Fishless cycle not started after 6 weeks

[LauraG]

Hi

I am trying to set up a new aquarium by doing a fishless cycle. I have a Fluval Roma 125l tank. It has a heater set to 27 degrees celcius and the fluval U3 filter. Also in the tank I have sand for substrate, a couple of silk plants and a 3D resin background. I have now had it running for about 6 weeks. The water (pH ~7.4) was conditioned when the tank was first set up to remove chlorine and a few days later I added 4ppm ammonia. I've been using the API liquid master test kit. Anyway, the problem I have is that 6 weeks down the line, the ammonia hasnt dropped at all and as you expect there are no nitrites or nitrates showing on the test kit. For the last week I have also added an air stone to get more oxygen into the water and did a small PWC which brought the ammonia to 2ppm but there is still no change.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do now? I'm hoping I've missed something simple/obvious but I was hoping that I would at least be half way through the cycling process now.

Thank you for reading and any help you might be able to give!

 

[Sgtdap]

Can you get a hold of some substrate from an established and healthy tank? Even if it is gravel you can put it in new unwashed pantyhose and it should help kick start some bacterial growth.

Check your filter and make sure it doesn't looked clogged. I haven't read up much on these units but I know the can be setup in several different ways, how is yours placed in your tank?

I have also heard of people not reading their test kits correctly, not that that is necessarily the case here, but you might want to reread the API directions with the next test to ensure you are shaking enough for the most accurate result.

I'm rather new to the hobby myself so my advice is from research I have read about and not personal experience. Others here can back up or challenge what I have said.

 

[threnjen]

Hi Laura,
Do you know anything about your tap water? Is it hard/soft?

 

[johnlucky5]

Fishless didn't work for me tried for a month and had no results. So I drained all the water to have little but no ammonia, have a tone of safe start like two big bottles of it and but 1 inch of fish per 10 gallons of water. So for my 16 gallon I had two danios. After a week I saw that my nitrate was at 40, now my tank is fully stocked, added a couple fish then waited 5 days to see if the ammonia would spike and if it didn't then I added more until I was at Max capacity. It worked for me! But safe start works best with fish in cycle. I know it's not the right way but it worked. But try to use Hearty fish that you want in the tank. And use prime for you chlorinator, when you add the prime wait 24 hours to add safestart the prime will starve you Bactria, and donot do any water changes the ammonia will get to 1.5 to 2ppm it's normal, the safe start makes it safe until it's cycled. If the ammonia gets above 2ppm do a 50% water change. Good luck!!!

 

[LauraG]

Thanks for the replies.
I believe my tap water is hard, although this is based on test strips used on an old tank last year. I did get some baseline readings from the tank before adding the ammonia. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all measured as zero as I expected. pH was about 7.4.
I've read the test kit instructions numerous times. It's a new kit so within date, and I can measure nitrates in my old teeny 28l tank. I did put a small amount of gravel from this tank into the new one but its made no difference. Maybe I'll have to try adding some more. The little tank only has 3 otos in though, so I don't believe there's much of a bioload to support a substantial amount of bacteria.
The filter is set up as per the instructions. Has 2 compartments filled with sponge and 1 compartment with ceramic biomedia. I'll double check its not clogged up tonight but water does seem to be moving through it fine.

 

[johnlucky5]

Yea I would get a API test kit I wouldn't test the strips, and get some safestart and a fish.

 

[LauraG]

I already have the API liquid test kit. It's just the water hardness measurement I'm taking from old measurements. All other results have been measured with the API kit in the new tank.
Thank you johnlucky5. The fish in cycle is something I have started considering so I really appreciate your instructions and suggestions. I will definitely look into it!

 

[90galWavefront]

I had trouble with a fishless cycle way back when. When reading up on the subject quite a few people suggested a small peace of cooked shrimp would start the cycle as it decayed in the tank. I tried and man it's worked every time since. You only need a very small peace. Apparently a bit of your fish food will work as well, but in like the shrimp, I've had great luck with it.

 

[johnlucky5]

No prob! Best of luck!

 

[threnjen]

Are you able to test your pH now?
can you link me your water quality report from the web, or give me a city/state/country and I can look it up

 

[Khuligirl93]

Try adding some filter media from your established tank with the ottos instead of gravel most bacteria actually live inside the filter!
I think you could also add a few hardy fish to get things going.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA, Laura!!!

Quick question here. Do you plan on making this new tank a home for your present otos?

If you have plans to move them and do not mind taking your time stocking additional fish, we can make suggestions to make things a bit easier here. You can easily switch to a fish-in cycle though it should be very minimal beyond tank prep and taking your time stocking additional fish and keeping an eye on your parameters.

 

[LauraG]

Hi jlk - yes, I do plan on moving the otos into the new tank once it is safe for them. I've just been reluctant to move them into an un-cycled tank as I've had them for over a year and I am quite attached to them now so don't want to stress them!
If I do end up with a fish in cycle then I am more than happy to keep a close eye on the water parameters. Slowly stocking the tank also suits me since I still class myself as a beginner and it would give me time to get used to each species. I had planned to stock the tank with the 3 current otos (plus maybe a couple more to boost the school), a school of corydoras and a school of neon tetras. Are any of these suitable for setting up the tank? From the research I've done so far I don't get the impression these fish are hardy enough.

Khuligirl93 - The established tank that currently has the otos uses an undergravel filter so the gravel is the only filter media in that tank.

threnjen - pH is still around 7.4. The water quality report for my area is: Water quality in your area : Your water supply : Households : Severn Trent Water