Almost 3 Mos And Still Not Cycling!

[Patinkeli]

Hello, I'm really hoping that my daughter and I can get some help from this great forum - this is our first post. We got our 10 gallon tank almost 3 months ago, put 3 fish in it (before reading about fishless cycling, unfortunately) and we have now lost 2 our of our fish (platy and molly), the molly just 2 days ago, the platy near the beginning but she never looked too happy. The ammonia has stayed stubbornly high, and while we have been doing 30% water change weekly, we missed a week and that led to molly death, we think, as ammonia was up to 4. After a water change, it's now back to 2 ppm where it has usually been. Ph is 6.8 and nitrites after briefly going up a little bit are now back to zero. So our my question is, what could be preventing the tank from cycling? We are reluctant to get more fish with this problem, but a bit worried about the remaining guppy being lonely... Thank you very much, in advance.

 

[Cazgar]

You need to be doing large water changes, up to 90% every couple of days to get that ammonia down.
If you can, I'd rehome that guppy & do a fish less cycle, details of which can be found on the beginners section

 

[FishBlast]

Hello, I'm really hoping that my daughter and I can get some help from this great forum - this is our first post. We got our 10 gallon tank almost 3 months ago, put 3 fish in it (before reading about fishless cycling, unfortunately) and we have now lost 2 our of our fish (platy and molly), the molly just 2 days ago, the platy near the beginning but she never looked too happy. The ammonia has stayed stubbornly high, and while we have been doing 30% water change weekly, we missed a week and that led to molly death, we think, as ammonia was up to 4. After a water change, it's now back to 2 ppm where it has usually been. Ph is 6.8 and nitrites after briefly going up a little bit are now back to zero. So our my question is, what could be preventing the tank from cycling? We are reluctant to get more fish with this problem, but a bit worried about the remaining guppy being lonely... Thank you very much, in advance.

Ammonia should be 0, water changes should be done daily and in huge proportions (50%-90%) so DO A LARGE WATER CHANGE NOW before the guppy dies too. Do not add anymore fish, 1 is already too much for an uncycled tank.

 

[phoenixgsd]

welcome to the forum, you are effectivly doing a fish in cycle, not ideal but it can be done follow the guide here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/224306-fish-in-cycling/ you do need to be doing large and more frequent water changes, what dechlorinator are you using, prime is the best, it wont get rid of ammonia but it does make it less toxic, this is what was reccomended to me

 

[Patinkeli]

Thank you very much to all 3 of you. We have just done a big water change. the dechlorinator we are using is Big Al's, the brand of the fish store here in Ottawa where we live. We'll do more frequent water changes from here on, but I'm still left wondering why the cycling is taking so long and if we are doing something wrong - isn't it supposed to take around 4-6 weeks?

 

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

If your Ph has been averaging around 6.8 for the last 3 months maybe that has been preventing the ammonia and nitrite consuming bacteria from reproducing?
Your low Ph also explains why your fish have been surviving for so long ... since a larger ratio of your ammonia is ammonium (which is less toxic to fish) than if your Ph was higher.

I don't know if it is worth trying to gradually raise your Ph now at this point, since you have fish in... since it is too difficult to artificially maintain and prevent sudden Ph changes.

My thoughts anyway.

 

[Aqua Tom]

You need to be doing large daily water changes. 70% at least, 90% would be better, this is doable in a small tank. Get your daughter to help with the WC's. She will appreciate the tank a lot better & have some quality time with you as a offshoot.

Tom

 

[phoenixgsd]

If your Ph has been averaging around 6.8 for the last 3 months maybe that has been preventing the ammonia and nitrite consuming bacteria from reproducing?

i would kill for a PH that high, mine only just registers on the test kit, its also more than likely the reason why my cycle is taking so long

 

[Patinkeli]

Thanks again all. I have no idea how to raise the Ph so i will have to look into that - I thought 6.8 was pretty close to 7, which I thought was the ideal level.

 

[CezzaXV]

I wouldnt recommend trying to raise your pH. It's only going to cause you trouble later down the line.

You want to be testing your water every day and making sure that ammonia and nitrite never go above 0.25ppm. Unfortunately the high levels of ammonia will be what killed your fish. The good news is that eventually, if you make sure the levels stay below 0.25, eventually they'll keep themselves at 0 of their own accord

 

[CezzaXV]

If your Ph has been averaging around 6.8 for the last 3 months maybe that has been preventing the ammonia and nitrite consuming bacteria from reproducing?

i would kill for a PH that high, mine only just registers on the test kit, its also more than likely the reason why my cycle is taking so long

Are you cycling fish-in or fishless? If it's fishless, you can use bicarbonate of soda to bring the pH up a bit. Not something you wanna do with fish in your tank though.



To clarify on the pH issue, Patinkeli, 7 is completely neutral. Most fish will prefer either slightly acidic or slightly alkaline water depending on the species, but with the right acclimatisation most fish will be happy anywhere between 6-8. The bacteria we try to grow in a cycle, however, breed much more quickly in water with a pH of 8, but a sudden change in pH can kill your fish, and artificial changes in pH are impossible to maintain, meaning that even if the initial rise in pH doesn't kill the fish, the inevitable pH crash afterwards will.

 

[phoenixgsd]

i would kill for a PH that high, mine only just registers on the test kit, its also more than likely the reason why my cycle is taking so long

Are you cycling fish-in or fishless? If it's fishless, you can use bicarbonate of soda to bring the pH up a bit. Not something you wanna do with fish in your tank though.

unfortunatly fish in

 

[snazy]

As previously advised make sure you keep the ammonia below 0.25 via water changes for the sake of the fish.
However, 3 months cycling a tank is way beyond a normal cycle and you should have been done by now.
First of all, I would test the ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes and post the results here for further advise.
Put some tap water in a glass, wait 12-24 hours and test it. What's the result? If it's higher than your tank water, then the tank Ph has crashed and is stalling your cycle.

How big is the tank and what type of filter do you have in it? Are you washing/changing the filter sponges?

 

[Tizer]

The PH is fine, don't fanny around with it, as for the water change instructions, its a battle to keep the fish alive and to feed the filter bacteria to eventually cycle the filter. keeping it below 0.25 is fine and what you should be aiming for. No idea why its not cycled already, sounds odd.