Your current Fish tank Setups!

Shall I take them out assumingly? Also, tempted to remove the old filter media

Annnnnnd should I make the light come on only when its actually day light?
 
No leave the fish in, change 95% of the water, and retest. You should be doing daily water changes until your cycle completes.

I wouldn't be too worried by 40+ nitrates, it comes out of my taps at close to that.

Don't touch the filter or you will effectively start gain. There is zero need to change sponges except if they are too clogged for water to flow effectively.
 
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No no, I have some old filter media in the tank still.

Also, my tank says to fill up VIA the top of the filter (as the lid comes off) are you saying to poor it in to the water directly,?
 
Yeah u shan't be doing that.

I've been informed to basically Clea Ed it if it starts getting Dorty, then replace if when you squeeze it it doesn't bounce back to shape
 
You only throw away mature media when it has literally fallen to bits. I'm still using the original sponge and carbon pads in my Fluval U4s, ~4 years on. Ceramic media never needs replacing.

Remove the pads, remove part of the bacterial colony that keep the water safe for the fish, the bacteria are not fussy about how the media looks visually. ;)
 
Yeah, I guess it's just a marketing / sales pitch when they recommend you replace part of it every 2 - 4 weeks. I never used to do that, though sometimes I would remove one piece every few months. I shan't even be doing that now.
 
I was told to basically take one section out rinse in old tank water (during water change) then do the others later down the line...
 
Cool :)

Did a 95% water change last night before bed after panicking :o So i'll do another test later today and see where I'm at.
 
I clean my filter every 2-3 months (I feed fish so little there is no need to do it more frequently). Plus the canister filter is huge.

When I clean it out I have a bucket with some tank and filter water in it, squeeze/rinse all the media out into the dirty bucket and setup the filter again. As I have a canister filter I just pour a small jug of dirty water into the filter media and then the rest with the current tank water. Done it this way for 15+ years and never caused me any issues. I rarely throw out the filter wool type media, add some clumps every now and then, but that is the only media I would ever bin (apart from medicated/carbon pouches if ever used for a short period).

Also I always clean my filter before doing a water change/syphon as I find the tank clears much better (intake pipe is low enough to continue running when doing 25% change). Just preference, no science behind that to my knowledge.

Delvis, this is why I'm a big fan of fishless cycles as I just set the tank up, run it for a couple of weeks without any changes and it's always sorted itself out. I agree with doing regular water changes for the sake of the fish but if levels are causing you concern and you do have another tank you can put them in (i.e. already extablished) then I would do so and just let the cycling tank sort itself out.

Lights for 6 hours is fine but also depends where tank is, if it's in direct sunlight then could cause you issues. Mine has little natural light so run for 10 hours.
 
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boxman2000 said:
Delvis, this is why I'm a big fan of fishless cycles as I just set the tank up, run it for a couple of weeks without any changes and it's always sorted itself out. I agree with doing regular water changes for the sake of the fish but if levels are causing you concern and you do have another tank you can put them in (i.e. already extablished) then I would do so and just let the cycling tank sort itself out.

Lights for 6 hours is fine but also depends where tank is, if it's in direct sunlight then could cause you issues.
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Howdy

Basically, I had a small 10ltr tank which was terrible, so we purchased a new one, hence the two fish being in there. Live and learn as they say.

How often do you think I should do water changes? Also, how am I meant to know it's coming to an end of a cycle if things like the Nitrates peak etc? Should I be changing then also? =/

The tank is near a window with blinds on, so it's not direct sunlight and the window is down the side of the house, I'll just have to keep an eye on it....Needs be I can move the tank along the surface in to the middle of the room more.
 
Yes, a vast amount of potential issues can be avoided if one is patient and allows the tank to cycle, no matter how long it takes. There's something very satisfying about allowing this to occur at nature's own intended pace. A couple of months, if need be, though most will find that they can achieve what they require within two / three to four weeks.
 
IF you are in a position to rehome the pl*cs for a bit then I would do. It will save you the stress as of course you're going to be worried about their welfare during this process. If you know someone with a tank/hospital tank that could home fish for a few weeks, to be honest they aren't the best fish for cycling.

Ammonia will zero out before nitrite. Of course your target is zero for both of these which = cycled tank!

Nitrate will appear soon after nitrite and peak at mid 30's to 40's ppm which in my experience is close to the point when tank is cycled (numbers dropping a little bit after this point.)

Also do not overdose on decholorinators as this will likely slow the cycling process.

Personally, I would not change more than 40% of a tanks water in one go with fish in it. Just my personal opinion. I don't think I've ever done more than a 25%, if not 20% thinking about it.

Last ditch if you know someone that uses RO water or makes their own (hobbyist or even window cleaner) might be worth doing a 25% change with that if you can. Really could help you out.
 
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arc@css said:
Little and often is the best way re : water changes, imo. :)
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This, exactly.

Also, rather than adding to my quote above, there are some that say to reduce ammonia/nitrite spikes you should add extra food to the tank. Ignore that advice IMO.

Great forum and some good advice with a good intro to cycling here
 
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Cheers all

So, levels still don't seem amazing after the water change last night. Time for another water change then :(

One of the plecs doesn't look great either and sadly have no other established tank for them to go in.
 
We live and learn. Not nice to see but hopefully will recover.

arc@css said:
Take it to a local fish store for a holiday while you sort the tank out? They shouldn't charge much to house him / her there for a week or six. :)
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Definitely worth a try.

One thing I've always been impressed with at one of my local fish stores is they won't sell fish unless they know you have a cycled tank – they ask for a fresh water sample for them to test (for free) to make sure.

It covers them I guess if someone buys fish and some/all die.
 
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