long cycle

[mark shirah]

started a fishless cycle 8 weeks ago. everything went perfect for 5 weeks. after nitrites went to 0 in week 5 ammonia has stayed at almost 1 for 3 weeks. i added 7 danios last week. been doing 20% changes twice a week but ammonia will not go below .5. what should i do next ?

 

[mark shirah]

forgot to tell that this a 55 gallon tank with fake plants and two ac filters.

 

[talloulou]

Obviously don't add any more fish for the time being. What are your exact numbers for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates now? Usually the nitrites won't spike till the ammonia has finished spiking.

That said I would do larger water changes....40-50% or continue doing 20% but do them daily or every other day. This will help the fish survive. Danios are very hardy so as long as you keep up with the constant water changes all of them should survive the cycle. I personally wouldn't vacumn the gravel until after the cycle completes. Also try to feed lightly during the cycle.

If you can get some filter media from an established tank that should help speed things up.

 

[mark shirah]

ammonia - almost 1
nitrites- 0
ph-7.0
nitrates- 10

 

[Guest]

it sounds to me like your ammonia test kit might not be quite accurate. What test kit are you using and how old is it? Maybe take a sample to the fish store and see if they get the same readings as you.. most will test water for free. But as Talloulou said, don't add anymore fish until you are sure.

 

[patagonia]

have you tested your tap water after sitting in a glass for 24 hours? my tap water has chloramines in it so after a water change my tank reads 0.50ppm ammonia...even though its in a non toxic form...

 

[Jchillin]

A couple of questions come to mind in line with what the other members have posted:

What is the duration of time that your tests are being conducted after the PWC?

What type of water treatment are you using?

 

[mark shirah]

i am using ap stress coat water conditioner. am conducting my test about 1 hour after pwc. lfs verified my test results, so my ap test kit is accurate. i decided to switch my conditioner to prime.

 

[Jchillin]

One hour may be too soon...you need the water column to turn over a few times in order to get a more accurate reading. Try waiting about 4-6 hours, then test.

Though I've never used stresscoat, I've some interesting things about it...it contains aloe? Using Prime is definitely better if that is the case.