MandyINCo
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have a 29gal Walmart set up. It has been running since mid November 2011 and has had fish since December. I initially added a bacteria supplement and saw a bacteria "bloom" before I added the fish. Fish I have are 3 Bloodfin tetras (had 6 but three of them had this weird thing happen to their mouth and couldn't eat anymore), 1 Dalmatian molly, 1 neon dwarf gourami, 1 flame dwarf gourami. That's it.
My problem is the nitrogen cycle wont go past the ammonia stage. I've had an API master kit since day one and have done endless research and homework on this hobby before I even set it up. Ammonia is anywhere between .5 and 2ppm. Nitrite has never once spiked at all. Nitrate is also nonexistent. ph is about 7.6. I have been told that anything over 1ppm of ammonia is unacceptable, and that ANY ammonia can be harmful to fish.
Here's what I have tried...
When ammonia first started to spike (between .5 and 1ppm), I started doing 20-40% water changes and siphoning the gravel. It kept spiking back up within 24 hours, so I was changing water every other day for about two solid weeks.
Then a lady at Petco told me the water changes may be the culprit for the cycle not continuing. She suggested I let it go for at least a week before doing another, so I did. I waited a week before I even did another test, because I knew if i saw ammonia I would neurotically clean the tank. Testing a week later showed 2ppm am and 0ppm Nitrite. I did a 50% water change and gravel cleaning then.
I didn't want to add chemicals that early in the process, I was hoping to cycle it naturally, but at the same time I didn't want the fish to suffer and die.
I added Ammo Chips to my filter system. - nothing
I added kordon AmQuel. - nothing
I let it go a week at a time after that before testing again, and every time the ammonia was high, and the nitrite was at 0, so I did a water change to help the fish.
I continued doing this until about 3 days ago, when I just became totally fed up with this and decided to add about three times the recommended bacteria supplement with a 50% water change to see if it would help things along. The ammonia fell to .25ppm the next day and I got excited.
I tested the water this morning and it is rising again (1ppm ALREADY) and Nitrite is STILL at 0. I am honestly about ready to throw in the towel. I've tested my tap water, its at 0. I always add the appropriate amount of salt. I don't over feed the fish, only a few flakes a day. I have even tried skipping a day in between feedings and it doesn't help. I know my tank isn't over stocked. I change the carbon filter once a month like it says to. I feel like I'm doing everything right, everything i'm supposed to do. I have talked to SO MANY different experts. If any of you have the secret, magic answer to this, please for the love of God tell me before my poor fish die. Thank you.
My problem is the nitrogen cycle wont go past the ammonia stage. I've had an API master kit since day one and have done endless research and homework on this hobby before I even set it up. Ammonia is anywhere between .5 and 2ppm. Nitrite has never once spiked at all. Nitrate is also nonexistent. ph is about 7.6. I have been told that anything over 1ppm of ammonia is unacceptable, and that ANY ammonia can be harmful to fish.
Here's what I have tried...
When ammonia first started to spike (between .5 and 1ppm), I started doing 20-40% water changes and siphoning the gravel. It kept spiking back up within 24 hours, so I was changing water every other day for about two solid weeks.
Then a lady at Petco told me the water changes may be the culprit for the cycle not continuing. She suggested I let it go for at least a week before doing another, so I did. I waited a week before I even did another test, because I knew if i saw ammonia I would neurotically clean the tank. Testing a week later showed 2ppm am and 0ppm Nitrite. I did a 50% water change and gravel cleaning then.
I didn't want to add chemicals that early in the process, I was hoping to cycle it naturally, but at the same time I didn't want the fish to suffer and die.
I added Ammo Chips to my filter system. - nothing
I added kordon AmQuel. - nothing
I let it go a week at a time after that before testing again, and every time the ammonia was high, and the nitrite was at 0, so I did a water change to help the fish.
I continued doing this until about 3 days ago, when I just became totally fed up with this and decided to add about three times the recommended bacteria supplement with a 50% water change to see if it would help things along. The ammonia fell to .25ppm the next day and I got excited.
I tested the water this morning and it is rising again (1ppm ALREADY) and Nitrite is STILL at 0. I am honestly about ready to throw in the towel. I've tested my tap water, its at 0. I always add the appropriate amount of salt. I don't over feed the fish, only a few flakes a day. I have even tried skipping a day in between feedings and it doesn't help. I know my tank isn't over stocked. I change the carbon filter once a month like it says to. I feel like I'm doing everything right, everything i'm supposed to do. I have talked to SO MANY different experts. If any of you have the secret, magic answer to this, please for the love of God tell me before my poor fish die. Thank you.