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Cloudy water


Chris.K

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I hear that Chloramine is being added however I do not know how much or whether more Prime is needed as a result.

Seeding some good bacteria will help. There is probably already some form of cycle there already however very weak hence no ammonia. The Ammonia gobbling bacteria form very quickly and biologists have issues keeping them off petri dishes.

The good thing is you are monitoring and not detecting poisons. I would use Prime to control the ammonia if it is detected as the fish health is most important. It will make the cycle take longer and add to frustration but the cycle will happen. I would be carrying on with water changes. I used something called Seachem Stability or Sera Nitrivec to aid the cycle. I had two mild nitrite spikes (0.25) and one was caused by a powercut. I barely ever registered ammonia. I use the API kit and sometimes I had the slightest hint of green but not the shade on the test kit. I did not have to use Prime to control the Ammonia but I did use a big dose in the powercut. Anyhow the above is my experience which is very small. It took time to cycle properly but nitrates are more of my issue now. Others may have different experiences.

The good thing is you are trying to do the right thing. You want a cycle but pushing it too quickly would be dangerous. The cloudy water maybe unsightly but it will go.

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no, he doubted my post cos he's an obnoxious prat. i didnt come to this forum and ask for help to be abused. if he thinks its a stupid question then he should have just dodged the topic.

I really agree with that. someone did that to me 2 over "what good SA cichlids are there" (not mentioning any names) <_<

I would do what the other guys said. i have been told that adding cheap hardy fish like goldfish to the tank for a week or 2 is good for starting off your bacterial colony to. thats what i did to start off. ;)

HTH

Cooder

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What do you have in your filters?

You haven't filled a basket with zeolite or something else to neutralise ammonia before the bacteria get a crack at it?

no the only thing in the filter, (eheim 2260), is filter wool, some other mechanical type filtration pad but not filter wool. i dont know what it is though. it looks really course and much stiffer than filter wool; and a craPload of media. the canister is probably 2/3rds full of media.

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I wish I had that cannister. I guess it is the standard media. I doubt the guys at your LFS would use zeolite.

What do you have in your filters?

You haven't filled a basket with zeolite or something else to neutralise ammonia before the bacteria get a crack at it?

no the only thing in the filter, (eheim 2260), is filter wool, some other mechanical type filtration pad but not filter wool. i dont know what it is though. it looks really course and much stiffer than filter wool; and a craPload of media. the canister is probably 2/3rds full of media.

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  • 2 weeks later...

gday guys. today for the first time i got an ammonia reading. i got something in between 0.25 and 0.5, (the shade is somewhere in between). so looks like finally my tank has decided to cycle properly ! lol

so my question now is...what should i do ? i did a small water change this arvo, around 15% and added prime to the new water. we'll see tomorrow if that made any difference. nitrite is still 0 and water is still crystal clear. fish are acting normally and are appear to be starving. i didnt feed them today and wont feed em till tomorrow.

is 0.5 a "bad" reading ? ie: is it horrifyingly high and i should be concerned about it ? should i add a bit of prime into the tank this evening ?

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I killed 2 fry with 0.25. Mum went wobbly. I dosed that tub with 50 drops of prime ie roughly 1 drop per litre. That was winging it but mum stopped being wobbly and chemistry stablised with some seeding. There comes a point with prime where it deoxygenates the water but on the bottle it gives a dose for high nitrites which is way higher.

Not feeding is good. Water changes are good. The hard part is keeping enough ammonia to cycle. Next will be nitrites.

Are you still adding water straight from the hose?

Are you using Seachem Stability, Sera Nitrivec or another bio starter?

gday guys. today for the first time i got an ammonia reading. i got something in between 0.25 and 0.5, (the shade is somewhere in between). so looks like finally my tank has decided to cycle properly ! lol

so my question now is...what should i do ? i did a small water change this arvo, around 15% and added prime to the new water. we'll see tomorrow if that made any difference. nitrite is still 0 and water is still crystal clear. fish are acting normally and are appear to be starving. i didnt feed them today and wont feed em till tomorrow.

is 0.5 a "bad" reading ? ie: is it horrifyingly high and i should be concerned about it ? should i add a bit of prime into the tank this evening ?

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.5ppm is okay unless your ph is 8.00 or over. You are using prime so it should be okay. I dont see the need to water change yet. If your ph is over 8.00 (i Hope you lowered it) Then you may need to do small water changes as any higher ammonia levels will harm your fish.

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.5ppm is okay unless your ph is 8.00 or over. You are using prime so it should be okay. I dont see the need to water change yet. If your ph is over 8.00 (i Hope you lowered it) Then you may need to do small water changes as any higher ammonia levels will harm your fish.

my ph is around 8-8.2. what has ph got to do with ammonia and why would i lower it ?

ammonia was 0.25 this morning.

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The test kits test for total Ammonia including Ammonium. The higher the pH the more Ammonia (toxic) and less ammonium (non toxic). There are calculators out there that can work it out. The one thing I have not found is a definitive toxic level. If you lower pH do so gently with small water changes.

I would not worry about 0.25 if fish look healthy. Keep an eye out for nitrite. If you are not using a biostarter now would be a good time to consider it.

.5ppm is okay unless your ph is 8.00 or over. You are using prime so it should be okay. I dont see the need to water change yet. If your ph is over 8.00 (i Hope you lowered it) Then you may need to do small water changes as any higher ammonia levels will harm your fish.

my ph is around 8-8.2. what has ph got to do with ammonia and why would i lower it ?

ammonia was 0.25 this morning.

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The test kits test for total Ammonia including Ammonium. The higher the pH the more Ammonia (toxic) and less ammonium (non toxic). There are calculators out there that can work it out. The one thing I have not found is a definitive toxic level. If you lower pH do so gently with small water changes.

I would not worry about 0.25 if fish look healthy. Keep an eye out for nitrite. If you are not using a biostarter now would be a good time to consider it.

.5ppm is okay unless your ph is 8.00 or over. You are using prime so it should be okay. I dont see the need to water change yet. If your ph is over 8.00 (i Hope you lowered it) Then you may need to do small water changes as any higher ammonia levels will harm your fish.

my ph is around 8-8.2. what has ph got to do with ammonia and why would i lower it ?

ammonia was 0.25 this morning.

whats biostarter ?

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Something which helps promote good bacterial growth. I use Seachem Stablity and have used Sera Nitrivec with equal success. Majestic may have provided you with an alternative. There is a lot of debate about the effectiveness of the products.

whats biostarter ?

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Something which helps promote good bacterial growth. I use Seachem Stablity and have used Sera Nitrivec with equal success. Majestic may have provided you with an alternative. There is a lot of debate about the effectiveness of the products.

whats biostarter ?

easylife i think they call it, yes i did put some of that in.

http://www.majesticaquariums.com.au/ProductDes.aspx?p=1045

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