Ammonia not dropping

[MummyC]

Well im at 2 weeks and im trying to be patient but its not easy lol but my ammonia is still at 3/4ppm and not dropping and no sign of nitrites at all! My OH is going mad saying iv messed it up and has been on the phone to pets at home who told him they had never heard of cycling a tank and id been spawned some rubbish, that by adding ammonia i had done some serious damage to my tank and need to empty and clean everything so naturally guess who he believes!

Should i be seeing some nitries by now? or should i start over with a different source of ammonia?
Iv added more plants since i first put ammonia in could they be stopping it going down?

 

[librarygirl]

Hi! Every tank is different; it can take 1-3 weeks for ammonia to start dropping. First, let's check the basics. If you can answer these it would be great:

--What temp is the tank?
--Is there an air stone or is there water splashing down from the filter to create surface agitation?
--what filter do you have and what media is inside (carbon, pads, cartridges, etc)
--What brand of ammonia are you using?
--What test kit are you using?
--Did you add dechlorinator to the tank when you filled it?
--Is it possible any contaminant couuld have gotten into the tank (bleach, etc)?
--What source water are you using? (tap, well, etc)
--Did you add any bacteria starters or anything to the tank?
--What size tank is it?

Plants shouldn't affect the cycle, no.

 

[MummyC]

Hi! Every tank is different; it can take 1-3 weeks for ammonia to start dropping. First, let's check the basics. If you can answer these it would be great:

--What temp is the tank?
--Is there an air stone or is there water splashing down from the filter to create surface agitation?
--what filter do you have and what media is inside (carbon, pads, cartridges, etc)
--What brand of ammonia are you using?
--What test kit are you using?
--Did you add dechlorinator to the tank when you filled it?
--Is it possible any contaminant couuld have gotten into the tank (bleach, etc)?
--What source water are you using? (tap, well, etc)
--Did you add any bacteria starters or anything to the tank?
--What size tank is it?

Plants shouldn't affect the cycle, no.

--Hi i will do my best to answer it all!
--The temp is 30
--There is an air stone in the tank and the filter is also on high pumping out lots of oxygen bubbles.
--The filter is an interpet PF3
--im not sure what the ammonia is its a powdered ammonia chloride i got from ebay but i asked and he said he had a few ppl who had bought it for the same purpose!
--i have the API water test liquid kit
--i added declorinator to the tank
--i dont see how anything could have gotten in as no bleach or anything is kept near the tank as i have 2 small children
--i have been filling it from the tap and have tested the water for ammonia it has none
--i did use interpet filterstart for the first week and a half when the tank was set up
-- the tank is a 120 litre

 

[Bettafanatic]

Sounds like the ammonia is the issue to me. It might have some additives that are stalling the cycle. Look carefully at the ingredients. The person you bought it from could have just wanted a quick buck, he doesn't care whether your tank is healthy or not.

 

[jetajockey]

Its only been two weeks, give it more time.

 

[MummyC]

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace



This the stuff i bought i assumed it was ok but now im not so sure

 

[jlk]

Can you check the ph of your tank? I am not familiar with using this product but from what I was able to find, ammonium chloride at a ratio of 5% (by weight) solution in water has a ph range of 4-6. This is too acidic of an environment for your bb to develop and process ammonia. Granted, you are only using a very small amount of this product and it may not have an effect on your ph but its something worth checking as well. If all is well, then I have to agree that you will need some more patience. Do you have access to any cycled media (friend, lf, etc)? This will be the easiest route to jumpstart your cycle.

 

[MummyC]

The Ph is 7.6 on low and 7.4 on high the same as my tap water
Should i find a different ammonia source and start over?
Unfortunately i dont know anyone with a tank so cant use anything to seed the tank.

 

[jlk]

Your ph is fine so that knocks my theory out! I would consider giving your tank atleast another week or two before considering starting over with a different product. Everything else looks fine!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Your ph is fine so that knocks my theory out! I would consider giving your tank atleast another week or two before considering starting over with a different product. Everything else looks fine!

1+ to this. Wait a bit longer and if it still isn't working, then start over with different ammonia. I used this ammonia for cycling and it works fabulously:

Amazon.com: James Austin Co 50 Clear Ammonia 32oz: Pet Supplies

 

[MummyC]

i guess i just thought i would be seeing some changes by now

 

[Bettafanatic]

i guess i just thought i would be seeing some changes by now

You do have to admit that it is a little suspicious. When I was cycling my ten gallon, I started seeing nitrites five days after I added ammonia. Just wait one more week and if still nothing is happening, investigate further. I suspect it's your source of ammonia. The link I posted above is good cycling ammonia.

 

[LyndaB]

Patience is a virtue with fishkeeping. The average time to cycle is 4-6 weeks.

 

[jetajockey]

You do have to admit that it is a little suspicious.

Not really. It can take 4 to 6 weeks, sometimes longer. If that is not the right stuff (not sure what else it'd be) what would be the reason for selling a fake ammonia product?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Remember to never ever rinse your biological filter media in tap water. It kills off the bacteria needed to cycle your tank and turn the ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate.

 

[MummyC]

Im considering emptying the tank and buying something called kleen off ammonia iv read a lot of ppl in the UK have had sucess with this product! Do you think its worth a shot? I am trying to be patient its just my partner is really getting at me about this! no matter how many times i try to explain about the need to cycle the tank it doesnt seem to be getting through to him

The reason i though the ammonia i have would work is because it said something about acting as a nitrogen source lol probably very dumb of me

 

[MummyC]

Remember to never ever rinse your biological filter media in tap water. It kills off the bacteria needed to cycle your tank and turn the ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate.

My partner just informed me he did this a few days ago so so mad at him looks like i need to star over anyway

 

[CorallineAlgae]

My partner just informed me he did this a few days ago so so mad at him looks like i need to star over anyway

It's a VERY common mistake to make. Don't be to hard on him. lol
It sounded like this might've been causing the problem. Just tell him he should only rinse it in tank water and all will be good. Hey, it could be worse. He could've waited until you had lots of fish in the tank and then... >.<

 

[TangoTank]

I did not use seeded media & my tank took 18/19 days before the ammonia began to drop. I started May 7th & am now almost at 0 ammonia for the first time! It will happen soon for ya & boy, what a feeling of accomplishment! I cranked up the heat & I think that helped. Good luck!!

 

[MummyC]

Ok seriously this day could not get worse
Iv just been lookin closely at the tank to see if i could see any of the baby snails and i saw 2 little white things jumping around one corner! Even as a novice i know what fleas look like (i have 2 dogs lol) how did i end up with fleas did they hitch on the plants too?