Fishless cycle
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2013
- Messages
- 158
I've fishless cycled 4 tropical tanks successfully, but this current one's nitrate levels won't fall below 40ppm. I don't understand?
I've being cycling using ammonia. It usually takes me about 3-4 weeks but I'm in week 8 and although my ammonia and nitrite are cycled and not showing on my API liquid tests my nitrate is and won't budge. I've done 5 90% water changes and still it shows. I have cleaned the tubes to the filter. Cleaned my filter. Checked for no dead plants, kept the gravel shallow. I'm using RO which I use in my other tanks which shows as zero nitrate in my other tanks but its still showing up at 40ppm even after a 90% water change. I even added a nitrate reduction bag to my media to keep nitrates down.
The lfs says that it's not harmful at that level to tropical fish but my beta has been in zero nitrate for months and I don't want him to suffer when I add him to the new tank.
I have a few rocks in the new tank but I boiled them before adding them.
Does anyone have any clues? It's driving me crazy and the RO water changes are becoming expensive!
I've being cycling using ammonia. It usually takes me about 3-4 weeks but I'm in week 8 and although my ammonia and nitrite are cycled and not showing on my API liquid tests my nitrate is and won't budge. I've done 5 90% water changes and still it shows. I have cleaned the tubes to the filter. Cleaned my filter. Checked for no dead plants, kept the gravel shallow. I'm using RO which I use in my other tanks which shows as zero nitrate in my other tanks but its still showing up at 40ppm even after a 90% water change. I even added a nitrate reduction bag to my media to keep nitrates down.
The lfs says that it's not harmful at that level to tropical fish but my beta has been in zero nitrate for months and I don't want him to suffer when I add him to the new tank.
I have a few rocks in the new tank but I boiled them before adding them.
Does anyone have any clues? It's driving me crazy and the RO water changes are becoming expensive!