wellguys i cycled for two months and finally decided to stock my tank after it tested good for a week and now according to most people my tank is cycling again now that i have fish in it what do i do does anyone have macro algae i can use anything i dont want to loose my money it was the lasti had lol
a second cycle!@!@!
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what makes you think you're having a second cycle?
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how big is a tank? I think you added way too much at one time,
add a little Prime , and a little stability
Based in your statement that your tank is cycling again I would assume you are not totally clear on what the cycle is. A tank is in continuous cycle. To help you understand what is going on and better prepare you to deal with this I would offer this.....
The cycle is the process that takes ammonia from the water, changes it to nitrite and then changes nitrite into nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite in small amounts are deadly to fish. Nitrate can be also if allowed to reach high levels.
Here is how the cycle works. Ammonia is created by decaying uneaten food and fish waste. If ammonia is present in the water a type of bacteria will start to grow by consuming the ammonia. The waste product of that bacteria is nitrite.
If nitrite is present another bacteria will start to grow by consuming the nitrite. The waste created by that bacteria is nitrate. You get rid of nitrate by removing a portion of water and adding new salt water with no nitrates in it.
While your tank was beginning to cycle the colonies of bacteria grew to a size that could consume the ammonia and nitrite. By adding so many fish, the quantity of ammonia and nitrite grew beyond what the bacteria could consume. That bacteria is eating as fast as it can. The only solution is to increase the amount of bacteria.
We increase the amount of bacteria (naturally) by only adding livestock slowly. Add one fish and ammonia only increases a little bit. The bacteria has a bit more food so the colony grows enough in a short period so that it can handle the little increase. After a week or too, you are back to a stable situation and can safely add another fish or two.
There does come a point where there isn't enough available surface area for more bacteria and adding more fish will cause major problems. That is why the size of the tank and the amount of live rock plays such a big role. A 10 gal tank with 10 pounds of live rock can only support a small amount of livestock. A 100 gal tank with 100 pounds of live rock can support greater amounts of livestock.
I hope that helps. As others have said, you are in a situation at the moment where you can't wait on Mother Nature. Using prime and stability would help but I think a better solution would be to rehome most of those fish. Maybe just keep 2 for now. The store may take them back and give you store credit.
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The cycle is the process that takes ammonia from the water, changes it to nitrite and then changes nitrite into nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite in small amounts are deadly to fish. Nitrate can be also if allowed to reach high levels.
Here is how the cycle works. Ammonia is created by decaying uneaten food and fish waste. If ammonia is present in the water a type of bacteria will start to grow by consuming the ammonia. The waste product of that bacteria is nitrite.
If nitrite is present another bacteria will start to grow by consuming the nitrite. The waste created by that bacteria is nitrate. You get rid of nitrate by removing a portion of water and adding new salt water with no nitrates in it.
While your tank was beginning to cycle the colonies of bacteria grew to a size that could consume the ammonia and nitrite. By adding so many fish, the quantity of ammonia and nitrite grew beyond what the bacteria could consume. That bacteria is eating as fast as it can. The only solution is to increase the amount of bacteria.
We increase the amount of bacteria (naturally) by only adding livestock slowly. Add one fish and ammonia only increases a little bit. The bacteria has a bit more food so the colony grows enough in a short period so that it can handle the little increase. After a week or too, you are back to a stable situation and can safely add another fish or two.
There does come a point where there isn't enough available surface area for more bacteria and adding more fish will cause major problems. That is why the size of the tank and the amount of live rock plays such a big role. A 10 gal tank with 10 pounds of live rock can only support a small amount of livestock. A 100 gal tank with 100 pounds of live rock can support greater amounts of livestock.
I hope that helps. As others have said, you are in a situation at the moment where you can't wait on Mother Nature. Using prime and stability would help but I think a better solution would be to rehome most of those fish. Maybe just keep 2 for now. The store may take them back and give you store credit.
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You could post them up in for sale forum or you could post them in the for free forum. If the store is too far to take them back I would imagine it is too far to go get the prime and stability. Not to be cruel but, that sounds like only one option is left. Unfortunately that would be for the fish to die a painful death. I know that sounds like I am being harsh but it is the most likely result unless you take some drastic action. Sorry.
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. One more idea. Put a call out to people in your area. Many on this site who may be close to you will over to take them until your tank is ready for them. I'm sorry to have to say this but from all of your other threads you need to slow down, search and read. You seem to do things quickly then after things go down hill you ask questions. This hobby shouldn't be rushed and if you truly care for the animals then you will start to do 'your' own research before making decisions.
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At this point your safest bet is to increase the size of your water changes and make sure you continue to do so, since the ammonia can build up. and do it with RO.
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to be honest i dont think 5 gallon water changes will do much specially since you have added 11 new critters to a freshly cycled tank id step it up to 15-20 gallons a day or more. and like rich said your best option would be to see if someone local will babysit your fish for a while
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I'm sorry to hear that but Rich is right. Put up a post to see if anyone can take care of your fishies until your tank is stable. I'm sure someone will gladly help. BTW that was a lot of fish to add for any tank IMO. I don't know how you cycled your tank but it seems it's taking forever. Maybe you should let it sit there and forget about it for a while.
The damsels are hardy. Probably the clowns as well. The anthias on the other hand is probably your canary in the cave mine along with the shrimp. Keep an eye on them for stress.
The worst thing you can do is panic. Sometimes things seem outrageous for a day or 2 but then may settle down. you need to not jump with solutions immediately. My wife is a professional horticulturalist and gardening is a lot like keeping fish. Its about consistency. Making sure you create a balance and never stop doing the consistent maintenance work to maintain the balance. Don't deviate from that repetition.
I agree with what everyone is saying, but don't panic. Like most have said from here out just slow down. Life needs time to adjust so that it keeps balance. Just don't go to far the other way with a solution and cause a new problem.
If you can get the fish out that's great. If you can't you might lose some fish, but even the most experienced reef keeper has made mistakes and lost a creature. Its disappointing but it happens.
The worst thing you can do is panic. Sometimes things seem outrageous for a day or 2 but then may settle down. you need to not jump with solutions immediately. My wife is a professional horticulturalist and gardening is a lot like keeping fish. Its about consistency. Making sure you create a balance and never stop doing the consistent maintenance work to maintain the balance. Don't deviate from that repetition.
I agree with what everyone is saying, but don't panic. Like most have said from here out just slow down. Life needs time to adjust so that it keeps balance. Just don't go to far the other way with a solution and cause a new problem.
If you can get the fish out that's great. If you can't you might lose some fish, but even the most experienced reef keeper has made mistakes and lost a creature. Its disappointing but it happens.
Well thanks guys for all the help and actualy the levels where lower this morning before school so I think I'm going to do a 20g water change an another sand vacuum and then see if I can did someone near me to babysit my fishes so I just wanted to say I think thing s are looking better and it was a noob mistake and all I can do is learn
