WATER CYCLE

hi all, i have had my tank running for over 5 week the problem ive got is my ammonina and nitrate is to high i have a testing kit API one and the reading im getting is as followed


nitrite 0ppm
nitrate in between 0 -5.0
ammonia 1.0

i had live plants and they died so i took them out and have done 3 water changes about 15% each time using a gravel cleaner. what can i do to help lower the levels i also have snails and tiny white bug which im unsure about? would appricate any advice many thank Hayden

Welcome to our forum.

If you have no fish in the aquarium, you do not need to do partial water changes. They just dilute the ammonia and thus make the water less toxic to the fish. The ammonia spike is the first phase of the cycling process. The next thing will be a nitrite spike. Probably, you have been cleaning the gravel too well. The nitrogen cycle involves growing several types of beneficial bacteria to ingest and neutralise (eat) ammonia and nitrite, and those bacteria live mostly in the gravel and filter media.

When the nitrogen cycle is complete, you should do a 20 or 25 percent partial water change every week or so and clean only about half of the gravel per water change. For now, the ammonia will feed the beneficial bacteria. If you add a pinch or two of flake food every day or two, it will help the nitrogen cycle.

I'm not sure why the plants died, but they could be of a delicate type. Live plants usually help the nitrogen cycle. You should also turn on the aquarium light ten or so hours a day and run the filter all the time.

I would think you would need to do pwc's to keep the snails alive. What are you using to get the ammonia up like that?

I forgot about the snails. However, if they're just the common type that ride in on the plants, you should probably let the ammonia build up anyhow. The bacterial colonies can't grow without it; that's just one more reason to complete the nitrogen cycle before adding fish or invertebrates. For now, the water changes will just slow the cycling process. After cycling, the beneficial bacteria will be able to neutralise most of the ammonia, nitrite and even some nitrate. Subsequent weekly partial water changes help keep the aquarium in balance and take care of the things the cooties can't.

dkpate wrote:

I would think you would need to do pwc's to keep the snails alive. What are you using to get the ammonia up like that?

Hi im not using anything to get the ammonia that high thats what i dont understand

johnarthur wrote:

I forgot about the snails.:blush: However, if they're just the common type that ride in on the plants, you should probably let the ammonia build up anyhow. The bacterial colonies can't grow without it; that's just one more reason to complete the nitrogen cycle before adding fish or invertebrates. For now, the water changes will just slow the cycling process. After cycling, the beneficial bacteria will be able to neutralise most of the ammonia, nitrite and even some nitrate. Subsequent weekly partial water changes help keep the aquarium in balance and take care of the things the cooties can't.

Hi i think they are the common type of snail, so is the best thing to leave the tank as it is to grow the good bacteria that ive proberly destroyed by to many water changes ?

yes it is. you could put a little food in the tank every so often as if there were fish in it. this will feed the bacteria and make the process go a lot faster. you can also get some water conditioners that will also help speed up the process. and adding little bits of sponges under the gravel also helps too.

I don't think you will ruin your bacteria if you do pwc's. Hardly any good bacteria is in the water column, most of it is in your filter media, substrate and decor. If your ammonia is that high, I would not put too much fish food in there, or it's just going to make a big mess that takes forever to clean up. Trust me, I have gone that route. You could put maybe 2-3 flakes every other day, snails don't eat much.
Good luck!