Please Help!

[Liberty2k4]

Looks like i'm still stuck too. After 4 days with shrimp still not a trace of nitrite! Going to give it a few more days but then doing a complete overhaul. The only thing I can think is that the sandblasting sand I currently have is leeching chemicals into the water and inhibiting bacteria growth. I ordered some CaribSea Instant Aquarium Tahitian Moon Sand today that should be arriving next week. I'm going to drain 100% of the water, remove everything, triple rinse everything and start over with new sand. How is your cycle coming along Dlee?

 

[Fishlover3578]

Well I got used filters in mine Hopi it helps

 

[Liberty2k4]

Well I got used filters in mine Hopi it helps

I hope so too! Wish I had someone local that could donate to my filter)

 

[Cichlidfan]

I hope so too! Wish I had someone local that could donate to my filter)

Where you located?

 

[Liberty2k4]

Central Kentucky

 

[Dlee13]

Looks like i'm still stuck too. After 4 days with shrimp still not a trace of nitrite! Going to give it a few more days but then doing a complete overhaul. The only thing I can think is that the sandblasting sand I currently have is leeching chemicals into the water and inhibiting bacteria growth. I ordered some CaribSea Instant Aquarium Tahitian Moon Sand today that should be arriving next week. I'm going to drain 100% of the water, remove everything, triple rinse everything and start over with new sand. How is your cycle coming along Dlee?

I think that quite a few people use sand blasting sand but who knows, maybe yours has some chlorine in it! Wow sounds like that is gonna be a lot of work removing everything! Are you gonna rinse your filter media as well?

I rinsed my media in a bucket of tanks water than did an 80% wc. I only dosed my ammonia up to 2ppm and added a tiny pinch of fish flakes. I'm starting to think that the amount of ammonia to add is different for each side aqaurium, I think adding 4ppm in the first place is what stalled my tank.

My cycle hasn't shown anything yet but it's only day 4 since the big pwc and last time I didn't have anything happen till day 6. I actually read that one guy had no ammonia drop at all for 4 weeks then out of nowhere his tank just showed up 0 ammonia 0 Nitrite 20 Nitrate so hopefully that happens to me LOL. My water is much clearer this time around though thanks to the airstone so I'm hoping the air stone plus my high temp will get something going.

 

[Liberty2k4]

I think that quite a few people use sand blasting sand but who knows, maybe yours has some chlorine in it! Wow sounds like that is gonna be a lot of work removing everything! Are you gonna rinse your filter media as well?

I rinsed my media in a bucket of tanks water than did an 80% wc. I only dosed my ammonia up to 2ppm and added a tiny pinch of fish flakes. I'm starting to think that the amount of ammonia to add is different for each side aqaurium, I think adding 4ppm in the first place is what stalled my tank.

My cycle hasn't shown anything yet but it's only day 4 since the big pwc and last time I didn't have anything happen till day 6. I actually read that one guy had no ammonia drop at all for 4 weeks then out of nowhere his tank just showed up 0 ammonia 0 Nitrite 20 Nitrate so hopefully that happens to me LOL. My water is much clearer this time around though thanks to the airstone so I'm hoping the air stone plus my high temp will get something going.

I had done some research on the sandblasting stuff and most things I found said it was perfectly fine to use but I found a couple threads that said some, not most, are coated with some type of chemical. It would just be my luck that I got that kind. I think I will be rinsing the media too- after 5 weeks and no nitrites I just don't think there are any bacteria there to save anyway. Going for total clean slate. Maybe today Ill test and have that guy's results and won't have to! Lol
I really hope your tank shows progress soon! It would be encouragement for me

 

[Dlee13]

I had done some research on the sandblasting stuff and most things I found said it was perfectly fine to use but I found a couple threads that said some, not most, are coated with some type of chemical. It would just be my luck that I got that kind. I think I will be rinsing the media too- after 5 weeks and no nitrites I just don't think there are any bacteria there to save anyway. Going for total clean slate. Maybe today Ill test and have that guy's results and won't have to! Lol
I really hope your tank shows progress soon! It would be encouragement for me

Do you still have the packet for the sand or do you know the brand? Maybe you could find out that way! Although I personally don't think it's your sand because if it was then you wouldn't have had any Ammonia drop at all right? I read of many people who have established filters rinsing them from time to time to remove debris so I don't see how it can hurt, especially since nothing is happening anyway. Hopefully you do have that result, since you're a few days ahead of me in your cycle it would give me faith too! haha.
Thanks I hope so to! I'm gonna test it tomorrow since it will then be day 5 of my new cycle so hopefully I'll see some progress.

Funny thing is today I asked a LFS about possibly buying some seeded media from them and they tried to convince me that using stuff like API quick start would be the same thing as seeded media and instantly cycle my tank, I wonder how many people they've tricked with that lol.

 

[Liberty2k4]

I had gotten the sand from my husband's work. It just came in plain brown paper sack with the grain size stamped on it. No useful info
And I tried the safestart at the big inning of mine and think that's why I had initial ammonia drops. I think that bacteria died before it ever got established...

 

[Dlee13]

I had gotten the sand from my husband's work. It just came in plain brown paper sack with the grain size stamped on it. No useful info
And I tried the safestart at the big inning of mine and think that's why I had initial ammonia drops. I think that bacteria died before it ever got established...

Oh maybe it did have some chemical then. I have a very fine gravel for my tank which is purposely for aquariums so I never had that worry.

Maybe you could try something like Bio Spira, that has pretty positive reviews. I read in some places that stuff like safe start just converts the ammonia and nitrites to a form that is more safer for fish but doesn't really set up your filter. I can't get either of those products since they don't sell them in Australia

 

[Liberty2k4]

I guess once everything is changed out I'm going to try this cycle without adding anything but Prime and see what happens. I have read some good things and bad about the Bio Spira so it may be something to consider if this new cycle goes another 5 weeks with no progress....I really hope that doesn't happen!! Could you get something that online and have it shipped to you if you wanted it? I still think the used filter media is better though

 

[Dlee13]

I guess once everything is changed out I'm going to try this cycle without adding anything but Prime and see what happens. I have read some good things and bad about the Bio Spira so it may be something to consider if this new cycle goes another 5 weeks with no progress....I really hope that doesn't happen!! Could you get something that online and have it shipped to you if you wanted it? I still think the used filter media is better though

I think your cycle should work that way, try adding only 2ppm of Ammonia and a tiny pinch of fish food! I reckon adding 4 to a larger tank is fine but adding 4 to a smaller tank too early might contribute to stalling it. Hopefully I get some good results tomorrow then you can move forward knowing it works! I hope so too for your sake, I think I would seriously give up if I go another 5 weeks with no progress! I can get API quick start and a similar product by Seachem but like you I much rather use filter media =/ There's a chain store where I live called City Farmers, although many fish keepers are against chain stores I find the fish they have much more healthy looking and the general store/tanks are very clean. If I have no progress by this time next week I'm going to try their staff for media since they are usually friendly.

Edit: BTW did you hear back from the people about the seeded media you bought?

 

[Liberty2k4]

I think buying from a chain store is fine as long as the people seem like they know what they're doing and the tanks look healthy. A lot of people on here detest Petsmart but their tanks look better than any I've seen. Unfortunately, they don't know much about the type of fish they stock because the lady I talked to said they don't order their fish, a distributor just brings them whatever is available. I will probably be ordering fish online provided my tank cycles this century.
I never did remember to email the guy about the sponge filters.

 

[Dlee13]

Yeah I have seen many posts against petsmart. I have found the staff at the chain store to be much more friendly and they have said they hire people who are actually interested and keep aquariums to maintain the tanks. The staff do seem to know what they're talking about as well. I have a PO Box postal address so ordering online isn't really an option for me. Are you going to email them? Would be real good if their customer service was great and gave you a free one as a replacement!

 

[Liberty2k4]

Just sent an email to him. I highly suspect that I will be told that the mistake was mine and they are not responsible but like you said, it's worth a try. Ill let you know what response I get, if any. May be a few days since its the weekend.

 

[Liberty2k4]

Received reply already! As expected, there is nothing they can do. He said they have never had sponges be ineffective even after a long transport. He says there must be some toxin in my tank killing them. He also said that for some reason they are less effective in fishless cycles and recommended adding a few fish and monitoring parameters closely. Oh well. Guess I'm left with mysterious toxins!

 

[Dlee13]

Wow maybe it is the sand you used then that stalled your cycle! I just tested my tank and no change in my water parameters =/ If I don't have a change or I can't get seeded media this weekend I think I have no choice but to empty the tank and get rid of it, I waste so much time on it every week with nothing absolutely to show after 5 weeks.

 

[Liberty2k4]

How big is your tank? I read a post from another user on this site that had to use an alternate water source (bottled I think) to get her cycle started. Librarygirl, I believe. She uses tap now with no problems. If you had a small tank, this might be worth a try. My tank is 58 gallons so definitely not feasible for me. I really hope you aren't forced to give up but I couldn't blame you if you did! I have too much money invested at this point so I'll be sticking it out even if that means doing the dreaded fish-in cycle as a last possible resort.

 

[Dlee13]

How big is your tank? I read a post from another user on this site that had to use an alternate water source (bottled I think) to get her cycle started. Librarygirl, I believe. She uses tap now with no problems. If you had a small tank, this might be worth a try. My tank is 58 gallons so definitely not feasible for me. I really hope you aren't forced to give up but I couldn't blame you if you did! I have too much money invested at this point so I'll be sticking it out even if that means doing the dreaded fish-in cycle as a last possible resort.

My tank is 20G or 70L so would be quite pricey to fill it up with bottled water I think =/ When I go out for lunch later I am strongly considering buying Seachem Stability and trying that out. When you used safe start, did you also add ammonia and add safe start every day for the one week?
My tank is an all in one type and was $140 and I had to build my own stand for it plus all the other small stuff I've easily spent $300 on mine all up. I really really want to get it going but it's just driving me crazy every day seeing it empty and not progressing at all.

 

[Liberty2k4]

Wow off topic but kinda crazy you're talking about lunch...it's just past midnight here. Lol. I would try the Stability- it can't hurt. The safestart works a little differently, you add the entire bottle at once. I was told that my 4pmm ammonia probably overwhelmed the bacteria so I would assume the same is true for Stability. I would start out with 0.5pmm which would be closer to an actual fish-in cycle like the product is intended. If you get it to cycle that you can gradually increase the ammo later to whatever your bioload will be. Also I've heard that you may skip the nitrite spike with these bacteria boosters.