Using Stability in a new tank

[quatermass]

I've had to set up a 60Litre freshwater tank in a bit of a hurry.

I had a 50L tank and it started leaking.

So I set up a new 60L in the Diana Walstad style.

1" of aquatic soil sold for use in ponds, 1" of gravel. 30W of light.

Put in lots of plants and fitted it up with water and added a CO2 feed from a tetra bottle. Heater set to 25C. Rena Type 2 internal filter with new foam.

I also added some calcium carbonate as my tap water is very soft. GH 1, KH 0-3
I treated for Chloramines as usual and added 1.5 caps worth of Stability every day.

Then I added my fish.

Due to the emergency there is probalby a lot of fish in there.

8 small corys, 2 small zebra loaches, 3 black mollies, 8 glowlight tetras and 2 Dwarf african frogs.

I fed only very lightly every other day.

Now its my 5th day and my test kit is showing NO2 at 5mg/l, NO3 is at 50mg/l
The water has been cloudly since day 1.

No idea what the NH3 is at as I don't have a test for this.

I put in a bag of rinsed Ammo-chips next to the internal filter outlet just in case. Don't know if its doing much good though.


I don't know if the cloudy water is due to the calcium carbonate and potassium bicarbonte I added which is now giving me a GH of 6d, KH of 6dh or if its a bacteria bloom.

I'm worried about how long its taking to cycle.
I've used Stability before and usually its 2-3 days.

But I've still got NO2 readings.

Fish are behaving as normal and I've got a nightly air line on just in case.

To cap it all, this morning one of the mollies gave birth to 10 fry!
(I had removed the male 3 months previous!).

So any idea when it will cycle?

I've got a bottle of Prime. But if I use this won't it take away the ammonia food from the growing bacteria in the filter?

[Tech Support CH]

I am not surprised that it is taking this long to cycle. That is a lot of fish to be in a new aquarium.

The cloudiness is probably a bacteria bloom. Although, if it persists once your NO2 reads at 0 then I would say it is a precipitation. And to use Clarity and some fine filter floss to clear it up.

I would recommend that you continue to dose Stability until your NO2 is at 0. During this time it would benefit to add Prime to bind the ammonia and nitrite up and prevent harm to the fish. The bound ammonia and nitrite is still available for the bacteria to consume. So it will not affect your cycling.

[quatermass]

Thanks for replying.

I have been since yesterday putting in 1ml a day of Prime as a precaution.

Does Prime turn NH3 into NH4+?

I'm curious at how fast Prime takes to work. Its it virtually instant?

Does it reduce the amount of oxygen in the water?

[Tech Support CH]

Prime reduces free ammonia in to an ammoniacal like substance. It works almost instantly. Prime, like all dechlorinators, can reduce oxygen if you overdose.