sebek18 Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Hey everyone. I am not sure if this is the right place for this topic, please move it to the proper place. I was wondering if anyone would recommend getting some bacteria off someone who has a mature freshwater tank for the bacteria. I have been testing my water everyday and doing little water changes each day and today I did a 40% water change.I have had high nitrates and nitrites and they dont seem to be going down. Every water change I add prime water conditioner. The tank was bought used and looks like no good bacteria were left to denitrify the tank. I went to a fish store to ask for some bacteria from their filter and the girl refused saying they don't want to be responsible if all my fish die from them helping me out. Please give me some advice. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 how old is the current setup? ~ a month when starting out fresh for a cycle...down to just a week if you seed the tank. there are lots of good helpful members in edmonton so I'm sure someone can offer you some seeded filter material. I would have done it if we were in the same city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebek18 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 The seller claims that the tank was running for two years. I wish I had not bought the fish with the tank since they have some internal parasite that I think might spread. The tank was bought on the 15th of december so almost a month since it has been running. I have a filter that filters 750 GPH but it doesnt seem to filter out my nitrates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Telling when the cycle is complete depends on a few factors, just like a good cookie recipe. If it was known previous fish had problems in that tank...I would have let bleach kill everything 2x and then start fresh. One thing which can help tell where a cycle is...the ammonia level. Is it high...it still has work to do...zero? The nitrates need to be used by plants or removed with water changes and the nitrites will shortly become nitrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Bio filler will filter nitrite (NO2) but in general fresh water setups don't develop nitrate (NO3) metabolising bacteria. So water changes are your friend got reducing NO3. On top of that, look for dead fish and or plants. As they decompose the can cause spikes in ammonia, NO2 and then NO3. If you stirred up the substrate up a lot when you moved the tank in, that can cause trapped junk to be released into your water column. How are the fish doing? Behaving normal? How high is high BTW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 ANY nitrite is too high in an 'established' tank. And after a month, you shouldn't be seeing any nitrite if your filtration is adequate. That being said, just because you bought it as a full set up from someone else doesn't mean it is adequate - do you have model names for any filter(s)? Do you have an ammonia test kit? How old are your nitrate/nitrite kits? They may be expired... Depending on the type of fish you have, a floating plant like hornwort or water sprite might be a good addition to help eliminate the waste. For the time being, large WCs (40%+) with Prime are your friends! I don't have any plants available right now, but if you want some seeded biomedia, I do have some at home in Sherwood Park. PM me if you need some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebek18 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 fish seem to be fine. They eat normal except for the jewel cichlids. They are grey and seems like they might have float. Some fish like to rub on the sand but it doesnt look like they have anything on their skin. My test kits are brand new since I bought them a week ago. I have an Odyssea filter which is like the fx5. I know it's pretty good since my friends in the states have them and like them better than the FX5. I have no dead fish and dont have any plants at all. I do water changes and hope it will help, or just wait it out. Ammonia is at 0. No2 is at .3 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 40% water changes daily and overdose the Prime, I think they recommend a maximum of double the normal dose. I had my tank go through a mini cycle and lost a couple fish but with frequent water changes, lots of plants and plenty of Prime I made it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Znaika Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) One thing for Edmontonians to consider - the city of Edmonton adds chloramine, not chlorine into the water supply. Chloramine is actually ammonia (NH3) where one atom of hydrogen is replaced with an atom of chlorine (NH2Cl). Chloramine is actually produced from ammonia and a chlorine-containing acid. As chloramine decomposes, it releases ammonia into the water. Having been treated with Prime, it releases ammonium - much less toxic, but still... This is why adding large volume of tap water containing chloramine into a semi-cycled tank or a tank with insufficient filter may actually cause a peak of ammonia (in case of Nitrosomonas bacteria deficit) or a peak of nitrite (in case of Nitrobacter deficit) and will inevitably end up with some level of nitrates, albeit usually smaller than in a water that has been replaced. Prime does not provide protection again this phenomena; all Prime can do - to convert chloramine into chlorid and ammonium; the former is not a problem and the latter is not nearly as toxic as ammonia, but still needs to be consumed by Nitrosomonas, which if you lack, then here is your spike. If you want smoother cycling, you need to age chloramine-contained water under constant aeration for a week. You do not even have to add Prime. Chloramine half-life in water (a period of decrease by 50%) is about 30 hours, so in 7 days 98%+ of it will be gone and adding it will not cause ammonia or nitrite spike. Look at this thread for another similar case from Edmonton: http://albertaaquati...pic=38303&st=15 Edited January 14, 2013 by Znaika Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Znaika hits the nail on the head. Only thing I would add is to start using a live nitrifying bacteria product with your water changes. Until your BB is established DO NOT clean your filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebek18 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Thanks everyone for the replies! I am not sure if I have chloromine or not since I don't live in Edmonton and my water source I am guessing comes from Spruce grove? I know that even the never hoods in Edmonton have different water since a couple of my friends noticed that moved. Who knows haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 http://www.epcor.com/water/reports-edmonton/Documents/wq-edmonton-quality-assurance.pdf at least for edmonton --> Chloramine 0.8% If you really want to know http://www.sprucegrove.org/government/contact_us/faq.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.