Problems getting 20gal FW cycled.

[jahsublime]

Hi there...I have a 20gal FW aquarium that has been up and running for 9 weeks now. Have Aqueon power filter, heater (78 deg.), some plastic plants and a Pagoda for decoration. From reading many many articles online, I purchased 3 zebra danios to help cycle the tank. I was doing partial(20%) water changes every couple of days...all 3 fish have since died. I am using an API Master Test kit to check the water. For the past 6 weeks the readings have all been the same:

Ammonia: 1-2 PPM
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Ph: 7.8
Temp: steady 78 deg.

Don't know what I can do at this point to get the cycle going so that I can introduce new fish into the tank. (my 4yo is growing impatient! ) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[librarygirl]

Sorry about your fish. A similar situation happened to me and now I'm on week 3 of a fishless cycle. Your fish died b/c the ammonia was way too high and you needed to do massive water changes to get it at or under 0.25 ppm. So are you doing a fishless cycle now? If so, you should crank up the heat to about 84, add an ammonia source such as raw shrimp or pure ACE hardware brand ammonia (be sure the ammo has no surfectants or dyes or perfumes), add enough ammo to get it up to about 4 ppm on the API kit. Also if you have an air stone you should crank that up too. Then just wait for the ammo to drop and nitrites to rise, etc. Try reading this article, it helps "The (almost) complete guide to fishless cycling." Good luck

 

[Hubert90]

9 weeks holy Molly!!! Did ur cycle somehow stalled during these 9 weeks?

 

[jahsublime]

yeah, I am going to finish it off without fish now. I don't want to kill anymore. They were only .59 each, but I still felt bad about it. A friend of mine suggested Stresszyme. Also they have a sponge from an established tank that they are willing to give me to help it out.

 

[eco23]

yeah, I am going to finish it off without fish now. I don't want to kill anymore. They were only .59 each, but I still felt bad about it. A friend of mine suggested Stresszyme. Also they have a sponge from an established tank that they are willing to give me to help it out.

The stress zyme will do absolutely nothing...the filter media will help tremendously. Just make sure the media and ammo are added around the same time, because if you added the sponge first and it sat for several days without an ammonia source in the tank the bacteria would begin to die off.

 

[jahsublime]

ok...i will skip the stesszyme and get some ammonia to bring it up some more. I assume it wont take much to get it to 4ppm. Hopefully I can get together with my friend sometime soon and get that sponge too.

 

[eco23]

ok...i will skip the stesszyme and get some ammonia to bring it up some more. I assume it wont take much to get it to 4ppm. Hopefully I can get together with my friend sometime soon and get that sponge too.

The sponge will be a HUGE help. Stick it into the filter area so that the old seeded filter is the first thing the water contacts...and have the tanks new filter pad squeezed in right next to it as the second thing the water hits. Welcome to AA, btw

 

[eco23]

ok...i will skip the stesszyme and get some ammonia to bring it up some more. I assume it wont take much to get it to 4ppm. Hopefully I can get together with my friend sometime soon and get that sponge too.

Also, this is hopefully obvious...but don't add the pure ammo with fish, lol. Check out the guide in my signature and feel free to shoot any questions you have at me.

 

[jahsublime]

yeah...I just read through the article. Very helpful. I wish I would have found that one first before attempting to cycle with fish.

 

[eco23]

yeah...I just read through the article. Very helpful. I wish I would have found that one first before attempting to cycle with fish.

Unfortunately, the first "expert" you get to talk to are the kids at PetSmart that tell you to leave the tank running for 24 hours then add fish. It's not until the fish start dying that you realize that the guy doesn't know/care what he's doing. By joining this website, you'll become a great fish keeper

 

[jahsublime]

one more thing I wanted to ask...I assume since there are no fish in the tank, if I wanted to add some other decoration into the tank it would be ok? also, should I empty the water and start over or can I use the existing water?

 

[eco23]

one more thing I wanted to ask...I assume since there are no fish in the tank, if I wanted to add some other decoration into the tank it would be ok? also, should I empty the water and start over or can I use the existing water?

Using the same water is fine. If you want to make any changes to the deco now is a great time. Adding won't hurt anything...removing may lose some beneficial bacteria, but since you're fishless cycling the worst that would happen is your cycle taking a day or 2 longer.

 

[jahsublime]

Followed all the instructions to the last detail...its about day 4 since I added the ammonia. When I tested the water yesterday, the ammonia seems to be coming down. Looked to be about 2-3ppm on the test. So it seems I am finally headed in the right direction.

 

[jahsublime]

just wanted to update....its been 10 days now. there hasn't been any further change in the ammonia...seems to be around 3-4 ppm..tough to tell exactly. nitrates are 0 and nitrites are 0. what kind of time frame should I be expecting til it should cycle completely?

 

[Aspencer]

Well, first you will see NitrItes appear. I had a filter from another tank and it took about 5 days. Then you will see Ammonia going down to 0 with NitrItes going up. You will be adding Ammonia to your tank to feed your bacteria. In 7 days, for me, I started seeing NitrAtes while NitrItes were spiking higher and higher. It looks at about 12 days, your Ammonia will be going to 0 every day and finally, your NitrItes will go to 0 with NitrAtes very concentrated in your tank. Your cycle will be completed.

 

[jahsublime]

ok...its been 4 weeks now on a fishless cycle....here are my tank conditions

ph 7.8
ammonia. 4ppm
nitrites 0ppm
nitrates 0ppm
Temp 82-83 deg F
Filter water is splashing down and making nice bubbles

Just wondering why no changes have occurred in my tank as of yet...ammonia has not dropped one bit in 4 weeks. I am using API master test kit and Ace Janitor Strength Ammonia.

 

[eco23]

So just to review...you had fish for 9 weeks and never saw any nitrItes, right? Now it's been 4 weeks of fishless cycling and no drop in ammo or appearance of nitrItes either? Did you ever end up adding that filter media from a friend?

 

[jahsublime]

no filter media from my friend...she lives a ways away so havent had a chance to get it...all other info you stated was correct.

 

[eco23]

no filter media from my friend...she lives a ways away so havent had a chance to get it...all other info you stated was correct.

Something basic has to be missing. Either that, or the fish tank is set up in a clean room of a hospital, lol. 9 weeks with fish without nitrItes is absolutely crazy enough...but adding on another 4 without them is nuts. I assume you dechlorinated the water that's in the tank? Have you really kinda gone through the checklist and made sure something isn't missing? Everything seems good on the surface...right ammo, good test kit, stable pH.

 

[thras]

What kinda of water are u using have u been adding any ph down just a little bit to help the bacteria?