Need help with cycling ASAP!

[ravynnm]

So on the 8th i started cycling my 30G.
I have fake plants, gravel, filter, heater, air stone, etc etc etc.

I couldn't get clear ammonia so i used flake food and fry food. The ammonia rised a lot and the nitrite readings were dark purple. The ammonia started dropping - then on the 12th i completely forgot you can add filter media from any running tank, so i added a big sponge from my 20G filter to the 30G filter. I also used Nutrafin Cycle for 5 days to help the cycle (the bottle was brand new).

Since then nitrite is at 0ppm and the nitrate level increased. I cleaned the tank to get rid of all the gunky food and the ammonia went down a lot but there is still food in there i couldn't get without syphoning the tank dry, so there is still a bit of ammonia left.

My only problem is, i was on different aquarium sites, and i cannot get a right answer.

Do these readings mean my tank is cycled? I've been told "YOU CANNOT USE FOOD TO CYCLE A TANK, USE CLEAR AMMONIA". Ok, i get that. You can cycle a tank with food, it just takes longer. I don't care about the wait.

But someone told me that if i add filter media from one tank to another it will auto cycle the tank. So i mean, i don't really know what to do from here.

I get my pay this weekend (i'm part time and in school) and if the tank is cycled i was going to buy the 3 Yellow Labs and sand, more rocks, etc.

But if the tank isn't cycle then i'm obviously not getting the fish and just getting other things i need because it's a 1 time trip to the pet store for me.

Could someone just help me? lol i'm getting told lots of different things and it's annoying

 

[librarygirl]

If the tank still has ammonia in it, then it isn't cycled yet. You can cycle with fish food or frozen shrimp or prawns but it's a bit difficult as you can't exactly "dose" the ammonia level like you can with pure ammonia. How high had the ammonia gotten? If it got too high it could have stalled things. What level is the ammonia at now? You also can cycle a tank with media but it will depend on how much media you used in relation to how many fish you can put in. At this point you can do a few things:

1. do a large water change, suck up as much remaining food as you can, wait a couple of hours and check ammonia levels. If there's still some ammonia in the tank, leave it be and see if it gets processed and how fast over the next few days.
2. do the large water change as stated above and try to get some pure ammonia to finish the cycle. Have you tried hardware stores? They tend to sell ammonia.
3. do a large water change, suck up as much food, etc as you can and start adding fish slowly. Check parameters daily and do extra water changes if you see ammonia or nitrite spikes.

 

[ravynnm]

Ill go check for clear ammonia on Saturday. I've never cycled with actual ammonia before, just food. So is there any threads on here explaining how to do it all?

The ammonia was low yesterday and the day before but now its high again with no nitrites showing. I did a 70% wc the other day to get the ammonia down and its not really doing anything so i think it stalled. What to do now?

 

[gravereaper0]

I'm no expert at cycling, but its only been a week, probably just in the ammonia spike stage of the cycle. Don't over think it, let it do its thing.

 

[Buu]

I'm no expert at cycling, but its only been a week, probably just in the ammonia spike stage of the cycle. Don't over think it, let it do its thing.

I agree. It took almost 2 months to get my 20g fully cycled and it was soooo hard. I wanted fish bad and was so happy when it was finally ready. I never used and ammonia or fish food though. Just let it do its thing with live plants and bacteria supplement that came with the kit.

 

[ravynnm]

Oh my god. I checked 2 grocery stores and 2 hardware stores for clear ammonia, all i could find was lemon scented.

Now i have to go out of town to find more places.

 

[gravereaper0]

Forget about it. If you can't find it do without. You're already in the cycle.

 

[ravynnm]

I can order Dr Tim's one and only. But other than that the cycle is stalled with ammonia really high.

 

[gravereaper0]

So you think its stalled with high ammonia and it'll get going again if you add more ammonia?

 

[ravynnm]

No? I didnt say that. I obviously need clear ammonia if i want to cycle the tank and i don't know how to un-stall it so.. Ill have to wait, I guess?

 

[Riot84]

Big water change to drop the ammonia level.

 

[ravynnm]

Just a wc, no vacuuming? I already vacuumed 70% of the water the other day so ill do another tomorrow.

 

[Riot84]

You can vacuum any left over stuff in the tank to clean it up a bit. It won't hurt. Give the tank a day to settle and then recheck the levels.

 

[ravynnm]

Called like 10 places, and they said clear ammonia is hard to find and nowhere sells it...

 

[Aspencer]

Ace Hardware has it.

 

[ravynnm]

I live in Canada, there is no "Ace Hardware" around here.

 

[Criason]

Canada here. I found mine at Safeway. It was in the area with Windex and other cleaning supplies. You dont need very much of it at all but it comes in like 750 ml bottles? I beleive it was the Safeway brand with a white label. Any place with cleaning supplies has it.

 

[ravynnm]

Safeway Autoparts??

 

[Criason]

The gorcery store. Giant Tiger had some also when I took a look after I found mine.

 

[ravynnm]

No Giant Tiger here. Safeway is 5 minutes away so in the morning ill drive down.