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Should i start over2007-11-24 23:39:57

my bacterial bllom is not going away and the ammonia levels are never below 8ppm. I cant belive the fish are still living. i can even see into the tank. It is almost completley white. Should i wait it out or what? It allstarted when i did a 20 % water change in my 10 gal tank 5 days ago. ever since then it has been nothing but trouble. i have 5 fish by the way

Answers:

If it was only five days ago, it's ok to ride it out for awhile longer. You can try adding some live bacteria (purchase from the pet store) to speed the process along. A 10 gal. tank generally takes 1 month for a full cycle, but can go faster if it's just a partial one. Keep testing your water. If your nitrites don't start to to go up in a couple of weeks, then you might consider doing another water change. (Once the nitrites start to go up, you should see your ammonia go down and the tank should be completing its cycle.) Did you change the filter at the same time? Usually 20% water changes don't set a tank into a cycle, but its always possible. Avoid water changes less than two weeks apart and don't replace your filter sponge unless something catastrophic happens (this is where all your bacteria live).

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hmmm i only have one answer.

"fishy"

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you should just try another water change--- what kind of conditioners are you using?

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no don't start over but I would do a 10-20% water changes every couple of days or so ( often) hat should help!

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There is no point in starting over when in a few days you will be right back at this point. Like a few others have said just do water changes. Try to get the ammonia down below 2ppm.

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one gallon every other day for five days should clean it up

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It can take up to a month for a bacteria bloom to clear. All you can do is wait it out. Water clarifiers will make it clear for maybe a day - but the next day it'll be worse. So don't waste you money on them.