paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm getting really frustrated here. I've been fishless cycling my 36 gallon for just over two months now. I added seeded media and it didn't even help! How?? Why is it taking so long?! I want fish 
frustrated!!! longest cycle EVERRRR
- Thread starter paytertot
- Start date
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boadams87
Aquarium Advice Addict
What are you testing with? How are you raising your ammonia?
tamtam
Aquarium Advice Addict
What are your levels at? Has there been no advancement? Any nitrites yet?
What a kick in the pants.
What a kick in the pants.
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm using the API master kit and using ace ammonia. It advanced for a while there, and I had nitrites, but I went somewhere for a couple days and forgot to have my mom add ammonia. When I came back there was nothing. Well except nitrates, but then I dosed ammo back to 4 and it took forever to go back down -.- now I'm not seeing nitrites and its taking a couple days just for ammonia to go down.
boadams87
Aquarium Advice Addict
Are you watching the ph? If it drops below 6 it will stall your cycle too. Have you had to do any wc?
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
The ph never goes below 7.4 that I've seen. I've done pwcs several times because the ph got super high. And once cuz I overdosed ammonia, and then a couple other times just cuz.
Brox
Aquarium Advice Freak
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Did you use seeded filter media? Try seachem stability if anything I used that with filter media and in 1 week I was cycled
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yea I used seeded media, it didn't even help :/
Brox
Aquarium Advice Freak
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It should've did you put it in the filter?
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lol yes
Brox
Aquarium Advice Freak
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Do you have things in your tank so the BB can live on? Gravel rocks ect
tamtam
Aquarium Advice Addict
oh what a pain. Sounds like that time away crashed your cycle.
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
Brox said:
Yea, I have sand, I have a huge piece of driftwood, and I have a bunch of plants. But people cycle bare tanks all the time, I have plenty of filter media packed in there and plenty of filtration.
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
tamtam said:oh what a pain. Sounds like that time away crashed your cycle.
I know, it was so close
hcourts
Aquarium Advice FINatic
With the seeded material will you still see all that normal stuff that happens during cycling??? I was under the impression that it took care of pretty much all of that...but I am new
librarygirl
Look It Up
What temp is the tank? What dechlorinator are you using? What water source (tap, well, RO, etc)?
Sounds like something stalled it but not sure what if the PH is ok and you didn't overdose ammonia and keep it in there for long. Do you know if your municipality uses chlorine or chloramines and how much? It's possible your water has more than the standard amount of dechlorinator can detoxify but that's just a wild guess.
You could do one of two things here:
1. Do a massive water change, double dose dechlorinator, wait an hour and test ammonia. If it's anything except 0, keep it there, don't dose more. If it's higher than 4, do another water change (and then we would have found the reason for the stall lol). If it's 0, don't dose for 24 hours. Then after 24 hours, only dose to 1-2 if it's lower than that. Keep it there for a few days, dose if it gets to <.5, if not then leave it. Then hopefully within a few days or so it'll start eating through that 1-2 ppms of ammonia and you can raise it slowly.
2. Or, you can do a massive water change, drop down the temp if it's high, make sure there isn't ammonia in there and nitrates are <10 and start adding some fish. I think you'd be safe to add a few small fish (depending on what you're planning on getting); they wouldn't produce that much ammonia and if your tank can process some then you should be able to proceed with a fish-in cycle without too much bother. It's up to you.
I feel your pain.....my fishless cycle took about 7 months (don't ask).
Sounds like something stalled it but not sure what if the PH is ok and you didn't overdose ammonia and keep it in there for long. Do you know if your municipality uses chlorine or chloramines and how much? It's possible your water has more than the standard amount of dechlorinator can detoxify but that's just a wild guess.
You could do one of two things here:
1. Do a massive water change, double dose dechlorinator, wait an hour and test ammonia. If it's anything except 0, keep it there, don't dose more. If it's higher than 4, do another water change (and then we would have found the reason for the stall lol). If it's 0, don't dose for 24 hours. Then after 24 hours, only dose to 1-2 if it's lower than that. Keep it there for a few days, dose if it gets to <.5, if not then leave it. Then hopefully within a few days or so it'll start eating through that 1-2 ppms of ammonia and you can raise it slowly.
2. Or, you can do a massive water change, drop down the temp if it's high, make sure there isn't ammonia in there and nitrates are <10 and start adding some fish. I think you'd be safe to add a few small fish (depending on what you're planning on getting); they wouldn't produce that much ammonia and if your tank can process some then you should be able to proceed with a fish-in cycle without too much bother. It's up to you.
I feel your pain.....my fishless cycle took about 7 months (don't ask).
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
It couldn't be anyhing with my water, I have a 55 gallon discus tank that I've had for almost a year and a half. I use tap with it too.
Oh and the temp is like 76 or 78.
Oh and the temp is like 76 or 78.
librarygirl
Look It Up
Is the heater adjustable (if it has one)? If so try bumping it up to 86.
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
librarygirl said:
Yea it is. I'll try that.
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paytertot
Aquarium Advice Addict
librarygirl said:What temp is the tank? What dechlorinator are you using? What water source (tap, well, RO, etc)?
Sounds like something stalled it but not sure what if the PH is ok and you didn't overdose ammonia and keep it in there for long. Do you know if your municipality uses chlorine or chloramines and how much? It's possible your water has more than the standard amount of dechlorinator can detoxify but that's just a wild guess.
You could do one of two things here:
1. Do a massive water change, double dose dechlorinator, wait an hour and test ammonia. If it's anything except 0, keep it there, don't dose more. If it's higher than 4, do another water change (and then we would have found the reason for the stall lol). If it's 0, don't dose for 24 hours. Then after 24 hours, only dose to 1-2 if it's lower than that. Keep it there for a few days, dose if it gets to <.5, if not then leave it. Then hopefully within a few days or so it'll start eating through that 1-2 ppms of ammonia and you can raise it slowly.
2. Or, you can do a massive water change, drop down the temp if it's high, make sure there isn't ammonia in there and nitrates are <10 and start adding some fish. I think you'd be safe to add a few small fish (depending on what you're planning on getting); they wouldn't produce that much ammonia and if your tank can process some then you should be able to proceed with a fish-in cycle without too much bother. It's up to you.
I feel your pain.....my fishless cycle took about 7 months (don't ask).
I was looking over this just now and had a few questions. As it states in option one, I would leave ammo at zero for 24 hours before dosing again. Would that not starve off any BB I do have in there?
I've been thinking about doing a fish in cycle from here but I'm not sure if I could keep up with the water changes every day or so... My python broke so its even harder now. But idk, I was thinking of just getting some neon tetras to try to cycle it, then when I'm finished with them I'll put them in my main tank for the rope fish.
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