4+ weeks of Cycling Fishless and no changes...what am I doing wrong?

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

id say two weeks latest to see change my offer still stands to cycle it for you

 

[eco23]

id say two weeks latest to see change my offer still stands to cycle it for you

I absolutely agree to give it time with the things you just added in to get things moving. I'd say worry about the filter if we continue with the same challenges...or once it's cycled it's simple to switch to another type / brand.

There's no way to forecast this for sure...but I'd say by this time next week you'll be able to see how successful our recent tweaks have been. Hopefully sooner.

 

[librarygirl]

I absolutely agree to give it time with the things you just added in to get things moving. I'd say worry about the filter if we continue with the same challenges...or once it's cycled it's simple to switch to another type / brand.

There's no way to forecast this for sure...but I'd say by this time next week you'll be able to see how successful our recent tweaks have been. Hopefully sooner.

I hope you're right Eco! Thanks!

 

[JBsDad]

You know, it's just a thought, but...instead of all the hassle, why not just start out with 12 gallons of spring water, dose it up and go? (After cleaning everything in spring water of course).

 

[librarygirl]

You know, it's just a thought, but...instead of all the hassle, why not just start out with 12 gallons of spring water, dose it up and go? (After cleaning everything in spring water of course).

Do you mean use Spring Water in the tank instead of tap water if something in my tap water is impeding my cycle? From what I've read Spring Water doesn't contain the necessary nutrients that fish need and that tap water does (minerals and such). And on the odd chance something in my tap water is impeding the bacteria, if the tank cycles with spring water and then I switch back to tap I would chance killing the bacteria with the tap water and reversing my cycle. I could be wrong though, I'm still learning as I go.

 

[librarygirl]

Well the weird smell in the tank is about gone. Maybe the argonite is helping? I'm not even sure what the smell was. I assumed it was all the ammonia in the water. Maybe removing the carbon from the filter pad was a mistake...doesn't carbon help remove odors? Maybe I should buy some and put it in a mesh bag and put it back under the filter pad, then I could just replace the carbon every few months instead of the filter?

Anyway, the water is still clear. Not sure if that's good or bad, I was hoping for another bloom. Maybe I'll test tonight or maybe I'll skip a day. We'll see how brave I feel later lol

Edit at 3 PM: Well I guess the tank smell is better but not gone. When I open the lid I smell it, but then it seems to dissipate some but I still smell a hint of it. This morning it smelled less but I was congested so perhaps I wasn't smelling accurately. Still not sure whether the smell is normal or what the odor is. I also checked ammonia again b/c I'm apparently a masochist: Ammonia at 2 PPM. It may be a half shade lighter than yesterday (it looked between 3 and 4 then) but I could be delirious, so I won't put too much faith that it dropped any. I'll test again tomorrow night.

I'm really trying to be hopeful that these last changes we made will work, but every time I see the tank I consider dismantling it (with a very large hammer) and giving up. I've waited this long though, what's another two weeks right? lol

 

[James_in_MN]

Thanks James. Maybe you're right. Now that I know a bit more about tanks and filters, I do hate the filter mechanism of this tank and it is hard to access the tank itself. The lid for feeding is located toward the back of the lid which shows most of the filter and BioWheel and doesn't give much room to even feed the fish. But I like the look of the bowfronts themselves. If this last attempt doesn't work I'll have to decide whether to give up having fish all together or look into a better tank. I still have the original box for the 20 gal but I don't think I have the receipt anymore. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I don't think you should give up fishkeeping just because that tank is a pain. Hopefully you stick with the hobby.

I still stand by my recommendation that you should pack that thing up in its box and return to sender. Access into the Marineland tank you have sounds about as painful as mine was. I do remember having some difficulty cycling with mine as well before I took it back to PetSmart.

Don't keep that tank just for the sake of keeping it. You already admitted that you hate the filter setup, you agree that access into the tank is as restricted as mine was, and you're having a heck of a time cycling it. I almost kept mine just because I already started cycling it, but wised up and switched it out for a much better (and sane) setup.

FYI, if you bought the tank at one of the chain stores (PetCo, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus, etc.) and you have a membership card, you should be able to return it without the receipt. They should have all of that information. Past 30 days and it may be in-store credit only.

 

[librarygirl]

I don't think you should give up fishkeeping just because that tank is a pain. Hopefully you stick with the hobby.

I still stand by my recommendation that you should pack that thing up in its box and return to sender. Access into the Marineland tank you have sounds about as painful as mine was. I do remember having some difficulty cycling with mine as well before I took it back to PetSmart.

Don't keep that tank just for the sake of keeping it. You already admitted that you hate the filter setup, you agree that access into the tank is as restricted as mine was, and you're having a heck of a time cycling it. I almost kept mine just because I already started cycling it, but wised up and switched it out for a much better (and sane) setup.

FYI, if you bought the tank at one of the chain stores (PetCo, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus, etc.) and you have a membership card, you should be able to return it without the receipt. They should have all of that information. Past 30 days and it may be in-store credit only.

Thanks, maybe if this last bit of seeded gravel and argonite doesn't work I'll consider it. But buying a whole new setup, especially buying everything separately, will probably cost more extra money than I have at the moment (more than what I'm sure PetSmart will give me for the used tank), plus I have no idea about HOB filters vs other types and what to look for or to buy, etc., so it might be more complicated than it's worth. Also the largest stand I have is the one I'm currently using which fits the length of my bowfront perfectly, I wouldn't be able to get a tank longer than that without buying a whole new stand and, again, it comes to the money issue. And if it isn't the tank itself and it's my water.....then buying a whole new setup won't work anyway and just probably send me insane trying to do this all over again and being another 2+ months in and not having fish. lol.

I'll keep your suggestion in mind though, it'll be an option I'll have to consider if this tank isn't cycled in another couple of weeks.

Thanks again.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Thanks for trying to help. I'll respond to your questions below and put my answers in red:

Great tank setup .

I wanted that tower shack decco in our BW tank, but my GF said no .

 

[librarygirl]

Great tank setup .

I wanted that tower shack decco in our BW tank, but my GF said no .

LOL Really? Why? I saw it at the store and thought it was adorable (and not a brightly colored gaudy thing like most fish decor is lol), I love that it has so many openings for the fish. I just hope I actually get to see fish use it someday

 

[Mr. Limpet]

LOL Really? Why? I saw it at the store and thought it was adorable (and not a brightly colored gaudy thing like most fish decor is lol), I love that it has so many openings for the fish. I just hope I actually get to see fish use it someday

Those were some of my points, especially the shrimp .

Fear not. You'll get it cycled, filled with fish and before you know it, you'll be here trying figuring out what to put in your 4th tank .

 

[librarygirl]

Those were some of my points, especially the shrimp .

Fear not. You'll get it cycled, filled with fish and before you know it, you'll be here trying figuring out what to put in your 4th tank .

LOL Thanks for the optimism! Right now I'd settle for fish in one tank, but yes I can see how it can become addicting. I'm practically drooling for Galaxy Rasbora and African Dwarf Frogs. I really hope I can have some of my own, particularly the frogs. Watching YouTube videos of them isn't helping either

 

[librarygirl]

Well I'm just speechless, I've run out of disgusted words lol

Tonight:

Ammonia: still between 2 and 4 (I think it's 3, it's the color of grass, so not as olive green as 2 but not as dark as 4 either). My eyes are going like from all these tests lol

NitrItes: still 0 (not sure why I even bother testing this one)

NitrAtes: still at least 10 but less than 40 (orange, not red)

So it's been 3 days since I added the gravel from WolfPack's tank and his filter clipping to my filter and the argonite in a mesh bag into the tank.

 

[eco23]

Well I'm just speechless, I've run out of disgusted words lol

Tonight:

Ammonia: still between 2 and 4 (I think it's 3, it's the color of grass, so not as olive green as 2 but not as dark as 4 either). My eyes are going like from all these tests lol

NitrItes: still 0 (not sure why I even bother testing this one)

NitrAtes: still at least 10 but less than 40 (orange, not red)

So it's been 3 days since I added the gravel from WolfPack's tank and his filter clipping to my filter and the argonite in a mesh bag into the tank.

I actually just got a PM from firteen888 and she just had nitrItes show up...so all hope is not lost yet.

I'd give it a few more days before you break the hammer out. If you want, I'll come smash the darn thing for you. Either that or try the bottled water approach.

BTW, I just released a revised and updated version of my guide. You can check it over and see if I've failed to cover anything with you. In the articles section of the site it isn't updated yet, but the link in my thread is.

 

[librarygirl]

I actually just got a PM from firteen888 and she just had nitrItes show up...so all hope is not lost yet.

I'd give it a few more days before you break the hammer out. If you want, I'll come smash the darn thing for you. Either that or try the bottled water approach.

BTW, I just released a revised and updated version of my guide. You can check it over and see if I've failed to cover anything with you. In the articles section of the site it isn't updated yet, but the link in my thread is.

I've already waited umpteen days, what's a few more, right? lol Although I highly doubt anything substantial is going to happen in a few days that hasn't happened already, but I'll humor the tank a bit longer before I smash it to pieces.

So what would bottled water do? And if the tank did cycle with bottled water then when I changed to tap water for the fish and something in my water is killing or impeding bacteria, couldn't the tap water potentially kill the cycle?

I can't believe my tap water could be this messed up, this is nuts. Or maybe it's the filter? Or the tank? Or....ahhhhhhhh lol

Thanks Eco

 

[firteen888]

Hey libraygirl, like Eco said, after two months I'm finally seeing nitrites. There are two things that I would recommend

- you're holding the ammonia vial flush against the testing card right? I was hovering it just above the card so while I though I was at 4ppm, I was probably closer to 7-8ppm. Just make sure your ppm reading is done with the vial flush with the card.

- as was recommended by Eco, I added some live plants to the tank. Just like you, I was scared to do this as I know nothing about plants and didn't want to complicate things. But as was recommended by some, I picked up a plant called anacharis (6 of them) and just put them right in the gravel. There's nothing different you need to do with this plant, just toss it in. It's a very easy plant to have and even looks nice in the tank. You may get some snails hitchhiking, but ****, they've given me something to look at lol.

Hopefully your tank gets moving!

 

[librarygirl]

Hey libraygirl, like Eco said, after two months I'm finally seeing nitrites. There are two things that I would recommend

- you're holding the ammonia vial flush against the testing card right? I was hovering it just above the card so while I though I was at 4ppm, I was probably closer to 7-8ppm. Just make sure your ppm reading is done with the vial flush with the card.

- as was recommended by Eco, I added some live plants to the tank. Just like you, I was scared to do this as I know nothing about plants and didn't want to complicate things. But as was recommended by some, I picked up a plant called anacharis (6 of them) and just put them right in the gravel. There's nothing different you need to do with this plant, just toss it in. It's a very easy plant to have and even looks nice in the tank. You may get some snails hitchhiking, but ****, they've given me something to look at lol.

Hopefully your tank gets moving!

Hey congrats on your cycle progressing, that's great!

Yes I'm holding it against the card, even so it isn't as dark as 4 but doesn't quite match 2, so either the color on the card is a bit off or the ammo is about at 3.

Maybe I'll try the anachris too. Does it need light at all, because I've been leaving my lights off so I can try to avoid too much algae (although right now I'd settle for anything in the darn tank lol)? And what if it starts decaying? Live plants scare me, I have a black thumb, but at this point I'll try anything. Did you start seeing the nitrItes after you added the plants or was it just a coincidence do you think? And snails....hm, wouldn't they be harmed by all the ammonia? I might give it a go though, we'll see what happens this weekend. I usually go to a store to look at fish and remember why I'm still hanging in there with this tank lol

Thanks and good luck!

 

[firteen888]

I'm sure the last thing you wanna do is go out and have to buy something else, but they're not very expensive. Mine were about $3.00 each. The plants don't need much light, I keep my light off for the majority of the day as well. When I'm home I usually just turn it on for a few hours, but this plant isn't finicky at all.

 

[firteen888]

I put the plants in last week and today was the first day I'm seeing nitrites, so I'd assume it wasn't a coincidence. Just make sure you get plants from one of their tanks and not the little vials that they sell them in. This was you may get some BB as well. I dunno if snails are effected by the ammonia, maybe someone else can answer that? So far the snails in my tank seem to be doing well, and I have about the same amount of ammonia as you do.

 

[eco23]

I've already waited umpteen days, what's a few more, right? lol Although I highly doubt anything substantial is going to happen in a few days that hasn't happened already, but I'll humor the tank a bit longer before I smash it to pieces.

So what would bottled water do? And if the tank did cycle with bottled water then when I changed to tap water for the fish and something in my water is killing or impeding bacteria, couldn't the tap water potentially kill the cycle?

I can't believe my tap water could be this messed up, this is nuts. Or maybe it's the filter? Or the tank? Or....ahhhhhhhh lol

Thanks Eco

Believe me when I say I'm banging my head against the wall too with this one. If your recent additions are going to help, I still think we're well within the timeframe before it's notable. On my first fishless cycle, it took 7-8 days before I had any reduction of ammonia...and I had a good bit of seeding material. Since you got the great filter material from the other AA member, if things don't progress we will know 100% that it is something in your water preventing things from cycling.

The bottled water idea is kind of a last hail Mary pass. Some people do buy all their water from lfs's or even the water dispenser from Wal-Mart (usually for saltwater tanks though). I have the same concerns as you that if it is a problem was with your tap water, replacing the purchased water with your own may be a gamble.

The Anacharis is never a bad move. It will basically grow in the dark, and you can even float it on top of the water if you don't want to plant it. It will definitely bring in some beneficial bacteria if taken directly from an established tank. Snails are always a possibility with plants...but they're easily handled if you don't want them in the tank.