Author Topic: Help with fish tank cycle please (Read 21064 times) 107 replies

Paddy60 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 30, 2016, 07:28:15 AM »

@Andy the minion @Matt The ph is a steady 8.2/8.3 . Will do a large water change today ,have noticed one of the other plants is losing a bit of its paint only a few small amounts though ,but going to remove this aswell

Matt · « **Reply #21 on:** December 30, 2016, 07:47:25 AM »

Is there anything else in the tank Paddy that you are not totally sure is aquarium safe?

Paddy60 · « **Reply #22 on:** December 30, 2016, 07:55:57 AM »

@Matt everything else bought from the fish shop maidenhead aquatics

Littlefish · « **Reply #23 on:** December 30, 2016, 07:58:41 AM »

Your pH is similar to mine, and unlikely to drop/crash.
I'd have thought that anything bought from MA should be safe for your tank.

Paddy60 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 30, 2016, 08:03:05 AM »

@Littlefish i would have thought so. have removed the online stuff and will remove the plant with the paint chipping,will do large water change and see from there

Littlefish · « **Reply #25 on:** December 30, 2016, 08:10:00 AM »

Best of luck.

Andy The Minion · « **Reply #26 on:** December 30, 2016, 08:42:43 AM »

@Paddy60 With that pH the bacterial should also loving it, if is only it were below 6 then they would struggle. I'm at a loss, the only thing I can suggest is adding more established biological media

Paddy60 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 30, 2016, 10:26:50 AM »

@Littlefish @Matt @Andy the minion Decided to strip the tank down and start again ,did want to eventually move the tank slightly anyway.
Have just stripped all the plastic plants out and under inspection have found maidenhead aquatics have put a label on the bottom of the base which possibly the glue is toxic to fish

Littlefish · « **Reply #28 on:** December 30, 2016, 12:33:33 PM »

Now is a good time to move the tank, so much better than when everything is up and running and the fish have settled in.

Paddy60 · « **Reply #29 on:** December 30, 2016, 12:49:58 PM »

yes i agree didnt want to move it when it was running.
Anyway have not only found labels on the bottom of the plants ,but there was a load of gunk on the heater which was realy hard to clean off.

Sue · « **Reply #30 on:** December 30, 2016, 02:30:41 PM »

One other thought occurs to me. It might be worth taking some tap water to a fish shop and asking them to test the KH. With your pH it should be fairly high but you never know. If it does turn out to be low you can boost it artificially for cycling as the bacteria do need carbonate to multiply.

This isn't a likely scenario but it is one that can easily be eliminated.

Paddy60 · « **Reply #31 on:** December 30, 2016, 04:11:48 PM »

@Sue have looked on thames water site they say my gh should be 16 which iv tested with strips also kh is testing at between 10 and 15 .
Have stripped tank out now scrubbed everything including wash gravel.Had three plants with labels on base which i haven't been able to get the glue off yet so have not put those back in.I had a glue substance on the heater which has taken a good while to clean off,dont no what it was,it was not there when i set up last time.
Now everything back in place and filled up.Will dechlorinate with double dose in a few hours,just letting things run a while.Going to dose ammonia to 2ppm to start with, and try tetra safe start.I read that safe start does not like high ammonia level so going with 2ppm.
Well thats kept me busy today just finished .Lets hope this gets it done .Back to the patience game now.

Sue · « **Reply #32 on:** December 30, 2016, 04:16:35 PM »

I didn't really think it would be the KH with that high pH but it needed to be checked just on the off chance.

Starting with a lower dose of ammonia is fine, you can even use just 1 ppm. Once the bacteria start growing then you can increase to 3 ppm. Maybe even wait till the tank is cycled with 1 ppm and then increase to 3.

Paddy60 · « **Reply #33 on:** December 30, 2016, 04:20:21 PM »

@Sue i willprobably doe that keep it low at first.Thanks to you and the others for your help.fingers crossed now

Paddy60 · « **Reply #34 on:** January 12, 2017, 08:03:36 AM »

have been running the new cycle for 11days now and once again have a hard white build up
on the heater. is this a concern. could it be down to water hardness.
advice needed please

Sue · « **Reply #35 on:** January 12, 2017, 10:15:32 AM »

White deposits in a tank where the water is hard could be just limescale. These usually occur round the surface of the water where the minerals in the water are deposited as water evaporates.
There is also a softer white deposit that appears on things like heaters - I have softish water and I get this second deposit.

Paddy60 · « **Reply #36 on:** January 12, 2017, 10:46:58 AM »

my other tank has these soft deposits round the heater top. This tank has like a hard deposit on the heater tube and very difficult to remove. I had to use a razor blade and nail brush last time. you could liken the deposit as a hard boild sweet stuck to a surface and gone hard. I have no idea what this is or where its coming from. I did consider is it coming from the plastic heater bracket. This is concerning me that it could be the reason the tank would not cycle

Matt · « **Reply #37 on:** January 13, 2017, 08:54:40 PM »

What make is your heater?

Paddy60 · « **Reply #38 on:** January 13, 2017, 09:16:30 PM »

fluval

Matt · « **Reply #39 on:** January 14, 2017, 07:02:06 AM »

Have you had any progress with the cycle, now 13 days in?

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Help With Fish Tank Cycle Please

Help With Fish Tank Cycle Please

Author Topic: Help with fish tank cycle please (Read 21064 times) 107 replies

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