Tank cycle is taking forever

[Andiford]

Hi guys
I've posted previously with cycle questions and now I'm wondering if my juwel filter is possibly the cause of a cycle dragging out.
Current parameters...
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
PH 7.8 (I've been buffering KH weekly with Terra Easy Balance as ph was dropping every few days.
Temp 24.5 degrees
Current stock 6 platies and 6 guppies in a 30 gallon tank.

Platies were added on 9th January, a few hours after adding ATM Colony. 12 days later, still zero nitrite and zero Nitrate. I was dosing with seachem prime as ammonia was creeping up to 1ppm

A few days later I added another bottle of Fluval bacteria and 5ppm nitrates finally made an appearance, only to disappear again with the next water change (on account of ammonia climbing again).

I'm running out of ideas and I'm now wondering if my biofilter could be the issue.

All fish are happy and thriving, thank goodness, and we have discovered a few platy fry. I just need this cycle to complete so I can relax a little.

Has anyone had similar issues?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Slaphppy7]

PH levels will vary during a cycle, I wouldn't be adding anything to change the values.
You have not messed with the filter (cleaning, changing sponges/grids/etc) during the cycle, correct?
How long are you waiting after WC's to test the water?
Does your source water contain chloramine or ammonia?

 

[nik_n]

If you have a pre existing cycled tank you can transfer some of the media to this tank. There are also some products, which contain beneficial bacteria in a bottle to help cycle the tank. Since you already have the fish you just need to make sure there are enough beneficial bacteria to keep up with ammonia in your tank.

 

[Andiford]

PH levels will vary during a cycle, I wouldn't be adding anything to change the values.
You have not messed with the filter (cleaning, changing sponges/grids/etc) during the cycle, correct?
How long are you waiting after WC's to test the water?
Does your source water contain chloramine or ammonia?

Thanks for the advice. My PH at one tjme dropped to 4.5 and I was concerned the cycle had stalled. We have very soft water here and I used eggshells to increase the KH but they weren't effective, even after one week. So I used the Tetra easy balance as a KH buffer.
I haven't touched the filter at all as I'm trying to increase my bacteria load.
Tap water has zero ammonia and trace chloramine and I dose every change bucket with seachem Prime .
I tend to test water 24 hours after a water change

 

[Andiford]

If you have a pre existing cycled tank you can transfer some of the media to this tank. There are also some products, which contain beneficial bacteria in a bottle to help cycle the tank. Since you already have the fish you just need to make sure there are enough beneficial bacteria to keep up with ammonia in your tank.

Thanks Nik_n.
Is it reasonable to use 3 bottles of bacteria during a cycle period?
I've been considering going to my local aquarium and asking for some of the established filter media. To help things along.
If all I need is patience, I'm happy to do what's required.

I just want to fish to stay healthy. I didn't originally plan a fish in cycle. The ATM colony was intended to speed it all up but it hasn't gone as planned ?.
Thanks again

 

[mbsqw1d]

You potentially have the ideal soft water acidic tank, where ammonia exists as harmless ammonium. Problem is, you have hard water fish ?

 

[Andiford]

You potentially have the ideal soft water acidic tank, where ammonia exists as harmless ammonium. Problem is, you have hard water fish ?

Ahh..... ?.
I plan to keep the PH boosted to just above 8, so hopefully the fish will be happy.

Maybe next time I'll research soft water fish before setting up ?. Thanks

 

[Essjay]

I plan to keep the PH boosted to just above 8, so hopefully the fish will be happy.

It's hard water that platies and guppies need, that's GH not pH. If you have very soft water you need to add some hardness minerals to the tank. Many people in your situation use those salts marketed for Rift Lake cichlids.

The other alternative would be to rehome the guppies and platies and get soft water fish instead. With soft water fish you would want low pH.

 

[Essjay]

I took the liberty of looking up your water hardness. According to your water company, your hardness is 26 ppm/1.5 dH (same hardness, different ways of measuring it)
Guppies and platies need over 200 ppm, a lot harder than your tap water.

 

[Andiford]

I took the liberty of looking up your water hardness. According to your water company, your hardness is 26 ppm/1.5 dH (same hardness, different ways of measuring it)
Guppies and platies need over 200 ppm, a lot harder than your tap water.

Thanks Essjay.

I'll look to harden the water to keep my live bearers happy. Probably adding crushed coral or the rift lake cichlids salts.

I'm actually surprised so many live bearers are sold in aquariums in my region of Scotland, given the softness of our water. Hey ho, I'll stay on top of it to keep water ideal for them.

 

[nik_n]

Thanks Nik_n.
Is it reasonable to use 3 bottles of bacteria during a cycle period?
I've been considering going to my local aquarium and asking for some of the established filter media. To help things along.
If all I need is patience, I'm happy to do what's required.

I just want to fish to stay healthy. I didn't originally plan a fish in cycle. The ATM colony was intended to speed it all up but it hasn't gone as planned ?.
Thanks again

How big is your tank? I would just stick with what the instructions on the bottle suggest. Asking your local fish store for some filter media would be a very smart idea but make sure you get it from a well established and heathy tank.

Also with softer water like yours you might want to keep American cichlids, such as apistogramma, rams or kribensis. Life bearers are a great beginner fish but its much easier and cheaper to keep the fish that match the water perimeters in your area. Good luck!

 

[mbsqw1d]

@Essjay I've never got my head around acidic tanks when it comes to cycling. Do they even need to be cycled if ammonia becomes ammonium? And are water changes done just to remove build up of ammonium?

 

[Andiford]

How big is your tank? I would just stick with what the instructions on the bottle suggest. Asking your local fish store for some filter media would be a very smart idea but make sure you get it from a well established and heathy tank.

Also with softer water like yours you might want to keep American cichlids, such as apistogramma, rams or kribensis. Life bearers are a great beginner fish but its much easier and cheaper to keep the fish that match the water perimeters in your area. Good luck!

I've learned a lot tonight lol. I don't plan to rehome the fish as I love the wee things. I'll just adapt the tank to suit them and go with softer water fish next time I'm restocking the tank. Fish keeping is definitely a steep learning curve. I learn something new every week!
Thanks again ?

 

[Essjay]

I've never got my head around acidic tanks when it comes to cycling. Do they even need to be cycled if ammonia becomes ammonium? And are water changes done just to remove build up of ammonium?

Since few bacteria grow at very low pH, I can only assume that most of the 'ammonia' remains in the water as ammonium rather than be converted on to nitrate. But ammonium is not non-toxic just a lot less toxic than ammonia, so water changes would need to be done to remove the ammonium..
It is possible that ammonia eating micro-organisms (not just bacteria) of some type do grow slowly, but a cycle would take a lot longer to complete.
With a very low pH it is possible to not cycle a tank. All the ammonia would be in the ammonium form, and weekly water changes would remove any that hadn't been converted.


In a planted tank, the plants will still remove the ammonium. Seangee has heavily planted tanks with his RO water, and I don't think he has readings for ammonia/ammonium so either he does have some micro-organisms or the plants remove all the ammonium.