lost one.

Lisa

the new fish that you added to the tank could have brought something in with them that killed your fish. did you quarantinet them first???

oh and the spike in your cycle could that be because the bio bacteria in your filter takes a while to adjust if it is handling the waste load from more fish.

Sorry thought you had more than 5 fish I found your initial post a bit confusing.so you only have 5 fish.
You should always quarantine new fish for around 2 weeks I currently have one new fish quarantined for observation.
I'd keep up with the water changes hopefully things will settle down do 50 to 75% daily levels should start to come down add water conditioner at each change.

I q'd fof 3 days. Is longer recommended?



Okay, that makes sense. I'm going into week 2 with no change at all, though. Shouldn't I be seeing a drop by now?

Lisa

YOu should be fine - the fish are small and your tank is larger....

The nitrites MUST be addressed ASAP! THat is an EMERGENCY! Anything over about 4ppm nitrites can KILL.

Next: Is there anyway your test kits could be inaccurate? Are they older? Are they new? Did you change types?

When you exchanged filters, I am assuming you added all the media from the AquaClear into the 330? Or did you just add the 330? Either way is fine.

Do you have the filters stuffed with loads of media for the bacteria to colonize?

When you added in your first two goldies, did the tank stay cycled? Did you get any extra ammonia bump? Did you see any extra nitrite? Did the nitrate continue to climb each week and the ammonia/nitrite stay zero?

When you adding in your next two goldies - same questions....did the tank stay cycled? Did you get any extra ammonia bump? Did you see any extra nitrite? Did the nitrate continue to climb each week and the ammonia/nitrite stay zero?

Did this only happen after the final addition of the last two fish? Did it only change when the fish died - or did it perhaps die because of the nitrite levels?

Water changes - BIG water changes are your tank's and fish's friend right now. Do not be afraid to do HUGE ones - 75-90% of the water. Or 100% right now to get that nitrite out of there. Do not disturb the filter or media. ONly change out the water.

Then, I want you to feed a whole lot less for the next few weeks. The fish should be just fine. Cut way back on the food - and/or just feed every other day or every 3 days.... Less food in means less waste out which will mean less nitrite to deal with.

Test the water EVERY day at the same time approx. IF the nitrites are at 0.5 or over, change out whatever water you need to to get the nitrites to 0.25 or so. Do not worry - the beneficial bacteria that make up the cycle are NOT in the water. The fish are always adding more waste for the cycle to process, so your cycle should continue to grow.

I would also suggest that you invest in a big bottle of Prime or Amquel+. Prime works a bit better - less product for the same effect. After you change your water each day, add a good dose of Prime to your tank. It will help detoxify any nitrites that come between water changes. It will not stunt your recovering cycle.

Sometimes, in a new cycle particularly, the beneficial bacteria can get finicky - particularly the second type that process the nitrite into nitrate. With careful water management, you can get this cycle back on track, though.

No problem, Blue. I admit it was confusing even to me. Wish there was an edit button!

Lisa

Sometimes we are all typing so furiously that we do not see all the posts! All of yours occured when I was typing - There were no answers when I started!

In general, when getting new fish, I quarantine them for at least 2 weeks. If, during that time, I find anything that needs to be addressed, the quantine time continues until I have had at least 2 weeks of qt past when any problems were SOLVED.

Most fish are in quarantine for at least 4 weeks. I have one that is still working on his 5th month.....

Is there anyway your test kits could be inaccurate? Are they older? Are they new? Did you change types? I wondered about the accuracy, so I bought a second kit and both read the same.

When you exchanged filters, I am assuming you added all the media from the AquaClear into the 330? Or did you just add the 330? Either way is fine. I added the bio-media from the Aqua-Tech that the new filter replaced to the new filter

Do you have the filters stuffed with loads of media for the bacteria to colonize?I have 4 bio-media sponges total, w in each filter

When you added in your first two goldies, did the tank stay cycled? YesDid you get any extra ammonia bump?No Did you see any extra nitrite? NoDid the nitrate continue to climb each week and the ammonia/nitrite stay zero?No nitrate climb, ammonia/nitrate 0.

When you adding in your next two goldies - same questions....did the tank stay cycled?Nope. Did you get any extra ammonia bump? Yes, .25 - .5 Did you see any extra nitrite? Oh, yeah. Went to 10 basically overnight and has stayed there. Did the nitrate continue to climb each week and the ammonia/nitrite stay zero?Nitrates have stayed consistent at 20, nitrites at 10 and ammonia .25 - .5 (did have one test with 0 ammonia after the first full tank water change. eta: 24 hrs after the water change.)

Did this only happen after the final addition of the last two fish? Did it only change when the fish died - or did it perhaps die because of the nitrite levels?Yes, only after the last 2 fish. Hasn't changed since the one died. Actually, I removed him from the tank on Wednesday or Thursday because he wasn't looking well and had what appeared to be a small ammonia burn. Not sure if it was the mini-cycle that did him in or if he was ill when I bought him. Could've been a combination.

I do have a whomping big bottle of Prime and I've been adding that daily with the water changes. I'll just keep up with the water changes and cut back on the food. That one's gonna be tough. They do love their brocolli and I love to watch 'em love it, lol.

Thanks for your help, Daryl and everyone. I so very much appreciate it.

Lisa

Yea I agreem the new fish added to the bio so it has to adjust to the new load.

Good luck... I know it is such a pain when this happens. I, too, think that you simply overwhelmed a young cycle - and those finicky bacteria that do the nitrites just got stubborn.

With any luck, they will kick in and start working soon for you.

Do not be afraid of aggressively changing the water, though. That is what will carry your fish through this bump.

I hope it is all working for you again, very soon!

Yeah, I did. Sometimes my patience and common sense desert me.

I did a 100% water change a couple of hours ago and added another media-filled sponge from my 20 gal to the new filter. Hopefully that will help get the good bacteria up to level faster. (Don't know WHY I didn't think of doing that sooner. Like I said, I'm operating in duh mode these days. I think it's the heat. It's killer, let me tell you!)

Again, thanks so very, very much for your help. Sometimes, it just helps to put it out there to get your brain working correctly.

Lisa