Fishless cycle problem?

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JZS

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
16
Hey guys, I just made an account to figure out whats wrong with my tank.

So currently, I have a tank which has been cycling for a month and a half... Yeah pretty long.

So currently, my pH has been low. It's just become 6.4 today. Yesterday it was 6.6, and I did a 50% water change. Im not sure what the result of it was though. In addition, my nitrites have been off the charts for about a week now. (API Freshwater Master Test Kit) My bacteria consume about 3.5 ppm of ammonia in a day right now.

Another question: There's some orange/white stuff growing along the corners of my tank. I researched this a lot, but found nothing. I stuck a paper towel in there and wiped it off more than 8 times so far since i noticed them (even did a water change once when i was paranoid), but after wiping them off, they just grow right back. These things look fuzzy, as you can see them growing on the corners if you look into one side of the tank. They arent growing anywhere else though.


:thanks:

sorry for this wall of text. Help would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
Oh yeah and btw, nitrites wont go down after each water change

Thanks again!
 
Hi! It sounds like your cycle is progressing well! Have you checked your tap for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate? When nitrites spike very high, a single wc may not be sufficient to drop them. Say your nitrites spiked to 50ppm. A 50% wc would do little to bring down to a readable level. Even a 90% wc would only drop them to 10ppm which is still unreadable on the API test. Very high nitrites can slow down the cycling process. As they have been high for more than a week, I would suggest a big wc (90+%) or two with temperature matched, properly conditioned water. Then just add 1-2ppm of ammonia and small pinch of crushed fish food and wait to see what happens.

In respect to what is growing in your tank, can you possibly post a pic so we may be able to ID it? Thanks!
 
Ph

Thanks for the suggestions. Ill post a pic soon. What do you think i should do about the ph? It is steadily falling-now at 6.2. Pwcs dont help.
 
I would try adding a mesh bag/clean piece of panythose full of crushed coral or aragonite to your filter housing to help stabilize ph & kh. It takes a bit of experimentation to figure out a good amount. If your ph doesnt stabilize, you need to add more. If it jumps very high, you will need to remove some. Hope this helps! :)
 
I would try adding a mesh bag/clean piece of panythose full of crushed coral or aragonite to your filter housing to help stabilize ph & kh. It takes a bit of experimentation to figure out a good amount. If your ph doesnt stabilize, you need to add more. If it jumps very high, you will need to remove some. Hope this helps! :)

Good idea!

When the cycle is in the nitrite stage it's common for pH to drop. Doing the water changes and getting the nitrites to a manageable level is going to help. If the pH still drops off then definitely try the crushed coral or aragonite idea.

Just curious, what is the pH of your tap water after gassing off for 24 hours?

(To gas off the tap water, put it in a bucket or water pitcher, put an airstone in and let sit for 24 hours. If no airstone is available just stir it vigorously every few hours).
 
I unfortunately cannot purchase crushed coral right now for budget reasons. But would it be alright to use seashells? I heard that they can increase pH.

I tested my tap left to sit. But i didnt stir it around like you suggested, so that mightve thrown off the results. The ph is about 7.5.
 
If there's no fish in why don't you just use bicarbonate of soda to raise the ph for the cycling process? I did this on my tank and it kept it at 7.4, when I was ready for fish I did 2 large water changes and everything was good and still is 4 months later. I added a table spoon to my 23 gallon and that brought the ph from 6 to around 7.2
 
If there's no fish in why don't you just use bicarbonate of soda to raise the ph for the cycling process? I did this on my tank and it kept it at 7.4, when I was ready for fish I did 2 large water changes and everything was good and still is 4 months later. I added a table spoon to my 23 gallon and that brought the ph from 6 to around 7.2

The same thing was happening when I was fishless cycling. I added the baking soda and it did stabilize my pH. Now that the cycle is complete and I added fish my pH is stable.
 
Yep, give the shells a try! Just make sure they are clean and that you crush them before using. :)

Thanks for the help. Can i boil them to make sure theyre clean? Thats what i got after some research. Would that reduce their capability of increasing the ph?
 
The same thing was happening when I was fishless cycling. I added the baking soda and it did stabilize my pH. Now that the cycle is complete and I added fish my pH is stable.

Well if i use baking soda, would my carbon filter remove it? I dont want to risk removing the filter because all my bacteria is on it.
 
Thanks for the help. Can i boil them to make sure theyre clean? Thats what i got after some research. Would that reduce their capability of increasing the ph?

If there's any question about their safety, give them a quick boil (5-10mins). Wait until they cool before crushing.
 
If there's any question about their safety, give them a quick boil (5-10mins). Wait until they cool before crushing.

Unfortunately, i did not crush my shells because i dont have a mesh bag or piece of pantyhose now... And i put them right into the aquarium. Is this a problem? I boiled them for 5 minutes and left them to cool before adding them. Should i get pantyhose and crush them, should i move the shells to the filter, or should i leave it the way it is? Thanks
 
Unfortunately, i did not crush my shells because i dont have a mesh bag or piece of pantyhose now... And i put them right into the aquarium. Is this a problem? I boiled them for 5 minutes and left them to cool before adding them. Should i get pantyhose and crush them, should i move the shells to the filter, or should i leave it the way it is? Thanks

They are likely only having a minimal if any effect here. If your still having ph issues, I would suggest crushing them and adding them to your filter housing in a piece of pantyhose/mesh bag/piece of cheesecloth. :)
 
Alright. I would like to thank ALL OF YOU SO MUCH for helping me with this and suggesting things that i should do.

The good news is that now I have no nitrite and ammonia after approximately 24 hours.

The bad news is that I have way to much nitrate, which im not worried about because I can do water changes.
AND
also if i remember correctly, I mentioned some stuff growing in my tank? Well now it's in every corner, and only in corners. As in, the silicone/rubber corners of the tank. I don't know what it is, but I have no fish at the moment and this stuff is in there.
Can anyone help me identify this or tell me what to do about it? I would post a pic but I'm not too sure how to.

Thanks everyone!
 
A pic would help! Ok, posting pics is pretty easy.

From computer- click on the 'go advanced' reply button below. A new screen will pop up. In the msg box you will see little icons on the top of the box. Click on the 'paperclip' icon. You then can 'browse' your computer files for pics to upload.

From cell app- click on the 'reply' button. On the top of the screen on right side should be a '+' sign. Click this and you can upload pics from your cell library or take a pic. You won't see the pics in the reply box after uploading but they should appear on the msg after sending it.

Hope this helps!
 
I believe there's a pic attached to this.
 

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