# Not sure how to proceed



## gonnabelawyer (Aug 21, 2007)

Ok, so I unintentionally started to cycle my tank with fish. Unfortunately they didn't survive and my tank is still cycling. So, I'm not sure how to proceed. I don't have any ammonia test strips but my Nitrites are around (or above?) 10ppm and my Nitrates are somewhere between 160-200ppm. First, do I need ammonia test strips? Do I need to do a water change yet? Do I need to keep adding food or something to feed the bacteria? This all happened by accident. I didn't do my research before putting fish in the tank. So, I want to make sure it's cycled and ready to go before I add new fish. Any help is greatly appreciated!


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Get instant cycle at your local petstore...


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## jlpropst00 (Jun 12, 2011)

EMC7 will probably correct me on this and get you in the right direction, however I would do a water change since your tank is pretty toxic at 160 - 200ppm nitrates. You are correct just keep feeding your tank like it had fish. You don't have to have the test strips but it sure does make things easier IMO.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

The parameters you posted are extremly toxic and will kill any fish added into that really quick. As jl said do a water change, at least 50%.

yes you need Ammonia test. I would highly recommend you get liquid tests for everything. Strips are inaccurate quite often.

You dont need to feed quite so much as if there were fish in there but having some in there to keep the cycle going is a good idea. Putting a cocktail shrimp like you would buy at the grocery store into a nylon stocking(pantyhose) is a method used often. With your Nitrites and Nitrates so high (assuming thats an accurate reading, again I dont trust strips) your tank seems to be nearly cycled and the bacteria just needs time to multiply. However it is possible to have the levels to high and it will crash your tank and you'll have to start from scratch. It's possible you've done this unfortuantly.

Have you tested your tap water to see if there are any Ammonia/Nitrates in there? Are you using a water conditioner to remove chlorine from your tap water? Does your tap water have Chloromine in it? Contact your water provider to find out. Seachem's "Prime" is a product that will take care of all these issues. You should add the conditioner before you put the water in the tank especially if your water does have chloromine in it. A 5g pail works good for this.

How big is your tank and what do you plan on putting in it?


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## gonnabelawyer (Aug 21, 2007)

Betta man said:


> Get instant cycle at your local petstore...


I'd prefer to do it without chemicals or a "quick fix" solution.


jlpropst00 said:


> EMC7 will probably correct me on this and get you in the right direction, however I would do a water change since your tank is pretty toxic at 160 - 200ppm nitrates. You are correct just keep feeding your tank like it had fish. You don't have to have the test strips but it sure does make things easier IMO.


Thanks. I'll do a water change tonight and recheck my levels in the morning.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Yeah, I like doing it that way too... Costs too much if you can do it for free...


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

If your numbers are that high (nitrates) then you are actually at risk of killing off good bacteria. I would do the water change and not feed the tank for about 2 days, then recheck your levels. If they are down then feed the tank lightly for a bit. When your numbers remain lower then you can start feeding it a little more.


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## gonnabelawyer (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks you for taking the time to write this.


Ladayen said:


> The parameters you posted are extremly toxic and will kill any fish added into that really quick. As jl said do a water change, at least 50%.
> 
> yes you need Ammonia test. I would highly recommend you get liquid tests for everything. Strips are inaccurate quite often.
> 
> You dont need to feed quite so much as if there were fish in there but having some in there to keep the cycle going is a good idea. Putting a cocktail shrimp like you would buy at the grocery store into a nylon stocking(pantyhose) is a method used often. With your Nitrites and Nitrates so high (assuming thats an accurate reading, again I dont trust strips) your tank seems to be nearly cycled and the bacteria just needs time to multiply. However it is possible to have the levels to high and it will crash your tank and you'll have to start from scratch. It's possible you've done this unfortuantly.


I'm hoping it hasn't gone too far. I did about a 40% change last night and today here's what my strip says... Oh, and I respect your opinion about liquid tests but the strips are what I have so it's what I'm going to use for now. Can't afford to toss them and start over.

Nitrate (NO3) between 80-160 ppm
Nitrite (NO2) still well over 10 ppm
Hardness (GH) around 150+
Chlorine 0
Alkalinity (KH) around 180
pH around 7.8



> Have you tested your tap water to see if there are any Ammonia/Nitrates in there? Are you using a water conditioner to remove chlorine from your tap water? Does your tap water have Chloromine in it? Contact your water provider to find out. Seachem's "Prime" is a product that will take care of all these issues. You should add the conditioner before you put the water in the tank especially if your water does have chloromine in it. A 5g pail works good for this.
> 
> How big is your tank and what do you plan on putting in it?


I have a NSA water filter. When I test it the Nitrates, Nitrites and Chlorine are all at 0. Hardness, alkalinity & pH are all similar to the above numbers. This is with out a conditioner... do I still need one?

It's a 5gal, which I know isn't big but it is what it is. My plan is to keep 2 (maybe 3?) Platties in it... and that's it. It's really for my son because he loves watching fish.



Obsidian said:


> If your numbers are that high (nitrates) then you are actually at risk of killing off good bacteria. I would do the water change and not feed the tank for about 2 days, then recheck your levels. If they are down then feed the tank lightly for a bit. When your numbers remain lower then you can start feeding it a little more.


Crossing my fingers that is doesn't crash but if it does at least it won't kill anymore fish. I'll leave it alone and recheck in a few days.

Thanks again for all the help folks!


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

I would do a water change at least every other day, if not every day. Yes I would still recommend a water conditioner.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

You don't have fish in this tank right now correct?
Maybe you shouldn't be doing any water changes, your tank is cycling, and doing big water changes might kill off the bacteria you need to get this cycle over with. 
If there is nothing in your tank who cares what the water levels are reading right now, as long as they go down throughout the cycle until they are ready for fish. Your levels are only deadly if you have fish in the tank, which you dont, so there is no need to quickly try to get them back to normal. Its a cycling tank, they aren't going to be normal for a while.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Bacteria grow on surfaces, the glass, decorations and in the filter mainly. Water changes wont affect them. 

What could happen however, assuming the levels aren't too high already and killed the bacteria off, the bacteria will multiply to consume the large amounts of ammonia/Nitrite, when theres none left they will go into hibernation. Your paramaters will look good and you'll put in fish. However with the bacteria in hibernation the ammonia will begin to build up until theres enough in there again and the bacteria come out of hibernation. Ammonia to Nitrite, and then the ammonia eating bacteria will go back into hibernation and the nitrite eating bacteria will come out.

In effect it will be like hitting an on/off switch, with your fish being poisoned every time the switch is off. You want to get the bacteria to what is expected to be produced in the tank to maintain the switch in the on position. I would say change your water at least every other day or every day until your ammonia and Nitrite are about 1ppm and Nitrates no more then 20. Then allow the bacteria even it out the rest of the way.


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## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

gonnabelawyer said:


> I'd prefer to do it without chemicals or a "quick fix" solution.
> 
> Thanks. I'll do a water change tonight and recheck my levels in the morning.




You make "quick fix" sound like it's a old wive's tale DIY homemade concoction. I've used Tetra Safe Start with resounding success. Instead of waiting a month for the good bacteria to build up in a tank, Safe Start is bacteria in a bottle. It is refridgerated so the bacteria is all alive when you buy it as long as it hasn't been sitting on a shelf for months and months.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

If your nitrate is 200ppm, you're way past cycled, and have instead redlined into a big mess.
Change 75% of water.


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