Both my dads tanks and my goldfish tank are healthy with happy fish and no ammonia and nitrites. Never knew about cycling untill i bought a puffer =( this site has tought me alot! i was real scared i was going to kill the guy from what i was reading. all because puffers as so darn awsome!i really wish the petstore would have told me. even though i doubt he would make it there either. (at least they had cycled tanks tho).
thanks so much for the help guys ill be sure to add lots of photos once i stop splashing water all over the place doing water changes and checks. Ive changed like 300 gallons probably so far! all thanks to you guys and a little bit of work i think hes going to be fine! still checking parameters bi-hourly.
New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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bigfatfish
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 938
- Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:33 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: GSP "Puffy" RIP old friend 1999-2009
GSPs "Flash" & "Lionel" - in a 55 UK Gallon Bow front Marine Tank with sump. - Location (country): United Kingdom
- Location: Devon, UK
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Little Puffy is lucky to have you working so hard to make things right. Fingers crossed for you.
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Im just glad someone made this site. I thought water changes could be harmful, if done to often. Everything this site has tought me has weighed very heavily in all my decisions and will continue to! untill i know enough from experience to maybe help folks like me! I cant wait to ask real questions about this specific type of puffer and grow him into a big happy puffy!
Ill keep trying my best to make this as quick and smooth as possible for him. even if that mean lots of bucket hauling for me!
Ill keep trying my best to make this as quick and smooth as possible for him. even if that mean lots of bucket hauling for me!
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
I CANT THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS READ THIS AND HELPED ENOUGH! nothing helps more than hearing it from someone who's done it! or seen people like me mess it up a bunch!
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Adding Cycle is like adding more fish poo to your already polluted water. It's total junk!Pufferpunk wrote:Have you looked into an instant-cycling product like what's listed in the ER cycling article in our Library? Worked great for me. Don't use anything else though.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
What?! Its a good thing I've been changing the water alot! The pet store guy told me it would help! Grrrr.... That's the last thing I want is more poop! I hope he's okay while I'm at work today. The ammonia and nitrites were low this morning. I hope that means the filters from my other tanks are handling the toxins enough for a day. I'll let every one know how it goes when I get home!
Thanks again
Thanks again
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Woah! I think it working. My little bro just came back from school and tested for ammonia and nitrite. He said puffy is hiding and both tests came out clear! Has any one every had things go south from this point?!?!
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Well, with everything your doing & time--it had to cycle eventually!
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
bigfatfish
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 938
- Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:33 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: GSP "Puffy" RIP old friend 1999-2009
GSPs "Flash" & "Lionel" - in a 55 UK Gallon Bow front Marine Tank with sump. - Location (country): United Kingdom
- Location: Devon, UK
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Well, if the readings are 0 now & you haven't done a recent water change, I would hope that you're over the worst. Certainly keep regular checks on the water quality until you are sure though. Well done. 
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Woot! Will it or can it revert tho. Atleast in the beginning stages.
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bigfatfish
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 938
- Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:33 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: GSP "Puffy" RIP old friend 1999-2009
GSPs "Flash" & "Lionel" - in a 55 UK Gallon Bow front Marine Tank with sump. - Location (country): United Kingdom
- Location: Devon, UK
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Unless you do something to unbalance the tank - add more fish or livestock of any sort or don't clear uneaten food or take the filter apart & clean it too soon, I don't see why the ammonia/nitrites should creep back up. Just do regular water changes from now, don't overfeed, keep testing & leave the filter well alone for now!
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
Awsome! I'll wait a week or two before I do anything. I'll just change the water when I get high nitrates. Once I'm sure I've got stability I'll put sand and what ever else puffy needs to be happy. And guess where imma go for advice! Lol
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Malabar Front
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:11 pm
- Location: Chester, UK
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
If you've got a reliable reading, I can't see it going bad unless a) you manage to kill you bacteria, or b) you get an excess of ammonia from overstocking or overfeeding etc.
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LilGreenPuffer
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 5301
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:26 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Dwarf puffer - Thumbelina (only mine in my heart now; she lives in CT with my friend)
RIP Inigo Montoya, Fezzik, and Vizinni.
RIP James Bond. - Location (country): United States
- Location: Kentucky
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
When you add that sand, remember that the current substrate is holding a lot of that nitrifying bateria, so save it and put it into pantyhose or something and keep it in the tank with the sand for a week or two to letsome of the bacteria transfer to the sand.
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him or her. Will she gain anything by it? Will it restore her to a control over her own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to freedom for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
Found among the papers of Mohatma Gandhi
Come and visit http://www.thetriopsforum.com!
I AM A DUDETTE!
NEED NITRIFYING BACTERIA FOR YOUR NEW TANK? PM ME!
Found among the papers of Mohatma Gandhi
Come and visit http://www.thetriopsforum.com!
I AM A DUDETTE!
NEED NITRIFYING BACTERIA FOR YOUR NEW TANK? PM ME!
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Youngsir
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: One small Baileyi puffer
- Location: long island, ny
Re: New Puffer and partly cycled tank. HELP!
PUFFY IS GREAT!!!
tanks cycled fully now just checking lvls once a week!
Check out the new pic and see for yourself!
Things have come a long way.
tanks cycled fully now just checking lvls once a week!
Check out the new pic and see for yourself!
Things have come a long way.