The Puffer Forum

Hello all, I think I made a HUGE mistake. I had a freshwater tank that was fully cycled but had a snail infestation so I basically started over completely. I removed all the water and rinsed out the canister filter but left the sponge filter. The LFS store that I frequent said that my tank should auto cycle and would be ready in one week. I got everything setup for the figure 8’s (or so I thought). Well fast forward and now Im pretty positive my tank is not cycled properly. Initially the readings were great: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 20 nitrates. But now its 0.25 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite, and 10 nitrates. My tank is a 55 gallon. Ph is about 8.2. Temp is 77.5-78 f. Im super nervous now that I messed this up. I ordered prazipro and metroplex but am not really sure how to use them.
https://srv28.fileconverto.com/download ... 4fa9baca8c

Edit*- I did a 25% water change and now im at 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and 5 nitrates

http://www.imageoptimizer.net/Home/View ... 11adf8e598

What the heck is "auto-cycle"? I'd NEVER listen to that LFS! Since you killed off most of the bacteria, you definitely would have to cycle that tank again. I suggest doing an 80% WC & adding Tetra Safestart directly to your filter.

library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/

Pufferpunk wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:45 am What the heck is "auto-cycle"? I'd NEVER listen to that LFS! Since you killed off most of the bacteria, you definitely would have to cycle that tank again. I suggest doing an 80% WC & adding Tetra Safestart directly to your filter.

library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/

My problem is that now I have my figure 8 in the tank already... I know big mistake! Im kicking myself hard over this. Can i still add the tetra safe start? I also did 2- 25% water changes yesterday and 1 today so that the figure 8 wouldnt be stressed. Should I still do the 80% WC and then add tetra safe start to my filter?

Yes & yes

Pufferpunk wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:26 pmYes & yes

Ok, will do. I’m going to get the tetra safe start in the morning. Im doing the WC now. Thanks so much !

Make sure you have Prime, too.

Ok, done and done and I did use prime. So now what do I do? Do I just test the water daily?

Did you do a large WC before adding Safestart?

Yes, I did another 80 Wc then added the safe start

You should be good to go then. Keep an eye on the parameters.

Ok, thank you so much!