Advice On Non Cycling Aquariums

[KevJ87]

Hey guys, so I have tried everything in my power to get these tanks cycled. The 10 gallon was before I knew about fishless so it was a fish - in that is 2 months old, there is still ZERO nitrites and ZERO nitrates in the water after 2 months but a lingering Ammonia around 1.0 ppm.
 
The 29 gallon is not as old only a couple weeks and it is a fishless cycle, I added Tetra safe start and it was not expired I even used some media from a planeted tank from whom I purchased 5 plants from. 
 
The 29 gallon is still not showing any real sign of cycling.
 
I read somewhere that R/O Right might help? Someone said it was their tap water and once they added this and some other trace elements? Not sure but htey said it started to cycle normally after that.
 
I am truly out of ideas and just don't understand.

 

[Ninjouzata]

What is your pH and is your test kit in date? Also what sort of test kit are you using?
 
Have you read THIS? Did you add ammonia to your 29g?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Going to need some more info before going any further.
 
What are your tap water parameters and pH?
 
Also tank water temp?
 
Using R/O water is not something i know much about to be honest but would not think it will do much in cycling a tank if your pH is above 6.0.
 
And finally, using tetra safe start is not guaranteed to start cycle process, it really depends on how the LFS handled the bottle and what conditions the bottle was stored in etc
 
If you want to use bottled bacteria, the only one i would really recommend is Dr Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

As Charlie said there is almost no information provided that would allow us to help in any meaningful way. Tetra's product has some very specific directions which must be followed for success. As with any method of cycling it must be done correctly to succeed. Here are a couple of reasons which would cause SafeStart not to work properly or at all.

In regards to ammonia products, yes, they kill TSS. Any type, whether a chloramines remover or detoxifier, etc, anything that says it locks up ammonia or removes ammonia. Do not add TSS for 24 hours  after using such a product, and do not add such a product for at least 7 days after using TSS. The bacteria is housed in a special stabilized solution of ammonia, so if you remove/lock up the ammonia, you remove all of the food the bacteria require to live..........
 
it is best to get the ammonia levels down to below 4.0. 4.0 and higher is just as toxic to TSS as it is to fish. While 2.0 -3.5 ppm ammonia may harm some of the TSS bacteria, it should still have some effect. You may want to do a second dose several days after adding the first one, if you are not seeing the results you want. Keep in mind, these are bacteria, not a chemical, so results are slow to see. Give the product at least 5-7 days.

from fishlore.com/fishforum/aquarium-nitrogen-cycle/58116-q-tetra-tetra-safestart.html

 

[KevJ87]

The 29 gallon tank seems to be cycling now, (this was the fishless one). I have lower ammonia than last night 0 nitrites and about 6 nitrates.
 
The small 10 gallon however still nothing, so I did a huge water change and restarted the tank. I cleaned everything since I wanted to change the gravel/decor anyway, so I am going to start the 10 gallon over fishless and move the fish to a QT tank in the mean time until the 29 gallon is safe for me to house them in until the 10 gallon cycles.
 
My tap water parameters are as follows.
 
Using  API Freshwater Master Kit  (((( Not Expired ))))
 
Tap Water :
 
Ammona  --   1.0 ppm
Nitrites --  0.0 ppm
Nitrates -- 0.0 ppm
 
Ph  - 8.6    (very high)
 
 
 
10 gallon tank before I cleaned/restarted :
 
Ph -  7.8
Ammonia 1.5 ppm
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 0.0 ppm 
 
And this was after the 10 gallon had been set up for about 2 months, as well as a few weeks after trying to add TSS to jump start the process.
 
 
The 29 gallon is cycling at least so I feel a bit better, the fishless method was a lot better and safer on the fish so I appreciate this site teaching me about the fishless cycle since the LFS would have NEVER. In fact when I told the guy at the LFS I was fishless cycling my 29 gallon when I was purchasing plants he went on a rampage about how its not safe and that certain good bacteria besides ammonia eaters are not present that way, and that when it does come time to add fish it can throw it all out of whack since its an eco system developed WITHOUT fish. just a bunch of blah nonsense because they love it when fish die and you have to purchase more.