The Puffer Forum

So I've got myself in a little bind and I'm freaking out a bit. Hopefully someone can help.

I have a 20 gallon tank that has been cycling for 4 weeks and was doing wonderfully up until now. Last Friday I did a 50% water change because my nitrAtes were off the chart. At the time, nitrIte was at 0 and so was ammonia. While I did the water change, I quickly planted some java ferns on a piece of driftwood that was already in the tank. After that water change, my tank stopped processing ammonia. Complete full stop. I have no idea why it did that and I'm completely lost.

On top of everything, I just got notice that my 3 pea puffers are going to be delivered on Wednesday. This is the ONLY tank I have that's even in the process of cycling. I know I am not supposed to just toss them into what is apparently an uncycled tank, but I'm not sure I have any choice. Does anyone have advice?

90% WC & Tetra's Safestart added directly to the filter immediately before adding the puffers, should do the trick.

Thank you for the advice. Is Safestart okay to use then? I've heard a lot of talk about it causing crashes later down the line and that would be devastating to my puffers obviously. I'm already planning on doing ammonia and nitrite tests two times a day for the few few weeks that I've got the little guys going.

I know I can get Safe start at our local Wal-Mart at least that's a start.

tristyn wrote:Thank you for the advice. Is Safestart okay to use then? I've heard a lot of talk about it causing crashes later down the line and that would be devastating to my puffers obviously. I'm already planning on doing ammonia and nitrite tests two times a day for the few few weeks that I've got the little guys going.

I know I can get Safe start at our local Wal-Mart at least that's a start.

I used SafeStart several times when starting up tanks back when I didn't have other tanks to steal filter media from (instant cycle ) so I'll vouch for it being a decent product.

Follow PufferPunk's instructions - shake the bottle well and pour it in just before the puffers.

Also make sure you do not do a water change in the week after you add it - give it time to do it's thing. And be aware that if you take any water tests during that week, the numbers may be off. Check it again after a week and you should be in great shape.

I'm sure you probably know this, but if you have a Tetra or Marineland filter with those throwaway filter inserts, down the road make sure you don't throw away the inserts and rinse out the sponge aggressively at the same time, or you'll lose most if not all of the good bacteria you added with the SafeStart.

I agree about those filters. Highly recommend Aquaclear filters!

I used SafeStart several times when starting up tanks back when I didn't have other tanks to steal filter media from (instant cycle ) so I'll vouch for it being a decent product.

Follow PufferPunk's instructions - shake the bottle well and pour it in just before the puffers.

Also make sure you do not do a water change in the week after you add it - give it time to do it's thing. And be aware that if you take any water tests during that week, the numbers may be off. Check it again after a week and you should be in great shape.

I'm sure you probably know this, but if you have a Tetra or Marineland filter with those throwaway filter inserts, down the road make sure you don't throw away the inserts and rinse out the sponge aggressively at the same time, or you'll lose most if not all of the good bacteria you added with the SafeStart.

Good to hear, thank you. I actually had some media from a filter in the tank at work when I started this cycle, so it's a bummer that it ended up not working well for me in the end. Not sure where it went wrong. Either way, I'll pick up the Safestart tomorrow so I'm ready. Are you saying that I'll be okay not testing the water for a week after I add it? I'm a paranoid person when it comes to getting new fish and it'll be tough not to wanna check everything to make sure they're safe!

I have an Aquaclear 30 running on the tank currently. It has 2 sponges and a bag of bio media in it, and I haven't even touched them during my water changes so far. During one change I pulled the basket out and let it sit in my tank water in the aquarium because I was concerned about it drying out but I didn't do that last time. I plan on keeping the sponges and media until they're literally falling apart. I was told the 30 should be big enough for just the 3 pea puffers but I'll be happy to upgrade if I find that changes in the future.

Why makes u thing your tank stopped processing ammonia? Were u using dechlorinator during the water change?cos that shouldn't happen at all. If u read ammonia shortly after water change, that may be from the water source. Mine is city tap and they put in ammonia intentionally.

scpion wrote:Why makes u thing your tank stopped processing ammonia? Were u using dechlorinator during the water change?cos that shouldn't happen at all. If u read ammonia shortly after water change, that may be from the water source. Mine is city tap and they put in ammonia intentionally.

I use Prime dechlorinator when I do water changes. I've heard that Prime can cause false positives but only for up to 48 hours and it has been past that. My ammonia was dosed up to 2 ppm after my water change and has not moved since. I've tested my tap water just to be safe and it has always read 0 ppm of ammonia. I was and am pretty confused as well. My pH level has been stable and from what I can see NitrIte has remained 0 since the water change and NitrAte hasn't changed. I have photos on my ipod touch of the test results when my tank was what I believed to be cycled so I know everything was as it should have been, and it should have held the cycle but from what I can see it has not.

ALL "dechlorinators" can give give false positive ammonia readings. Most hobby ammonia test kits are out of date technology. The few that actually read properly are not very user friendly.

I plan on keeping the sponges and media until they're literally falling apart.

I have some sponges that are >20 years old.

Even though this situation appears to be resolved I thought I would just leave this here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=32416

tristyn wrote: Good to hear, thank you. I actually had some media from a filter in the tank at work when I started this cycle, so it's a bummer that it ended up not working well for me in the end. Not sure where it went wrong. Either way, I'll pick up the Safestart tomorrow so I'm ready. Are you saying that I'll be okay not testing the water for a week after I add it? I'm a paranoid person when it comes to getting new fish and it'll be tough not to wanna check everything to make sure they're safe!

I have an Aquaclear 30 running on the tank currently. It has 2 sponges and a bag of bio media in it, and I haven't even touched them during my water changes so far. During one change I pulled the basket out and let it sit in my tank water in the aquarium because I was concerned about it drying out but I didn't do that last time. I plan on keeping the sponges and media until they're literally falling apart. I was told the 30 should be big enough for just the 3 pea puffers but I'll be happy to upgrade if I find that changes in the future.

I just went back and re-read this. My best guess is the bacteria died off without an ammonia source...or were you adding some kind of ammonia/fish food/etc to keep the cycle going? The bacteria need to eat and will increase/decrease relative to the amount of food e.g. fish waste within reason. Obviously you can't add 30 fish at once and expect the colony to cope immediately (or probably ever, if a small tank), but this would be the general rule - colony grows to match fish load over time.

Good call on the Aquaclear. My favorite HOB filter. I run an AC50 on my 20 long for my 1.5" figure 8...so you're probably good with the AC30 for three pea puffers. Hope all goes well when they arrive for you.

LRU wrote:
I just went back and re-read this. My best guess is the bacteria died off without an ammonia source...or were you adding some kind of ammonia/fish food/etc to keep the cycle going? The bacteria need to eat and will increase/decrease relative to the amount of food e.g. fish waste within reason. Obviously you can't add 30 fish at once and expect the colony to cope immediately (or probably ever, if a small tank), but this would be the general rule - colony grows to match fish load over time.

Good call on the Aquaclear. My favorite HOB filter. I run an AC50 on my 20 long for my 1.5" figure 8...so you're probably good with the AC30 for three pea puffers. Hope all goes well when they arrive for you.

I was actually adding up to 4 ppm of ammonia at a time and testing it an hour after adding the ammonia following a water change to make sure. Otherwise that would be a great suggestion.

My puffers are here and floating in the tank getting ready to be released.

Separate but rather important question: I have 1 puffer with clear wrinkles around his eyes and he's obviously male. However, I have another puffer who is around the same size and coloration, but it's much harder to see any wrinkles. I keep thinking I see one but I'm not sure if its a trick of the light.

Either way, if I was accidentally given two males what do I do now? =/ I obviously don't want to lose one to fighting in the future. Is there a chance the two can get by in a 20 gallon heavily planted tank?

All puffers are different, make it as visually complex as possible to stand the best chance of success