cycling thing has me stumped

[marknstlouis]

I am on day 16 with my 29 gallon freshwater tank. I am using 5 gold tetras to cycle with. The ammonia reading has been at 4.0 for 4 days now. I did a 20% water change yesterday.....and the reading stayed the same. Nirtites are only at .50. Water is still crystall clear. Fish do not seem to be distressed..............not swimming at the top......gasping.....or anything. How long after the ammonia peaks does it take for it to start to drop? Someone told me that if I had decorations in the tank to take them out while it cycles....I have never heard this!........lol Is that bogus information?Do those reading seem to be about normal for 16 days in?

 

[bungle]

I haven't heard about taking decorations out of a cycling tank. Although, if you are able to take decorations from an established tank and place them in your cycling tank, the bacteria present on the decoration will help give the new tank a kick-start.

 

[tsaraber]

I would think that taking out the decorations would prolong the cycle even more since you're removing quite a bit of the bacteria.

I've been reading a LOT this week about cycling and ammonia. From what I gather, the higher your ph the more toxic the ammonia is going to be to your fish - the same supposedly goes for temperature.

I just posted a couple of questions about cycling elsewhere, maybe you will find something useful there:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=210772#210772

 

[Overstocker]

16 Days is not to long for the cycle. If you have Notrites than you don't have long to go..... However you could try a different test kit or LFS to verify your readings. Also, test your tap water then put in some of your water chemicals and test again. Lots of water conditioners will give a false trace of ammonia on test kits. Do you have any Nitrates? If so, you are very near the end (with in a week)