Cycle Stopped? Why?

[larrytstarr]

Hi folks. Looking for some help please. I started a non-fish cycle a couple of weeks ago. I seeded my canister filter with some media from a friend's tank. Almost immediately the daily dose of ammonia would be processed overnight. I was encouraged! I was testing the nitrites daily, waiting for them to drop and to see the nitrates spike. All of a sudden the ammonia is no longer being processed! What could have caused this? It is a new tank, the ph is 8.0, the water temp is 85 degrees and I am running an air stone in addition to my Eheim Ecco canister filter. I am interested in theories in addition to suggestions. Thanks so much. I am baffled.

 

[larrytstarr]

Hi Folks,
I posted the previous message a few days ago. Nobody offered any advice. I am still in the same situation - the tank is just sitting there, apparently not making any progress. I didn't do anything that would have killed my bacteria, so I am stumped! So, I guess my new question is how to start again? Is there anything I should do or change to restart the cycling process. Thanks!

 

[fluttermoth]

Sorry no one replied to you.

You could try a huge, near enough 100%, water change. Sometimes that can restart a stalled cycle. Have you tested your nitrate level? If that's very high it can stall a cycle and a water change would sort that out.

 

[Welshweeks]

I know you've stated your PH level but have you checked after the apparent stall? Your probably aware but a drop in PH can stall the cycle.

 

[paulyoung666]

As happened to me , a partial water change and a little bicarb of soda sorted it out in short order !!!

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

There is a theory that says very high nitrite levels can stall a cycle by killing or disabling the nitrifying bacterias. At this stage of a fishless cycle, the bacterias turning nitrite to nitrate can't keep up with all the amount of ammonia that's being converted, so your nitrite level gets very high.

So as stated above, a large water change to bring your nitrites back to readable range could do the trick!

 

[Aqua Tom]

I agree with all above, do a total water change, eg 100%.


Tom

 

[larrytstarr]

Thanks so much for the responses. I will try the water change as suggested. Fingers crossed! I will report on my results for the benefit of others.

 

[HAMBONE]

Thanks so much for the responses. I will try the water change as suggested. Fingers crossed! I will report on my results for the benefit of others.

there's also the bacteria drops you can buy at the lfs.. that should get the cycle started again..

 

[CezzaXV]

Thanks so much for the responses. I will try the water change as suggested. Fingers crossed! I will report on my results for the benefit of others.

there's also the bacteria drops you can buy at the lfs.. that should get the cycle started again..

It's a topic of hot debate whether these products work, most people saying they don't, or if they do it's a specific brand that needs to be stored/used in a specific way. I personally wouldnt waste my money.

You didn't say when the pH reading was taken. If its not 100% current, I measure it again and add some bicarbonate of soda if it's significantly less than 8. A water change also never hurts.

 

[paulyoung666]

Thanks so much for the responses. I will try the water change as suggested. Fingers crossed! I will report on my results for the benefit of others.

there's also the bacteria drops you can buy at the lfs.. that should get the cycle started again..

noob talking , a bottle of ammonia is gonna be your best friend cycle wise , and a liquid test kit

 

[Tolak]

Doubling up on dechlorinator with any cycling tank is cheap insurance. Your water supplier will adjust disinfectants as needed to keep the water supply safe for human consumption. Unfortunately these adjustments often make it less safe for fish. While a mature colony of nitrifying bacteria can often handle these disinfectant levels just fine, a newer less established colony may not.

 

[larrytstarr]

Well, I did an 85% water change tonight (as suggested). Reading afterwards showed still a trace of ammonia (it was 2 ppm before the change), no nitrites and 50 ppm nitrates. I was suprised how high the nitrate reading was. It seems to suggest that my nitrates might have been way too high before the change, yes? My ph remains around 8.4 which is the ph of my tap water. After an hour or so, I redosed the ammonia to 4 - 5 ppm. I welcome any comments. Thanks.

 

[fluttermoth]

It does seem like it might have been high nitrate that stalled your cycle then. Hopefully it'll start moving now.