New Tank issues, Please help.

[Mosswa]

Hello there,

So I have had my new freshwater aquarium for a week and a half, and I got all excited and now I have 2 guppy's, 2 mollies, 2 corydoras, 1 gold fish, 1 small crayfish, and 5 molly babies, that she had. (sorry on spelling)

Its a 30Gallon tank and every fish seems to be doing well still..

My nitrate and nitrite levels were really high after a week of the fish in there so I changed 20% of the water, and the tank is still really high on these.

I have been using a Cycle additive as directed and the levels are still high and the water is somewhat cloudy, not too bad.

Wondering if I have to just be patient and keep changing 20% water every week, and not adding more fish, or if there is something else I need to be doing?

Also Im pretty sure Ive been feeding them waaaay too much cause when I cleaned there was food flakes everywher.. I have stopped feeding them sooo much and only feed them little bits at a time till they stop.

Plus my Ammonium levels are low under .6 and nitrate and nitrite are through the roof even after a 20% change.... I know im not supposed to change all the water cause the good bacteria will get changed too....

Any tips??

D

[Aquattro]

You have way too many fish for a new tank. Cycle products are generally crap, so don't count on it helping. At this point, change 20 or 30% every couple of days, you want your NH4 at 0. If you can get some mature gravel from the LFS or a friend, that will help quicken the cycle.
If the fish store told you that adding 6 fish and a crayfish to a new tank was a good idea, find a fish store.

[Mosswa]

You have way too many fish for a new tank. Cycle products are generally crap, so don't count on it helping. At this point, change 20 or 30% every couple of days, you want your NH4 at 0. If you can get some mature gravel from the LFS or a friend, that will help quicken the cycle.
If the fish store told you that adding 6 fish and a crayfish to a new tank was a good idea, find a fish store.


Ya thanks... Thats kinda what Ive been reading.. Shouldve waited it out before adding the fishies.. Hopefully they'll stay strong. Especially the little babies..

Thanks for the reply

[syncro]

Use an ammonia binder ASAP like AmQuel, Seachem Prime or API AmmoLock. Any amount of ammonia is toxic to fish. This article says that in general for freshwater fish, 50% of individuals will die when exposed to ammonia levels of 0.06 - 2.0 ppm for 96 hours. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php#15

Consider asking your fish store to hold the fish while your tank cycles.

Most of the biological filter bacteria live on surfaces like live rock, sponges, bioballs. Water changes will slow down the cycle (see soft cycling) but will improve water quality which I think is more important right now.

Disclaimer: I'm new to fishkeeping and know little about freshwater.

[syncro]

Also check out this (new to me):
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/aquariummaintenancecare/a/aaammoniatoxicity.htm

Some people make the mistake of performing a partial water change to reduce ammonia levels during the cycling process. Normally, when ammonia levels go up, the pH drops at the same time. By performing a partial water change, the total ammonia levels may drop slightly, but the pH will also rise (the buffering effect of new saltwater), increasing the toxicity of the remaining ammonia. A safer method to reduce the ammonia levels would be to use an ammonia neutralizing product such as Amquel, then perform a water change to "freshen" the water, if you wish.

[reefgirl189]

Also check out this (new to me):
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/aquariummaintenancecare/a/aaammoniatoxicity.htm

Some people make the mistake of performing a partial water change to reduce ammonia levels during the cycling process. Normally, when ammonia levels go up, the pH drops at the same time. By performing a partial water change, the total ammonia levels may drop slightly, but the pH will also rise (the buffering effect of new saltwater), increasing the toxicity of the remaining ammonia. A safer method to reduce the ammonia levels would be to use an ammonia neutralizing product such as Amquel, then perform a water change to "freshen" the water, if you wish.

Wow thanks for sharing. That's probably exactly what I would have done, a partial water change at the beginning of the cycle.