Cycling Going Slow

[martyn413]

Hi there,

I setup my tank on 5 may and added ammonia on 6 may. So far i've been testing most days and the water stats are below:

ammonia 2-4 ppm
nitrite 0
nitrate 10-20
ph is now 8.2

tap water is
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate is 10-20
ph 7.6 - 8

I am tempted to do a little water change to see if it kick starts it.

Martyn

 

[iankent]

sounds like you have a tank with no bacteria to start off (or incredibly small numbers of bacteria) - as the bacteria grows, you'll start to notice changes and then the changes will get quicker and quicker

you need to try and get hold of some starter bacteria - find someone to donate a mature filter pad, or borrow some substrate/water from a friends tank (make sure its a healthy aquarium though!)

dont waste your time with the bacteria you can buy in the shops - I did, was a complete waste of money if you have a look at this thread you might find someone in your area willing to donate!

edit: a water change could help, as the water you introduce could bring the bacteria you want with it - but make sure its dechlorinated etc. first, or you might kill any bacteria you already have!

 

[martyn413]

anyone else have any comments?

 

[Rooster]

Wait some more, it could take MONTHS.... or get a "seed" from either some mature filter media, or get some filter "squeezings" any half decent fish shop should be happy to give you some.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

there's no harm to be done by trying a large water change and sometimes this does kick things off so feel free to try, as above make sure it's dechlorinated water and then top the tank back up to 5ppm of ammonia.

That being said though it could just be that you need a bit more patience, some cycles do absolutley nothing for weeks then it all goes really suddenly from there. Often it takes a while before any detectable drop in ammonia, but when you start to see it drop it goes quickly.

 

[martyn413]

I'll do a little water change tonight then see how it goes.

Thanks for your comments.

Martyn