Can't seem to get my water right?

Question

I decided about 5 weeks ago to get my tank going again. I cleaned it with just water, used 50% new ground pebbles and 50% old ground pebbles (from when my tank was running before). I cleaned all the pebbles VERY well under warm water. I also put in 3 items that I had in there before; a large stone that the fish can swim in and out of, a piece of wood, and a colorful greek pillar thingy. All the items were in storage in a box in my attic, and cleaned VERY well before putting them back in the tank. I have a dual layer external filter with large stones and a rough filter pad on the bottom layer and smaller stones and a fine filter pad on top. I also have a Nitrit bag in the filter to keep the water clear. The filter is old, but everything inside is new. I put in 1 bottle of the filter starter.

I am using Nitravec to try and get the Nitrate levels down, but they are not dropping. I don't have any fish or plants in the tank yet. I did a 1/3 water change and cleaned the filter

Yes, I treated the water with a little bottle of "starter". And added the Nirtavec as per the instructions from the owner of the fish store I go to.

Catxcatxx: That link isn't working. When I get home I will post the exact (roughly exact) levels.

Answer 1

what are your exact levels? for nitrate, nitrite and ammonia.
in order for a tank to successfully fishless cycle, you need to add something to the tank for the bacteria to start feeding on.

the link below provides two comprehensive (too much to scribble here!) ways of fishless cycling.

adding live plants to the tank can help, depending on your lighting set up, i recommend java fern (which is attached to wood or rocks) i have yet to be able to kill that, and it's multiplied enough to supply 4 tanks!

and don't clean your filter, unless it's in old tank water, this will put you back to square one!

Answer 2

The more additives you add to your water, the more complicated you make it. To run a successful aquarium all you need is basic media in the filter (something for biological, sponge for mechanical) and all you need in the water is conditioner. I wouldn't add any medias or additives to make water clear - water in a healthy tank will be anyway and these things only mask further problems.

You have added a 'starter', which I assume is some type of bottled bacteria. These don't work very well, but they especially don't work if you have no fish in the tank - any bacteria that may have been alive when you put it in will now starve without fish to support it. Use this only when adding the fish, and what works even better then most of these bottled products is actual live bacteria - I seed new tanks with media in the filter from established tanks, and if I don't have another tank running I would get the media from the fish store some other source. Using this method I have decreased the length of cycles to days, and in a couple of cases of smaller tanks, skipped it altogether. Most bacteria resides in the filter, as water is continuously forced through it.

What are the nitrate levels in your tank? What are the nitrate levels of water right out of the tap? If you have high nitrates out of the tap it becomes more difficult to deal with and you are forced to use nitrate absorbents - filter medias are much better then chemical additives for this.

If your tap water is clear of nitrates then there is something else going on - I would rinse everything off again, only put basic media's into the filter, and add nothing to the water but conditioner, and then see how things look.

Answer 3

Your tank is going thru the start up cycle.

Here is more on the cycle and what it does in your tank:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

Now it has been running for 5 weeks or did you just make this decision 5 weeks ago?

A whole bottle of filter starter? Like Cycle? Usually it is only a 1/8 teaspoon per gallon not a whole bottle, or was it a small bottle designed for the size of your tank? More isn't always better it is just more.

Let me ask were thiese items you had from setting up your tank previously or are they new? Nitravec really shouldnot be used in your tank. There is no substatution for water changes.

The more chemicals and additives you keep out of your tank the better off it will be. Also the increased amount of Nitravec added to your tank will give you false readings on your nitrate levels. You are going to need to do another water change and rid your tank of the nitravec.

Also, your test kit that you are using, are they dip strips or water tests? Are they new ones or are they the old ones. check the bottom of the bottle. It should have an expiry on it.

If you need additional help feel free to email

Answer 4

I am assuming that the "starter" you added is a fishless cycling method. Basically all it is, is bottled ammonia. It provides 'food' for your bacteria culture to cycle. If you are reading NitrAtes, then you are nearing the end of the cycle, which is good news. Are you testing for ammonia and nitrIte as well? You should as this is the only way to know if your cycle is in fact complete. Ammonia should read 0, NitrIte 0, and some sort of nitrAte should register (between 5-20ppm is the safe range).

I don't know what Nitravec is, but I have heard of new products that are supposed to rid your tank of NitrAtes. Bull @#$%. All these products do is convert nitrates into something that your test strip, or water test kit does not read. This new form of nitrate is still just as deadly to your fish. Nothing will rid your aquarium of nitrates, except a good % water change.

My advice to you is, get a good Master test kit, find out where you stand as far as Ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte, are and go from there. If you are reading any Amm, or nitrItes, wait it out. They will soon be converted to ammonia. Once you read 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, then do a good 30-50% water change and add the desired fish.

Good luck, hope everything works out.

Answer 5

Your tank needs cycled. Simple. Nitravec will always show up as nitrate readings on your test.

You need to do a water change.

Using used filter media doesn't work for adding beneficial bacteria since the filters themselves contain very little bacteria anyway. This will not jump start your tank. Try using a piece of fish or feeding the tank food. This will work better. Everyone is trying to find the fast way to do things. A fish tank needs done the right way not the fast way.

Good luck with your tank.

Answer 6

I had a bit of difficulty with catxcatxx's link also, but got it on the second try - it's there, but slow.

I'll agree with the general consensus of tank cycling. You may also want to check your water testing supplies for an expiration date - paper strips in particular can go bad with moisture, or if they've been sitting on a shelf (even at the store) and the chemicals have degraded.

Here are a few more websites where you can get info on cycling if you have trouble with the other links:

http://www.fishlore.com/CloudyWater.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://freshwater.fanatics.googlepages.com/cyclinganaquarium
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/nutrient/nitcyc.shtml

Answer 7

All them aditives are a waste of money
Put the water in the tank, run your hand thru the gravel and watch all the bubbles rise to the top. do it again in 20 minutes. chk again, wait for tank to come to temp. ad a couple of fish... wait 7-10 days ad afew few more.......an so on.

Answer 8

thats good! that means the tank is still cycle. ONLY change about 30% once or maybe twice a week. use aqua safe water conditioner.

Answer 9

well when u put the water in did u treat it with tap safe (removes things like nitrate) if not thats why.