Cycling - 11th day and ammonia has not dropped

[Holyship26]

Hi guys
I’m currently trying to cycle a 125L tank.
I dosed up to 2ppm of ammonia but it still has not yet dropped at all and it’s now the 11th day.
Ammonia still stands at 2ppm and nitrite at 0.5ppm.

I only have my sand substrate in the tank at the moment. Tank filter and heater has been running from day 1. Ph and Kh levels are also stable.

Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

It normally takes between 4 & 6 weeks to cycle a tank. The first lot of beneficial bacteria take about 2 weeks before they build up in sufficient levels to start converting the ammonia into nitrite. It then takes a couple more weeks for the next lot of good bacteria to appear.

Make sure the pH stays around 7.0.
Have lots of aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.
Keep the temperature around 28C until cycling has finished.

You can buy liquid bacterial supplements from most pet shops. These contain the beneficial filter bacteria in a bottle. I recommend adding a double dose every day for a week and then pouring the remainder into the tank. Try to add the supplement near the filter intake so the bacteria gets drawn into the filter where it belongs.

 

[Holyship26]

Thanks. The cycling guide on this forum mentioned I should post if the ammonia levels hadn’t dropped by the 3rd test so I thought something was wrong.

So should I be keeping the lid off the tank during the cycling process?

 

[Essjay]

Mine took 21 days before ammonia fell and nitrite showed up, this was without mature media or a bacterial starter. Someone once commented that some places are better at killing bacteria in the water supply than others.

Leave the lid on the tank. This reduces evaporation and the likelihood of anything getting into the tank. All you need to do is make sure the filter is rippling the surface to get good aeration.

 

[kwi]

56 days before I got Nitrites to even show up. I had to reset the tank then threw in a whole bottle of Dr Tims bacteria......you cannot overdose bacteria and if you have dosed your tank with ammonia there is ample food.
The manufacturers dosing rates are for adding fish and using them as your ammonia source.
I had no joy with the Tetra brand bacteria. YMMV

 

[Holyship26]

Thanks again for your help guys. I finally saw the ammonia drop and added my second dose yesterday which leads me to my next question.
Is it normal for my ph levels to drop as the nitrogen cycle occurs? I tested the parameters today and ph seems to have dropped below 6.0.

 

[kwi]

Thanks again for your help guys. I finally saw the ammonia drop and added my second dose yesterday which leads me to my next question.
Is it normal for my ph levels to drop as the nitrogen cycle occurs? I tested the parameters today and ph seems to have dropped below 6.0.

What was your pH?

 

[Holyship26]

What was your pH?

Looks to be about 5.5

 

[kwi]

Looks to be about 5.5

I meant before it dropped, I take it your water is quite soft.
Also lower than 6.5 and it can stall the cycle.

 

[Holyship26]

I meant before it dropped, I take it your water is quite soft.
Also lower than 6.5 and it can stall the cycle.

Started the cycling at 7.0 ph
Should I do a water change? Or is using ph up an ok alternative?

 

[Essjay]

At this pH, the bacteria stop multiplying and the cycle stalls. The usual cause of a pH crash like this is very soft water with low KH. Nitrite is acidic and if KH is very low it is used up leaving nothing to buffer against pH changes, so pH drops.

One answer during cycling only is to add bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, whatever it is called in your country (note: baking SODA only, not baking powder). This is sodium hydrogen carbonate. It will increase both KH and pH. Use at the rate of 1 x 5 ml spoon per 50 litres tank water (1 teaspoon per 13 gallons). Take some tank water out, dissolve the bicarb in that then pour back into the tank. keep an eye on the pH when you do the other tests, and add more bicarb if it starts to drop again.
Bicarbonate of soda/baking soda contains sodium which is not good for fish especially soft water fish. Once the cycle is complete, the tank should be emptied and refilled to remove all the bicarb before fish are bought.


Once there are fish in the tank, weekly water changes of at least 50% will top up natural KH. As it is very likely you have soft water, you will need to keep soft water fish, and even if the pH should fall this is not a problem as soft water fish prefer a low pH. Let the pH be what it wants to be when you have fish, don't add chemicals to change it.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

You don't think PHup would be of use or a neutralizer product that sets your PH to 7.0 regardless of where it is currently. . I don't know if it works the same way as baking soda but I was hoping he could raises his PH without having to empty the tank completely once the cycle is complete. I don't believe it adds extra sodium. I've used very small amounts of it (if there are fish in the tank) safely - but since he doesn't have fish in the tank he could use a higher amount. Of course, this may not get rid of the cause and because of his soft water he'll be fighting this issue over and over again. Our tap water here is currently running at a PH of about 9.4 - so my choice is to have no fish or to use a product that adjusts the PH to 7.0 - I still have to fight the buffering and over a course of a week the PH will continue slowly drop to about 6.5 but by then it's time to do another water change and I can use the neutralizer product to bring the PH back to 7 - it's such a gradual change it doesn't seem to disturb the fish at all. Been doing it for a year.

Once we forgot to add the neutralizer and watched nearly all the fish in the tank just drop dead due to the high PH. That's why we continue to use it today with every water change (and you have to be on top of your water changes). I know many of you are anti bottled chemical, but baking soda is a chemical too and if there is a product that can do the same thing with a minimum of extra work. Plus with the baking soda solution - won't the PH stability all be lost with each water change - I mean his water is what it is - so he can't continue to treat it with baking soda once he has fish in it OR is baking soda a permanent solution and he'll never have to mess with PH again?

 

[kwi]

You need to do a massive water change once the cycle is complete to get rid of all the nitrates.
The baking soda is to hold the pH while the cycle works, once that is done water changes will keep the pH close to source.

As you've discovered if you have to adjust your source water you really have to keep on top of it.

 

[Essjay]

Yes, the bicarb is only for during cycling. Since a large water change of 75 to 90% has to be done anyway after fishless cycling it is not that much more difficult to empty all of it.

 

[Holyship26]

Thanks all. I added the baking soda and the ph immediately shot up to about 7.6. Cheers