3 month old tank not cycling

[Zaedon]

You just have a larger bio load than your current colony of beneficial bacteria can consume, they will multiply to equal the supply of food, just give it a bit of time

This is not unusual if you use some sort of quick start additive. It seems to slow the process or completely stop it. I have tried with and with out quick start products and the results seem to be the same every time. The non-quick start tank takes a few weeks to a month while the quick start never seems to cycle as lng as I keep adding the quickstart supplement. After stopping use of the quick start additive you will usually see changes within a week or two.

 

[Jobby75]

Brown Stuff

This is weird, I just did another test tonight, .50 ppm ammonia, 0.0 nitrites, 5.0ppm nitrates? What can be causing this? I also have brown stuff growing on my aquarium decorations.

I had this problem. Cut back your daylight period. Less light might help

 

[Zaedon]

I had this problem. Cut back your daylight period. Less light might help

The brown stuff is normal in new aquariums, usually it will go away as the tank balances.

Dimming lights will do nothing to help with brown algae.