Cycling Setback

[FishWishDish]

Cycling a 10-gal tank and I think I water-changed the nitrites down to zero. Nitrates are also zero, ammonia is between 1 and 2 ppm, but the NH3 meter shows completely safe so it must all be NH4.

This will probably starve the nitrobacters, and apparently there are not enough ammonia-converters established either, which is surprising, since I had nitrites and nitrates in the past..

Been changing about 3 gal/day for the last few weeks. Any advice? Am I any further along than square one? Haven't changed the filter media in over a month (even the carbon).

In other news, we have a 5-gal with a lone betta fish, and I thought it would never cycle, until one day I took the readings - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-10 nitrates. Woo hoo! I didn't do anything differently than usual, it just decided all of a sudden it would cycle! Is that always the way it happens?

 

[doresy]

Hi, did you use dechlorinator in the new water?

 

[FishWishDish]

Hi, did you use dechlorinator in the new water?

Yes should have mentioned, we're using purified water with Seachem Prime added to detox ammonia and nitrites...also adding stress coat, too.