Fish Tank Nightmare!! HELP!?

Question

Right, a bit of a long one! i started a fish tank that is 24 inches by 12 inches width by 15 inches depth. it is a coldwater tank and i cycled it before adding fish for about 4 days, i took the water to be tested and it was perfect so i added two orangas. They have been perfectly happy. the tank also has 3 live plants in it but still plenty of room. i have a light and also a filter running all the time. This week i took the water to be tested again and the ammonia levels are perfect, the nitrites are off the chart and the nitrates arent much better... although not as bad. so we did a 25% water change and added further Aquasafe to the new water. left it a few days and no change so did a further 25% change, added Stress Coat and Stress Zyme and rinsed the filter under the old aquarium water.
3 days later there is still no change. So we have now done a 40% water change, added further stress coat, stress zyme and aqua balance. Any more ideas?
Also should we be turning the light off?

Just to add, i have sand as my bottom cover, not gravel. it is aquarium sand though. im unsure as to how to clean this? im feeding one to two times per day and they eat it all!

Answer 1

I think what you are seeing is the chemicals you are using to help with the ammonia are also masking it from the test at the pet shop. You have high ammonia and high nitrites in the tank and the only way to control them properly is through water changes. I would suggest you do a 50% water change, once a day for 3-5 days to get the ammonia and nitrites back under control. From then on you will probably need a 25% daily or every other day change for a few weeks to keep it under control. The chemicals you are using are keeping the ammonia fairly safe, but also slowing the development of your cycle. You should stop using the chemicals that help with ammonia and only use a dechlorinating chemical.

Also, don't wash the filter for now, that could harm the cycle as well. If the filter needed washing already, I would think you may be over feeding the fish a bit. Feed only what they will eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day and remove any leftover that you can.

Once the tank can go a week with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, you will be in good shape and can go to a regular 25% water change once a week.

MM

Answer 2

Try vacuuming the sand, it should only suck up the poop. Also, leave the lights on only 12 hours a day. If you turn the lights off completely, the plants won't be able to help lower the waste levels. Do not do a complete water change, you will get skrewed over if you try that. The fish may be eating all the food, but that means there will be a lot of poop. Try not feeding the fish for a day or two (they will be fine, they won't starve). That tank is also too small to keep two Orandas... Good luck!

Everyone says the light is a problem, but if you could get some algae growing on the side of your tank right now, that would not be a bad thing at all. The algae should lower your nitrates. You may want to add some more of whatever chemical you used to cycle your tank (if you didn't use a chemical, try "Cycle", that will build up the nitrogen fixing bacteria.)

Nosoop4u

Answer 3

I am not sure why everyone is keying on the light. That is not the problem here. If you have a planted tank, if anything, that would help lower your nitrates slightly. You do need to be turning off the lights at night, but that is not whats causing your problems. You want to stop adding all that chemical crap to your tank thats number one. The Aqua safe is the only thing there you need as it is. That is for conditioning the water for your water changes.

I am betting the problem is this tank never really cycled out. When you cycled it for four days, what ammonia source did you use? It looks like from what your input here is, you have the right amount of bacteria needed to keep your ammonia at bay which is good. I think the problem is, and what I've suspected the real problem with fishless, is that if you don't have yourself a constant ammonia source, you run the risk of not getting it stable, and from my understanding of how it's done, you need to take readings all the time and stay on top of it's developement. I've never done fishless though so I can't say for sure.

My guess, your nitrobaciters, the bacteria that oxidizes the nitrite is not ready for your bio load, and it's converted a good balance of the source that's been built up so far. Keep with your partial water changes, but don't 0 it out. Keep it under .5 ppm so your nitrobaciters have a source to oxidize, and subsequently grow to the size needed that you'll read 0 in both your ammonia and nitrite.

Ditch the other chemicals please.

JV

Answer 4

Four days doesn't make a cycled tank - this is something that takes 3-6 weeks.

Goldfish are big ammonia producers, and by the looks of your test results, you've got bacteria that are converting the ammonia to nitrite already, but not enough of the ones that convert the nitrite to nitrate. Thes normally lag behind the others, since they have nothing to use as their engery source until the ammonia converters start producing nitrate.

Until these get built up, you'll need to continue with large water changes, and be careful not to overfeed the fish (no more than they can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day at most). Net out any uneaten food, and use a gravel vacuum to make sure that wastes don't build up in the gravel.

Other than providing light for your plants to take up some nitrate (and these will die of the nitrate gets too high), the light really won't help or hurt what's going on. I wouldn't leave it on too long, however, because with high nitrates, you ca develop an algae problem in the tank.


ADDITION: Since you've added that your substrate is sand, that makes the cleaning easier in a way, since most material will just lay on th top. You can still use a gravle siphon to clean, just hold the siphon far enough above the sand that the sand itself isn't pulled in. You can also bend the tubing so it crimps to slow down the flow of water and the sand will fall back into the tank if you notice it happening. See this link for more on how to clean a sand bed: http://www.aquaworldaquarium.com/silent_killer.htm

Answer 5

Here's the deal,no matter what the guys at the store sold you,it takes 5 weeks to cycle a tank at 80 degrees F. The bacteria colonies have to grow on the porous surfaces of the filter and tank, this requires an ammonia supply,lots of oxygen,and 5,count'em 5 weeks. There is no additive or chemical or bacterial culture that you can buy that will speed up the process. Anybody that says different probably has something to sell.
The light should be on no more than 12 hours a day.
Lay off the chemicals,just do small water changes with water that's been pre-treated and is the same temperature as the tank.

Answer 6

Hi Paula, If you have't already done so I suggest you invest in one of the many test kits on the market rather than rely on getting your water checked at your local fish store. You need, as a bare minimum to test for pH, Nitrite, Nitrate & Ammonia. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals make a very good Freshwater Master Test Kit which has all 4.

You are quite correct to have the filter running all the time but the light should only on be on for approximately 8 hours in any 24 & ideally should be on a timer so the fish have some kind of structure to their day because animals like routine. Fish in constant light will not be as healthy as those given the chance to rest in darkness.

Finally, I would agree that you should only add the dechlorinator to the water, unless you have identified a specific problem filling the tank with a cocktail of chemicals is almost always making things worse but keep up with the regular partial water changes-'The Solution To Pollution Is Dilution' Good luck!

Answer 7

the reason ur tank has high levels of nitrite and nitrate is because ur tank is now cycling, it takes at least 3 weeks to cycle a tank, not 4 days like u said. when u were cycling it were u adding a small amount of fish food ad this helps the prosess.
what i would suggest u do is have ur tap water tested for nitrite and nitrate and heep doin 20% water changes every 2 day untill u can get ur levels down.
dont clean out your filter as u need to give it time to build up bactria
with the light as u have got live plants u need to put the light on for about 12 hours a day but turn it off at night so the fish can rest. is u want a light on at night u can buy a blue buld whis acts as moonlight. this could b left on overnight
hope this helps and need any more help just give me a shout

Answer 8

It is great you know about the water changes...but all the additives are unnecessary. The ammonia levels is good to be down. The nitrite levels should drop while the nitrate levels should go up to the highest levels....the NITRATE is to be high. And yes...the light should be shut off every night...fish need to sleep to in the dark and the stress alone being in light can cause fish to die.

Answer 9

You're doing everything you're supposed to do. It takes several weeks for a tank to stabilize itself. Continue with the water changes and the proper chemicals. You can expect to have problems with ammonia levels in the next few weeks too,but just keep up with the 25% water change, add the ammonia stabilizer and other chemicals you need until your tank is stable. In the mean time, you shouldn't add any more fish to your tank until it is safe. If something were to happen to your fish, replace them with guppies (until your tank is safe). They are pretty hardy and are inexpensive. Once your tank is set you can add whatever fish you like. Be patient, it takes time. Good luck!

Answer 10

You are learning what many people are taking for granted. Just letting your tank sit with the filter going with the water in it is not cycling your tank. Cycling doesn't not happen until you have something alive and creating waste in your tank. It sounds like you are about to enter in the second stage of you cycling period. You are doing fine. I wouldn't buy anymore fish until it is done. Keep up on your water changes and wait it out.