Recent content by r.d.bid

Unfortunately my cycle never recovered. I'm not processing any ammonia or nitrites now. I'm convinced that it's the dechlorinator that I'm using. I don't think it works or doesn't neutralize chlorine thoroughly enough or quickly enough. It would also explain why I can't get a cycle started in...

That makes perfect sense. Thanks so much for your help Snazy, it's really appreciated. I'm doing a water change right now. I really hope this gets my cycle back on track cus I have had a very difficult time getting a cycle started in my other (very first) tank. It just doesn't want to start...

Will these high levels have killed off the good bacterias or just put them to sleep?

So high nitrIte levels will stall the cycle? Ok, I will do a 90% water change then. Also this is a fishless cycle. Starting out the cycle i was dosing ammonia to 4ppm but I have reduced that to 2-3ppm since I was getting high levels of nitrItes.

Thanks for the reply Snazy and Electric My baseline tap water readings are: 8.0pH, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 0 Nitrates. 78-82 degrees F. My tank is kept at 87F. I did fill the tank up to a higher level so there is less surface agitation over the past two days. Could that be the reason? The...

I had read here on these forums that high nitrate levels may stall a cycle and a water change to lower them would be a good idea. Two days ago, I did a 50% water change to bring down levels of nitrate since they were off the charts. Things in the tank were progressing just fine before the...

That's great news Mort! Glad that worked out for you. Keep us posted on how things are going.

I did change the filter on both tanks. I thought that it might stall the progress that I had been making on my 50 gal. tank but it doesn't seem to have had any effect on the cycle. Ammonia is still being processed and the level of nitrAtes are still on the rise. I've decided to start over on...

Im 19 days into the fishless cycle and on day 16 I finally got some nitrite readings and ammonia levels are dropping. I even have some nitrate readings now too. The other tank, well, it's been 43 days in a fish-in cycle and nothing has happened. Same exact kind of filter and the tank is...

Yeah I suppose that would go against all I have learned here, but, the filter manual does state that the bacteria will colonize the blue parts. I'm just aprehensive about it because I seem to be having some issues getting a cycle to start. My other tank has the exact same kind of filter and it...

My filter is still in the cycling phase but it has become pretty dirty. There is reduced flow and it sounds as if the pump is working harder to move water. There is also water now flowing around the filter media as I've highlighted in the attached pic. Should I attempt to clean off the...

The filter on my 50 gallon that has finally just started to cycle is getting rather filthy and is restricting some of the water flow. Should I attempt to gently clean the filter now or should I leave it alone and wait until the tank has fully cycled?

That sounds completely logical and I've kinda come to the same conclusion myself regarding the fish-in cycle taking longer due to lower amounts of ammonia, but yeah, 42 days is seeming way to long. I tested for nitrites today and I got a zero reading. I periodically test for nitrates as well...

Finally some movement on my 50 gal. tank. I just finished testing today (day 16) and now have a nitrite reading of .50ppm. But still no progress on my fish-in, 20 gal. tank. No nitrite readings at all after 42 days. I just don't get it.