# Ammonia Cycle Help



## mealto (Mar 8, 2013)

The tank is still cloudy after a week of new filter & media. ok, just got the water test kit. Tank now reads these:

pH 7.6
Ammonia 4.0-5.0 ppm
Nitrite 2-5 ppm
Nitrate 80 ppm

I normally wait out the cloudiness but this time, after a new filter (Fluval 206), the water seems much cloudier. Not much odour (from turtle poop) but wanted to get the water right for our red-eared slider.

Am I still in stages of the nitrogen cycle or something is not right. In the old filter (Fluval 204), I had carbon, ammonia and biomax media but this new filter only came with carbon, ammonia and a new sponge (fine) filter. So thought to try it out without ammonia media and see what happens. Do I need to add ammonia to the fluval? Trying not to add more chemicals than needed.

After testing, I did add Stability (thanks for the heads up @2wheelsx2).

Any tips?

Add On: i first tested tap water before testing tank water and here are the results:

pH 6.8-7.0
Ammonia 0.1ppm (roughly, almost 0)
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm


----------



## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

I just think you should leave it a bit longer to cycle before you add livestock. The Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels are all still quite high. You should be doing more water changes though? Water change 50% every 2 days (perhaps more? maybe someone else can pitch in).

My new 30gal tank is exactly 1 week old from today and sees about 40ppm of Nitrate, 1-2ppm of Nitrite, and 0.5ppm of Ammonia. I've done 3 70% water changes and I'll likely be doing another 2-3 more before adding fish next Friday. I also used a little of the old substrate from an old tank and cycled media and filter.

My 50gal tank that I set up 6 weeks ago didn't finish cycling for 2 weeks. I had included about 12lbs of old substrate underneath the new ADA substrate and I also used the previously used filter with cycled media. Then I added an extra filter, with more biomedia. I also added a lot of plants and UV sterilizer.

The 22gal tank before my 50gal including brand new filter, media, and substrate took around 6 weeks before it seemed totally stable. 

How big is your tank?


----------



## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

You're definitely experiencing a cycle of sorts. You shouldn't read any ammonia or nitrites in an established tank unless there's a mass die off of bacteria or an influx of waste introduced (ie. stocking too much all at once).

Keep up with your water changes to minimize impact of toxins on your turtle and keep adding that Stability daily.

Cheers,
Chris


----------



## mealto (Mar 8, 2013)

Ok sounds like the tank needs more time to cycle. It is a 20 gallon big only filled 30% as its for a turtle. 

Until nitrite levels hit 0, how often should I change the water and by hi much?

Once nitrite hits zero, what is the indicator that water needs to be changed? With the old filter, we would fully change water on e the filter could not keep up after clear water has been established. All the turtle experts say turtles don't need to worry about ph and hard red too much and this seemed to have served us well. 

Will be getting a 40 gallon breeder tank soon so will fill that up 40% max as well. 

Tia!


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

With fish, ideally you never want the nitrate to be > 40 ppm, but since this is a turtle I'm not sure.


----------



## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

mealto said:


> The tank is still cloudy after a week of new filter & media. ok, just got the water test kit. Tank now reads these:
> 
> pH 7.6
> Ammonia 4.0-5.0 ppm
> ...


Sounds like you have a few problems going on. Im going to assume you bought a Red eared slider?????

You said you bought a new filter and you didnt list that it came with new biomedia. Where did the old biomax media go from the old filter?

Also turtles are very messy. I had 2 for 15 years. If your cycle wasnt established before you stuck the turtle in the tank its going to be very hard to actually cycle your tank. The amount of waste they create will be way too much for your biomedia(good bacteria) to consume. Especially if you dont have any or you threw out the old stuff. The cloudy water is the outcome of this.

If it was me. Stop worrying about the cycle. Turtles are not like fish and dont need ideal water conditions to survive. They breath oxygen from the surface so having high nitrites or nitrates is erralavent. The high ammonia may cause burns to there eyes so that would be my only concern. Put an ammonia sponge in the filter to keep it in check and replace every month or so. Using the product Prime will also help keep the ammonia in check.

When I had my turtles I preformed weekly big water changes. Generally I would remove all the water and start off fresh each time. As they get bigger you will start to see why I say this. They do their buisness in the tank and when they are the size an ice cream bucket their crap is large. Getting all that out is important to me. Cycling the tank isnt necesary although its nice to see you try to start the tank off right.

In the end I removed all the gravel in my turtle tank. I found all it did was accumulate junk. It would be very dirty. I tried larger rocks and they created problems too. All the waste gets stuck in between the rocks. My dentist has a large Red eared slider and they figured out the same thing. Im not a fam of bare bottom fish tanks but Im okay with bare bottom turtle tanks. Paint the bottom black and away you go. Its better that way for helping keep the tank clean. These are all things I leared over the years. Trial and error is a great way to learn.

Good luck with the turtle. Hope that helped


----------



## Shrimp Daddy (Mar 8, 2013)

Are you doing a fishless cycle? If so, how are you adding ammonia (dead shrimp, urine, pure ammonia)?


----------



## mealto (Mar 8, 2013)

Thanks for the continued replies gang. This is not a new turtle, we have had her for about 10 yrs now. We basically learned over that 10 yrs exactly what you did jbyoung0008. Used carbon, ammonia media with biomass in the canister filter and kept bottom of tank bare. 

Since the old canister finally broke, thought I would start off right and get the water quality better than before. Bought a water testing kit so I can measure what is going on and lead to this post. All the old biomass was tossed since the last filter sat for a few days before I had a chance to get the new one set up. Thought I could cycle till the water gets clear. It usually does about 1-2 weeks in. But this time, it was much more cloudy then before. Maybe as you said, the turtle is getting larger. 

I have large rocks now for basking by once I get the new 40 gallon breeder tank setup, I will use cork bark for a ramp so the bottom of the tank is compely bare to give the fluval best chance at picking up small debris. 

Just did a 50% water change and added more Stabilize. Will do this every other day and hope the cycle completes soon. Was hoping to get the filter fully going before the setting up the new tank. 

Again thanks for all the info. I may have to add ammonia in the filter then. So the new Fluval comes with a new fine pore sponge for the bottom tray. This only leves the ideal tray for carbon and top tray for biomass. There is some room in the bottom tray. Can I just add 1 small pack of ammonia media in the bottom tray along with the fine sponge? If so wouldn't if take even longer to get the cycle to complete since you need ammonia to start the cycle?

Shrimp daddy. The turtles excitements are already providing ammonia. Turtle is in tank already.


----------



## mealto (Mar 8, 2013)

Wow 24 hours later after 50% water change and stabilize, water is 90% clear. Will wait 2 more days for water to be crystal clear before setting up new tank. Thanks all. 

Tips here were most helpful. Even the aquarium store was not too sure as this was a turtle setup. Can't wait till I get the cork board set up as a ramp!


----------



## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

mealto said:


> Thanks for the continued replies gang. This is not a new turtle, we have had her for about 10 yrs now. We basically learned over that 10 yrs exactly what you did jbyoung0008. Used carbon, ammonia media with biomass in the canister filter and kept bottom of tank bare.
> 
> Since the old canister finally broke, thought I would start off right and get the water quality better than before. Bought a water testing kit so I can measure what is going on and lead to this post. All the old biomass was tossed since the last filter sat for a few days before I had a chance to get the new one set up. Thought I could cycle till the water gets clear. It usually does about 1-2 weeks in. But this time, it was much more cloudy then before. Maybe as you said, the turtle is getting larger.
> 
> ...


Yes you could place an ammonia sponge in the the bottom tray. Be carefull as some sponges may leak the ammonia obsorbed back into the tank if left in for too long. Lower levels of ammonia might slow down the process. Its a toss up. Wait a few more days than put the sponge in or put it in now and wait. No right answer IMO. Its up to you. I always use white cloud minnows or feeder fish to cycle my tanks. I had a few goldfish live for a couple of years with the turtles afterwards. They got big.

Also not sure if you know turtles like fruit and veggies. Strawberries seemed to be mines favorites. Its nice to give them a change from just pellets.


----------



## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Glad to hear things are getting better. Keep up the water changes, works wonders


----------



## mealto (Mar 8, 2013)

Sure thing. Water is hovering at 95% crystal clear. Let me see if another water change + stabilize will do the trick. Waiting for cork bark and new tank to arrive!


----------

