Im just clueless

[~Erik3.8.07~]

ok i know ive been askin lots of questions and sry if its getting annoying but im just rly having trouble i have 1 fan tail goldfish that i feed once a day in a 10 gallon (i know not enough room) unfortunatley i didnt know about cycling the tank before getting the fish and never did a fishless cycle

i cant seem to keep my nitrate or nitrate down. i do weekly water changes but they rise to off the scale in just a couple days. I just changed the water 4 days ago and the levels are already as followed:

ph - 7.5
ammonia - .80 ppm
nitrite - 4.5 ppm
nitrate - 60 ppm

somebody please tell me everything i would possibly need or could possibly do to keep the levels down and the fish healthy. my parents arnt gonna let me get a bigger tank right now so i gotta deal with what i got. help plz i just wanna keep my fish alive:help:

[sergo]

how long has the tank been set up? it doesn't look like it cycled yet.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

about a month

[sergo]

well i can tell that it is on the down side of the cycle and judging by the numbers it could be done in another week of two tops. the water changes will slow it down some but are necessary to keep the fish alive. don't mess with the filters or gravel at all right now. the last part of the cycle seems to take the longest but it will magically just end one day if you're tracking the numbers.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

ok thx for the quick responce but could u also tell me ways of keeping it down just in case high levels become a problem in the future

[Lady Hobbs]

Erik, you tank is finishing up the cycle as Sergo stated. But with levels this high, you will need to do probably a 50% water change right now and 25% daily to keep those levels down.

Make sure you always use dechlorinated water and clean nothing for now. Also, feed that fish about once every 3 days until this cycle has finished. Rotting food in the bottom causes more ammonia which is turning into nitrites and then again to nitrates. Also, goldfish are crap machines. The more you feed him, the more he poops causing even more ammonia levels. Fish eat very little.......an amount about as large as their eye......and can go for a week or more without food.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

ok thank you i just did the 50% change n will start doin a 25% daily after school ( 1 more week woo-hoo) any way just one other quick question (sry:14: ) is the clear slimy feeling stuff thats starting to build up on the inside of the glass algea?

[genitor]

ok thank you i just did the 50% change n will start doin a 25% daily after school ( 1 more week woo-hoo) any way just one other quick question (sry:14: ) is the clear slimy feeling stuff thats starting to build up on the inside of the glass algea?

Nope not algae, biofilm, normal and safe.