update on my situation...need advice, HELP

Ok I Did My Tests Today...it's Even Worse Now, I'm In The Middle Of A Cycle All Over Again.

Ph - 8.2 - 8.3
Alk - Low - Norm
Ammonia - 0.25
Nitirites - 0.2
Nitrates - 2.5

So, Am I To Do Water Changes Or Not. Everyone Suggested To Not Do Water Changes During Cycling, So If I Am In The Middle Of A Cycle Again, Do I Do A Water Change Or Not??? Could I Add Cycle Or A Bacteria Supplement To Help Things. Will I Lose Everything That's Alive? My Lr Is Starting To Turn White In Some Of The Parts Of My Purple Coraline. I Really Don't Know What To Do. I Can't Lose Everything. If I Do I Will Have To Give Up And Sell Everything Off Since I Can't Afford To Start All Over Again. I Can't Find Any Algae For Sale. I Live In Canada So We Don't Have Everything Available To Us. I Need Immediate Help As I Am Freaking. I Should Have Never Removed My Sponge From The Filter As I Have A Feeling This Was The Cause Of My Problems. Cycling Took 6 Weeks In The Beginning, Will It Take That Long Again, They Definitly Won't Live Through That. Will This Happen Everytime I Add A Fish???

 

OK....first step. Take a deep breath.

Second step. Watch your fish for stress. If they appear stressed, do a good size water change with water that you know is Ammonia free.

Third step. Sit back and enjoy your tank.

Yes, this will happen everytime you add a fish. Particularly if you add a fish and remove a sponge at the same time. However, bacteria reproduce so fast that you should be fine unless you also have a lot of rotting detritus in your tank.

There really isn't such a thing as "A Cycle". The Nitrogen Cycle is going on 24/7 in your tank. So is the phosphate cycle, Sulphur cycle, and the Carbon cycle, etc. The first "Cycle" takes so long because there is so much die-off when you add LR or LS.

 

I Thought A Water Change Would Be Bad At This Point. Wouldn't My Perameters Get Worse? If There Is Any Stuff Stuck To My Filter Intack Should I Remove It And Syphon It Out?

 

Waterchanges when you first add your LR (and have all of that die-off) will merely lengthen the "cycle". A waterchange now (assuming not a lot of rotting detritus), will simply lower the Ammonium content of the water.

Frankly, I wouldn't do anything unless the fish are stressed. (Lightening in color, darkening in color, gasping as the surface of the water, etc.)

Test for Ammonia 8 hours from now. It will be a lot less or non-existent.

 

inwall is right. The bacteria in your filter is constantly breaking down Ammonia and getting rid of it. If there was nothing to break down, the bacteria would die off.

.25 ammonia is not considered toxic to fish. Relax. Your parameters are not bad at all. Let it be. Who told your readings were bad? How long have you been running the tank?

Also, water changes are not a bad thing during the "seeding" of your filter. Do one to eliminate the accumulating nitrates. Water changes will also help rid of the trace ammonia and nitrites. Make sure you use salt water from the LFS or someone else's water from an established tank to help seed yours.

 

no one told me they were bad. everything i read says any ammonia is bad in a tank. fish seem fine. my regular water change is due monday so i'll do one then. unfortunatly i don't think the lfs here will give me any water...ba's. i have no one i can get water from. can i just use my ro water and of course salt? the reason i ask about the water change is cause i have received different opinions. some are telling me a water change now would be crucial seeing as i am in the middle of a cycle and others are saying it's what you should do. i didn't want to add chemicals but i thought seachem stability would be a good thing to add as it helps lower the ammonia and nitrites and aids in new tank syndrome????

 

R.O. water mixed with a marine salt mix is ideal so go ahead and get some ready. Water changes are only bad when you first set up a tank and it goes through what I call the "initial cycle". Because your "initial" cycle is over and you're only experiencing a mini cycle bbecause of what's happened lately, I would go ahead and do a SMALL water change and see what that does to your ammonia level.

 

Water changes in an un-cycled tank are not bad when the tank is initially setup if you use someone else's water. Cycled water, etc.

 

well everyone, i have no idea what possibly caused this to happen but to make it worse i don't know if i can trust my ammonia tests. no matter what water i test, the end result is never yellow like the chart. it's always a greeny yellow. unfortunatly i am going to have to buy a few test kits to determine if i have a problem or not. i have the ammonia seachem buddy and it has not changed since i was initially cycling. when u guys test the water for ammonia does your water match the chart it comes with?