8 year old BD Male passed away.
- Thread starter Black_Diamond
- Start date
By adding chlorinated tap water to your system you are killing off the good bacteria in your filter that keeps the system free of toxic ammonia & nitrite.
The low bioload from 2 Oscar’s in 400 gal will show a small amount of ammonia which should convert to nitrate. But now you’re not seeing that conversion which indicates that you don’t have nitrifying bacteria anymore.
Please re-read the PM conversations I sent you mate. All the details are there, including not changing water until you have purchased the Seachem Prime.
I would say at this point the your filter is completely uncycled and you’re gonna have to start over.
Please don’t get the fy river turtle or add another ray until you get this sorted. That would be a recipe for another disaster
The low bioload from 2 Oscar’s in 400 gal will show a small amount of ammonia which should convert to nitrate. But now you’re not seeing that conversion which indicates that you don’t have nitrifying bacteria anymore.
Please re-read the PM conversations I sent you mate. All the details are there, including not changing water until you have purchased the Seachem Prime.
I would say at this point the your filter is completely uncycled and you’re gonna have to start over.
Please don’t get the fy river turtle or add another ray until you get this sorted. That would be a recipe for another disaster
So check this out this is today after not changing water for two days. Thoughts? What is this telling us?
These results indicate a partial cycle. With your ammonia almost at 0 and critically high nitrite this shows that the bacteria that convert ammonia are present in numbers significant enough to convert available ammonia to nitrite, keeping the ammonia near 0. The bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate have some catching up to do. They are present because your nitrate level has risen from the previous test. That’s a good indicator of the cycle in progress.
If you haven’t done so already I would add salt at 1tbsp/5gal so your Oscar’s don’t die of nitrite poisoning.
Don’t change any more water now until your ammonia and nitrite are both at 0. At this point I would project your nitrates to be in the 40-80 range. Water change at that point to keep nitrates around 5 after water change.
Remember when you add the FRT & ray you will have a mini cycle as the ammonia present will again be more than the available bacteria can convert quickly d/t increasing the bioload of the tank. Back off feeding during this time. Use the Seachem Prime in the “detox” dosing to convert ammonia to less harmful ammonium. When your ammonia & nitrite levels are once again at 0 you have a fully cycled system.
If you haven’t done so already I would add salt at 1tbsp/5gal so your Oscar’s don’t die of nitrite poisoning.
Don’t change any more water now until your ammonia and nitrite are both at 0. At this point I would project your nitrates to be in the 40-80 range. Water change at that point to keep nitrates around 5 after water change.
Remember when you add the FRT & ray you will have a mini cycle as the ammonia present will again be more than the available bacteria can convert quickly d/t increasing the bioload of the tank. Back off feeding during this time. Use the Seachem Prime in the “detox” dosing to convert ammonia to less harmful ammonium. When your ammonia & nitrite levels are once again at 0 you have a fully cycled system.
Ok so hold off on water changes until the nitrites are down to zero as well, got it. I wont have animals in there for another week at least and the rays not until xmas so no worries there.
Yes, hold off on water change so that the bacteria that convert nitrite can multiply to convert amount of nitrite present in your system now. That process allows both of the beneficial bacterial colony’s present to grow to the size required to consume & convert the waste create by your bioload 
I cant tell if this is getting worse or better... i feel like no water changes has sort of halted progress.Yes, hold off on water change so that the bacteria that convert nitrite can multiply to convert amount of nitrite present in your system now. That process allows both of the beneficial bacterial colony’s present to grow to the size required to consume & convert the waste create by your bioload
Your thinking about this is backwards. Previously, you did not do water changes when you needed to and now you’re feeling pressured to do water changes when you shouldn’t.
At this stage of your cycle, if you remove the available ammonia and nitrite by doing water changes, you are effectively removing the food source that the bacteria need in order for the colony to increase in size.
Your nitrate level is getting higher, which is an indication of the conversion of the available nitrite Into nitrate. The nitrate should always be getting higher when the bacteria are converting toxic waste efficiently. Providing your nitrite is decreasing which it is and your nitrate is increasing which it is your cycle is progressing.
Do not do any water changes until your ammonia and nitrite are at zero because by doing so you will short circuit your cycle.
At this stage of your cycle, if you remove the available ammonia and nitrite by doing water changes, you are effectively removing the food source that the bacteria need in order for the colony to increase in size.
Your nitrate level is getting higher, which is an indication of the conversion of the available nitrite Into nitrate. The nitrate should always be getting higher when the bacteria are converting toxic waste efficiently. Providing your nitrite is decreasing which it is and your nitrate is increasing which it is your cycle is progressing.
Do not do any water changes until your ammonia and nitrite are at zero because by doing so you will short circuit your cycle.
Ok thank you, you are right I am backwards because I did it wrong for so long I guess.
Question for you, I have a generator now but in the event of a power outage if i run the tank and the temp stays the same is there any reason to believe the cycle would stall or crash as long as it continues to run?
