Still not cycling

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Shanny

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
240
Location
Alberta, Canada
Hi Everyone,

So I'm past the 8 week mark of my first fish-in cycle and still no trace of Nitrites. I'm starting to give up hope! lol

I know it takes a long time and 8 weeks is still in the time scale but is it normal to see no sign of cycling at this point? It gets depressing seeing that Nitrite test tube showing only light blue everyday.:banghead:

I have a 37g tall with a Fluval U4 filter, airpump with an airstone bar and there are two 2" fancy goldies in it.

I do my best to keep the ammonia under .25 but I recently added some seeding material from a fellow local aquarium keeper and it caused some major ammonia spikes so I had to take it out.

Can anyone recommend a way to get it going faster or let me know if it is normal to see no sign of cycling this far into it? I'm in Canada so I would prefer not to order pre-seeded filters online as the price doubles and shipping is very expensive.

Any words of encouragement or advice?

:thanks:
 
Shanny said:
Hi Everyone,

So I'm past the 8 week mark of my first fish-in cycle and still no trace of Nitrites. I'm starting to give up hope! lol

I know it takes a long time and 8 weeks is still in the time scale but is it normal to see no sign of cycling at this point? It gets depressing seeing that Nitrite test tube showing only light blue everyday.:banghead:

I have a 37g tall with a Fluval U4 filter, airpump with an airstone bar and there are two 2" fancy goldies in it.

I do my best to keep the ammonia under .25 but I recently added some seeding material from a fellow local aquarium keeper and it caused some major ammonia spikes so I had to take it out.

Can anyone recommend a way to get it going faster or let me know if it is normal to see no sign of cycling this far into it? I'm in Canada so I would prefer not to order pre-seeded filters online as the price doubles and shipping is very expensive.

Any words of encouragement or advice?

:thanks:
Click to expand...
Have your nitrates risen? Fish in cycles do take some time, but they always worked for my friends.
 
Hi Shanny! Ok, Ive probably asked you this before so bare with me! How is your ph? Is it staying stable? Are you on city or well water? What type of water conditioner are you using? You should be seeing something by now so lets try to figure out why your bb are not developing. :)
 
Which dechlorinator are you using and how soon after using it are you doing your readings? If less than 24 hours after using dechlorinator, you're not getting true results.
 
jlk said:
Hi Shanny! Ok, Ive probably asked you this before so bare with me! How is your ph? Is it staying stable? Are you on city or well water? What type of water conditioner are you using? You should be seeing something by now so lets try to figure out why your bb are not developing. :)
Click to expand...

Hi Jess!

I just tested my ph and it was 7.4. I have only tested it once before about 1.5 weeks ago and it was 7.9. I am on city water. I tested the tap water the other day for ammonia and it was 0. I just switched to Prime this weekend so tonight will be my third wc using it. Before that I was using Nutrafin AquaPlus.

LyndaB said:
Which dechlorinator are you using and how soon after using it are you doing your readings? If less than 24 hours after using dechlorinator, you're not getting true results.
Click to expand...

I test right before my wc so usually about 24 hours later.
 
Ok, this is just a possibility (other than being more patient). It may be worthwhile to check with your water authority to find out the average amount of chlorine they are adding to your water (mg/l). The amount varies on a daily basis but they should have an average amount. I found this out the hard way when the first tank I started (fishin) would not cycle at all even after over 4mths. Well, after I had numerous talks with my municipality & having my water tested, I learned my chlorine levels were almost 2x what an average water conditioner can handle so the chlorine was effectively killing all my good bacteria with every water change. Once I started double-dosing water conditioner, it took about a month for my tank to cycle. No guarentee this is the same situation as yours, but it is something worth looking into!
 
When you take your nitrates test, do you bash the heck out of the reagent bottle? You really need to smash it on a countertop or table to break up the crystals in the bottle. After doing that the first few times, if you're taking readings even weekly, you only need to shake the bottle.
 
LyndaB said:
When you take your nitrates test, do you bash the heck out of the reagent bottle? You really need to smash it on a countertop or table to break up the crystals in the bottle. After doing that the first few times, if you're taking readings even weekly, you only need to shake the bottle.
Click to expand...

I haven't done that. I only shake it vigorously for over a minute. I'll give that a try today. Thanks!
 
Booo. Average chlorine in the water is only 1.2 mg/l so that can't be the issue.

Any other ideas of what could be stopping the cycle?
 
Hm, 8 weeks, at least by now you should be seeing the ammonia staying at 0. How fast does the ammonia rise? Have you noticed it rising more slowly since you started? Typically the ammonia eating bacteria develop first, then ammonia will stay at 0, then the nitrite bacteria develop so you see nitrites until enough bacteria develop to consume them, then you see nitrate as nitrites are converted. It almost seems as if you're stuck at the ammonia phase for some reason.

What temp is the tank?
Do you have an air stone or is there water splashing the surface from the filter?
Have you been changing filter media out or cleaning it, etc?
 
Another thought: what brand filter is it, what media is in there and how many gallons is it rated for? With goldies you need a lot of filtration; I'm wondering whether there isn't enough surface area for a sufficient amount of bacteria to grow to accomodate the fish.
 
Hi LibraryGirl!

The ammonia is rising faster now than at the start. It is rising .25-.75 per day.

The tank is at room temp so at 70. I have a heater I can use but as they are goldies I figured 70 was warm enough.

At the start I was using a DIY filter that splashed back into the water. Now I am using a TopFin 4000 with a 6" airstone.

I have a Fluval U4 internal filter with three stages of filter. Sponge, floss/carbon and Bio. It is rated for 34-65 gallon. I only swish the mechanical filters in used tank water when they get gunky. When I switched from the DIY to the Fluval I moved the media into the Fluval so I wouldn't lose the progress I had made.
 
LAAAAAAAAA!

Anyone else hear the angels singing? lol

My test tonight shows .25 Nitrites! Ammonia is at 1.0 but at least there is finally Nitrites. So now to get the ammonia under control. But yay!!!!
 
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