I'm so confused with my parameters!

[rainia00 1]

Can somebody help me figure out where in the cycle timeline I am? I think some of the bbs in my filter died when they were left out of water for too long. I was originally taking down my 10gal QT tank which has been up and running for a couple of months now and was getting regular 100% wc daily for the first month, and I didn't have anywhere to use the old filter media for the 2 TopFin10 filters, so I set it aside. I realized my large Oranda Darth was still too floaty to handle being in my MT which has bubblers and things he was running into, so I had to pull him out and re-set up the 10gal QT.

Anyways, I checked the water parameters tonight and got readings of:

Ammonia: 2.0

Nitrite: 2.0

NitrAte: 5.0

I thought it's supposed to convert and once I start seeing NitrAtes I shouldn't be seeing these high numbers for ammonia and nitrite? I did a 100% wc after getting this reading, but I'd really like to know if I'm looking at another month of cycling My poor guy has been fighting to regrow his fins, and with the nitrites wacked out it can't be helping his progress!

Thanks for the clarification

[fantailfan1 26,742]

You are getting nitrites and nitrates so that is a good sign. The BBs are kicking in. The reason you are seeing ammonia and nitrites still is that the BBs are simply not able to keep up with the tank bio load yet.

In the meantime, you should be checking your water parameters daily and doing water changes accordingly. You do not want your ammonia plus your nitrite reading to total more than 1.0. If they do, a water change is needed. How large of a water change depends on the parameters.

I'm assuming your tank and tap pH are close enough that 100% water changes aren't too stressful?

[dnalex 13,633]

You are getting nitrites and nitrates so that is a good sign. The BBs are kicking in. The reason you are seeing ammonia and nitrites still is that the BBs are simply not able to keep up with the tank bio load yet.

In the meantime, you should be checking your water parameters daily and doing water changes accordingly. You do not want your ammonia plus your nitrite reading to total more than 1.0. If they do, a water change is needed. How large of a water change depends on the parameters.

I'm assuming your tank and tap pH are close enough that 100% water changes aren't too stressful?

^This

Also, on days where are you aren't doing water changes because ammonia + nitrite < 1, please dose in 2x Prime.

[rainia00 1]

alex, I have amquel that I'm using up before I purchase prime. Can I dose with amquel instead?

And thank you SO much for the help everybody!

[dnalex 13,633]

Yes, Amquel works as well

[shakaho 6,312]

You have a large, unhealthy fish in a 10 gallon tank. It's good to run a filter for water circulation, but I recommend daily 100% water changes under these circumstances. The easiest way to do this is have two 10 gallon containers and transfer the fish into a fresh one each day. You don't even have to test the water. The second container can be a plastic tote if you don't have two tanks.

Sick fish foul the water very quickly, and all a cycled filter does is detoxify nitrogen waste. Clean water is the best medicine. I have found that a good indicator that a sick fish is getting well is that the day-old water doesn't stink.

[rainia00 1]

Alex, thank you

Shakaho I have a python system so I can drain the tank and fill it in a jiffy. I will continue with daily 100% WC I just was wondering what kind of timeline I'm looking at for cycling the media?

[fantailfan1 26,742]

it's kind of hard to say . . .

Do a 100% water change and test ammonia and nitrites 24 hours later. Assumming no ammonia or nitrites in your tap, the closer to 0 ammonia and nitrites the closer you are to being cycled. You'll get a feel for how long it will take after testing the water consistently for several days and seeing what kind of progress you're getting.

There are no hard and fast rules for how long it takes. Depends on a lot of different factors . . .

This may be a dumb question but are the numbers you posted in the first post of this thres from your main tank or your QT tank?

[shakaho 6,312]

No one can tell you. I know a pond in summer typically cycles in three weeks. If you add a beneficial bacterial preparation, it will take about 21 days.

The tanks I have cycled took about a month. Most people here report tanks taking 6 weeks to 3 months to cycle. You just do it and find out.

[rainia00 1]

Okay so parameters this evening were ammonia: 0.25, nitrite 0.25 and nitrAte: 5.0. I dosed 2x amquel. The water is clear and odor free. I'm wondering if my parameters were so far off yesterday because I didn't grab the water straight from the tank, I took it from the container Darth was in while I did the wc. He's a big guy, and I think he probably fouled up the 1gal water pretty quickly. I feel dumb for not thinking about that last night >.<

I finally got my metromeds last week, so he's on day 8 now and feeling great! Lots of energy, huge appetite and swimming around like I didn't even know he could. I'm excited about his fin growth too!

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Glad to hear he's doing so much better!

I would still keep a close eye on your parameters since you are still seeing some amount of ammonia and nitrite. You want to keep the water as clean as possible while he recovers/heals.

Edit: at some point you should update your thread in D&D so the mods can tell you when to stop the MMs. They will probably also want a video and/or pics . . .

Edited December 28, 2012 by fantailfan1

[rainia00 1]

I am definitely doing that! I will do a 100% wc in the am when my kid is up for good haha. Sick baby = lots of wake up calls for Mama and NOT a good time to be mucking around with fish water.

[rainia00 1]

I heard a splash and looked over and Darth was gulping at the surface, so I went ahead and did the 100% wc tonight. He's still gasping though. What the heck! Could it be from over-eating?

[fantailfan1 26,742]

have you fed him recently?

You may want to update your D&D thread with this new symptom.

[shakaho 6,312]

Any chance you forgot the dechlorinater?