super slow cycle

[malonbl]

I don't necessarily care about how slow this is going as I don't mind waiting it out, but I just want to be sure I am not doing anything wrong.

I stocked a 29 gallon with 9 zebra danios 30 days ago. I began testing with an API kit about a week or so later. I have tested about every 2-3 days on average. The highest I have ever measured ammonia was 0.5 ppm. This occurred twice; once around day 14 and again around day 25. Each time I have performed about a 30% water change. I have never measured any nitrites.

Any comments or advice?

 

[Thepokerkid227]

Start testing and checking for nitrites if you're seeing ammonia levels rise then drop, what temp are you keeping the tank at? I would keep it as high as your fish will tolerate.

 

[anibis]

Are you still detecting ammonia? What are you using for a water conditioner?

I've had my 29g setup for 31 days, and only yesterday started seeing nitrites. On Friday I noticed my ammonia had dropped to zero, but still no nitrites. After a few days of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, I decided to start feeding my fish twice a day instead of once. After a couple days I started to see nitrites.

I'm cycling with 1 molly and 1 platy, not much but both are considered messy fish. I had to do a 30% change every 2-3 days to keep my ammonia around .25ppm.

Every cycle is different. I'm sure you will start seeing nitrites soon.

 

[Caliban07]

I don't necessarily care about how slow this is going as I don't mind waiting it out, but I just want to be sure I am not doing anything wrong.



I stocked a 29 gallon with 9 zebra danios 30 days ago. I began testing with an API kit about a week or so later. I have tested about every 2-3 days on average. The highest I have ever measured ammonia was 0.5 ppm. This occurred twice; once around day 14 and again around day 25. Each time I have performed about a 30% water change. I have never measured any nitrites.



Any comments or advice?

I never recorded nitrites during my fish in cycle. I just figured they were being kept too low to register on the test kit. I wasn't testing everyday either so I may have missed them. Basically it's normal. My ammonia stayed at 0.25ppm throughout the whole process then after about 1 month, ammonia turned yellow and I had nitrates. Think I only changed the water twice too.

 

[malonbl]

Thanks for the responses. I am keeping my tank at 77ish; I believe I have seen that z. danios like 74-76, so would you recommend going higher than I currently am. The fish are active and always ready to eat; seem to be well.

I have never recorded nitrites. I have only checked for nitrites about once a week; every second or third time I test for ammonia. My assumption has been that if I am never seeing ammonia spike above 0.5 (usually at 0 or 0.25 ppm) than I shouldn't be seeing nitrites. Maybe this is incorrect though?

I have considered that maybe I have missed some of these spikes as there have been a few periods where I haven't done any testing at all. To be clear, if I measure zero ammonia and zero nitrites and any nitrates at all and I see this pattern for a few consecutive days, this means the cycle is complete, correct?

 

[malonbl]

forgot to answer the water conditioner question. I am using aqeuon's conditioner (came in the kit), but I have read on here that prime is preferred.

 

[anibis]

I would keep it at 77, mine is at 78. Temps in the low 80s will help the bacteria grow, it's better to keep your fish happy though. I believe higher temps will make ammonia/nitrites more toxic as well, along with having less oxygen in the water.

When you see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and have a nitrAte reading you are cycled. What happened to me was everything was 0'd out, I knew my tank hadn't cycled yet because I had no nitrAte reading. I have been testing for nitrites 2x a day for a couple weeks now. Starting about 2 weeks into my cycle I would sometimes get a low nitrite reading, most of the time it was nada. I always had an ammonia reading during this time. You may have missed some very low nitrite readings because you haven't been testing daily. It just takes time for the bacteria to grow a large enough colony to take care of all the ammonia, once this happens you will get consistent nitrite readings.

Prime is good during a fish-in cycle because it has the added benefit of detoxing ammonia+nitrite for 24-48 hours. This will not slow your cycle in any way, just makes it easier on the fish. It's also cheaper in the long run because it requires MUCH less than the other 2 brands I've tried, the medium sized bottle will go a long way.

Just keep testing, I too was getting frustrated because it took so long to get a nitrite reading. It'll happen I promise.