Habitat - Indoor :: Water changes & hatchlings...

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so my new tank cycle seems to be taking it's good ol time and I just did an amonia check and its at 8.0 so either I'm getting ready to spike which means it should be dropping soon or it's just gong up. Anyway, whats the best way to do a water change with a hatching ? Also, since my new tank syndrome / cycle is still goin on or goin no where for all I know wont doing like a 30-50& water change put some sort of hinderance on the cycle. I'd really like to see clear water and not this cloudy new tank syndrome crap.

[SpotsMama]

8.0 is pretty high. How long has it been climbing? what about nitrites? As ammonia goes down, nitrites go up, then nitrites go down and nitrates go up. What kind of biofilter media do you use?

[MoreBloodWine]

Well I doubt all of it is amonia because I added some neutralizer a while back so I'd be willing to bet some of it is Amonium which will still register on an Amonia test. As for nitrates those are coming in at 0 - 5.0ppm and nitrites are at 0ppm. I also did a PH test for the heck of it and that came in at like 7.6. As for what kind of filter I have, I use the ZooMed 501 canister filter on the 10g tank. So it has the sponge filter on the return flow side then the ceramic rings and a decently sized carbon bag on the "in" side.

Also, the tank ran with nothing but water only and like 3 rosy red minnows for like 4-5 days. It's only been occupied by the turtle since Sep. 24th which is when the lil one showed up.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so I've decided to do the water change just to get the amonia / amonium levels down. Best I can figure a 50% should be ok or should I go for soemthign a little less than 50% since I probably have little to no beneficial bacteria ? Also, I still dont know what the best way to handle a water change is with a hatchling, should I take him/her out and put him/her in a small bowl with some paper towel to burrow under or leave him/her in the tank ?

[SpotsMama]

It sure seems like the cycling would be further along by now. Has it had the white cloudy look since the beginning? Could something be killing off the bacteria? Once I put too much ph down in the tank and it killed all the good bacteria and I had to let it cycle all over again. Too much salt or acid can do it, though it doesn't sound like acid is your problem. What kind of neutralizer did you put in?

[MoreBloodWine]

Its called Pure, that aside I also said it didnt run with anything live in it for a whole so I wont get any "cycling" that way.

[SpotsMama]

Even the little minnows should have given it some sort of jump start, I would think.

On what to do when you change the water, just take your hatchling out and keep him in a bowl, like you said. A little bitty one is apt to get caught up in a siphon.

[MoreBloodWine]

I wouldnt be using a siphon because its only a 10g tank, I'd be cupping the water out. On that note I'll still use a bowl to keep him/her in when I change it. As for the minnows, I'm sure they jumpstarted it a bit but that aside the Amonia does seem to be spiking so for all I know it could be getting ready to drop. Either way I'm not sure if a 50% change will be to much, last thing I wana do is kill off some of the beneficial bacteria and thats assuming I have any.

[MoreBloodWine]

I'm sorry I just looked and what I use is called Prime not Pure and I'm doing like a 30 - 40% water change.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, the waters been added and I put in a touch of prime for dechlorinate it etc assuming the park we live in chlorinates their water. Anyway, how long should I let it sit before I put the lil one back in. I didnt for obvious reason use hot water I used cold water so last thing I wana do is pul lil Niko back in the tank and shock him/her because of the water I just added. Right now he/shes in a bowl with some papertowel with a lid on it, and yes its vented. The water does look "slightly" cleared with the partial change I did, but the good thing is with the 2.5 - 3g that I took out and then replaced the amonia should have a considerabl drop in it.

[Daniel3507]

wait till the water temp goes up again.

[MoreBloodWine]

Sounds good, I just hope the 30-40% water change I did helps get the amonia down and that my tank finally cycles to the point of crystal clear water.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so even with the water change I did my Amonia still looks like its a 4.0 - 8.0 closer to 8.0

So maybe I tested to soon, I dont know but now I'm just scratching my damn head.

[fishyfingers]

What kind of test kit do you have? It might be giving false readings. Just give it time, my tank took a week just to show ammonia and at least 3 weeks to show nitrites. The tank completed its cycle in 5 weeks.

Just keep changing the water.

[SpotsMama]

My tank cycled a whole lot faster than that but thinking back, I recall now that I used Biozyme to speed up the process. But after a large water change, the ammonia really should be lower. I agree with fishyfingers, you might be getting false readings. Often times you can take a water sample to a pet store and they will test it for you.

Does the water still look cloudy?