i need help im confused

[robinp]

i started a fishy cycle and its been about two weeks and my ammonia level is very high 8.0 (no matter how much i change it, up to 2x a day) but what im confused about is i have 0 nitrite but the nitrate level is 10. does anyone have any ideas why nitrite is 0?

 

[ellisb1]

Ammonia

That is kinda strange. Typically, ammonia will spike after about 2 or 3 weeks. That would explain why your ammonia is high. Bacteria will start to break it down soon and you should see the ammonia drop and the nitrites hike up. Are you dosing any ferts? Since you are cycling, I assume that you have no fish or other living things in there. Are there any live plants in there?​

 

[jsoong]

What is the temp of the tank, low temp will prolong the cycle. Extremely high ammonia can inhibit the bacteria, that is another possibility. If your tank is extremely clean to start with (perhaps you bleach or sterilized everything?), there won't be much bacterial spores to start your cycle. <It will eventually get there in the air, but might take a while, esp. with an enclosed tank.> Finally, did you dechlorinate your water with your pwc? .... chlorine/chloramines will kill the filter bugs as well.

As to why you can't bring the level down with water change .... How much are you changing? With a level of 8, you need to do a 90% change just to to get down to 1 ... <And 8 is at the upper end of most kits, the actual levels may even be higher!>

First thing I would do is to test the tap water, just to make sure there is no ammonia. Next, you will need to do some big water changes. I would also do a gravel vac to get rid of some decaying stuff in the gravel, and to feed the fish less so there is less waste produced. Next, I would try seeding the tank. If you can get a hold of a healthy tank (or pond), get some of the filter gunk (or a bit of the filter) & put it into yours. <Failing that, there are posts on the net suggesting getting a bit of clean garden dirt as your seeding source .... depending on what your have in your garden .... may or maynot be advisible .... definitely do this only if you are 100% organic - no pesticides/herbicides/lots of ferts(=ammonia).>

 

[Zagz]

What kind of test kit are you using? Strips or liquid?

 

[robinp]

i am using a liquid test kit. I do have fish in there that are being sooooo patient with me. i just took 90% of the water out there, changed the filter cartridge, took all the rocks and cleaned thoroughly (no soap of course). i am leaving the rocks out and only partially filled tank with water to filter the water in there as best as possible.

there was alot of debris in the rocks, i do use a gravel vac but there was sooo much of this debris (i think from brine shrimp they didnt eat 2 wks ago)

i keep the temp at 78-80. im hoping i didnt just disturb the cycle too badly!!?

 

[AMDPhenomX4]

See if you can get some gravel from your LFS. It has the bacteria you need.

 

[ellisb1]

Gravel

Cleaning the gravel was probably not such a great idea. Try to get some quick bio solution from a LFS. I am not sure what they are called, but you can buy cultures of bacteria in bottles.

 

[timwag2001]

changing the filter was bad. most of the bacteria you want is gonna build up there. it also builds up in your gravel too. if you clean that stuff you lose some of it. if you clean it in tap water you can kill it all together if you have cholrine in your tap.

 

[Zagz]

The brine shrimp they did not eat probably caused a spike. Feed sparingly while cycling and keep up on the water changes. I would try to get some substrate from another aquarist. If not check with your lfs and get some substrate, you can put it in a clean new mesh bag on the bottom of your tank.

Bacteria must be live to work in a tank. Products such as cycle do not have live bacteria and will be very limited in their bacterial benefit.

 

[timwag2001]

and if you test your tap you might find that you already have nitrates present. which might indicate why it appears that you skipped from the ammonia to nitrate without showing nitrites

 

[robinp]

i tested the tap and it is 0 for ammonia , i do have gravel from another established tank in the tank...thats about all thats left in there until its fully cycled. there was so much debris, taking all the sub out was the only thng that made sense.

i have also been using ammo lock every day to lessen the toxicity of the ammonia, could that be solidifying into white debris maybe?

 

[robinp]

i have 0 ammonia and nitrates in my tap. i just checked the water after everything i did last night and there are still high ammonia levels. i just changed 60% and i am off to get some live bacteria and a mesh bag to replace the bowl i have to est sub in. The fish in here are so tolerant i cant believe it!

if anyone has any other ideas, i really appreciate it!

 

[ellisb1]

Yeah, grab some bacteria. That would be a good starting point. Also, you are washing the test vial with water from the aquarium before you test, right? Just making sure that you are not having contaminated results. Good luck. Hopefully you will see some results shortly!