Cycling Taking A Long Time

[Just_Another_One]

ive been cycling my 33gal with 6 black skirt tetras((i know i know, iwish i would of done a fishless cycle))- i take about 5 gallons out every 2 days and im still only getting an ammonia reading. i started in the middle of march....not sure what im doing wrong...anyone have ideas on what could be the problem..i had read that b.skirt tetras like a little on the cool side so i had the temp set at 24, maybe that was the problem....ive raised it to 28 now hopefully that hhelps a bit.

im also not sure what the use of these bio balls i have in my filter are but would they be stalling it for some reason? hopefully someone can help me a bit...thanks

 

[rsands]

ok before you take the water out what is the readings of the tank? are you de-chlorinating the water before you put it back in the tank?

Provide plenty of surface agitation as the extra oxygen will aid in the bacteria growth. The bio balls are there to provide surface area in the filter for the bacteria to grow on...they are essentail.

what size are the tetra's?

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

If you have been using a water conditioner to remove the chlorine....

What kind of test kit are you using? Paper or Liquid? (Paper strip tests can be inaccurate) How old are the test kits? Sometimes they can go bad.

 

[Just_Another_One]

ok before you take the water out what is the readings of the tank? are you de-chlorinating the water before you put it back in the tank?

Provide plenty of surface agitation as the extra oxygen will aid in the bacteria growth. The bio balls are there to provide surface area in the filter for the bacteria to grow on...they are essentail.

what size are the tetra's?

what do you mean before you take the water out? i definitly am using a de chlorinater and the tetras have at least doubled in size, maybe tripled since i got them.. id set them at 1.5inch each. one stayed pretty small the rest are monsters.

If you have been using a water conditioner to remove the chlorine....

What kind of test kit are you using? Paper or Liquid? (Paper strip tests can be inaccurate) How old are the test kits? Sometimes they can go bad.

im using a hagen liquid master test kit which i bought around the time i got the tank i threw the box out but i think it siad it was good till 2008.

 

[rsands]

the tetra's aren't big waste producers...at least mine aren't! I would really advise trying to get the fish bac to lfs or something or if not...get a platy/swordtail or two (i know i shouldn't advise this but no choice if the fish cant go anywere else)

they are big waste producers and will help the cycle along rapidly. Well before you do a water change what is your ammonia and nitrite reading on the test kit?

i first used hagen now i use api test kit...far better as the api has a neutral colour for every test ie. 0 ammonia is yellow, 0 nitrite is blue and is much easier to tell the readings.

BUT remember...try and get the fish rehomed for a short period and do the fishless cycle

 

[Just_Another_One]

the tetra's aren't big waste producers...at least mine aren't! I would really advise trying to get the fish bac to lfs or something or if not...get a platy/swordtail or two (i know i shouldn't advise this but no choice if the fish cant go anywere else)

they are big waste producers and will help the cycle along rapidly. Well before you do a water change what is your ammonia and nitrite reading on the test kit?

i first used hagen now i use api test kit...far better as the api has a neutral colour for every test ie. 0 ammonia is yellow, 0 nitrite is blue and is much easier to tell the readings.

BUT remember...try and get the fish rehomed for a short period and do the fishless cycle

i love my little fishies.... i doubt my lfs would let me board them there for a few weeks, they hardly speak english either so i dont know how id ask them, i was asking once if they had finrot medicine for my betta and he brought me over to the wall of bettas to buy one....i dont even know if they take peoples fish that they have to give away ...anyways...i really dont know what to do but thanks for the help rsands

 

[rsands]

Ye you tend to get addicted to the fish ! As you cant rehome them you could just put a platy or two into the tank and just keep a very good eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels...just do small water changes once they start to rise up to far!

As long as you do daily tests and watch the levels your fish should be fine through the process

 

[rdd1952]

What is the pH of your tank water? As pH gets lower, nitrifications slows and eventually stops. If it's been 3 months and the fish are still doing fine and not showing any signs of stress, then I would tend to believe your pH is in the low 6s and keeping the bacteria from really forming. What type dechlorinator or other chemicals are you using? Some say they remove ammonia which can keep the tank from cycling.

 

[Stroker]

What language does you lfs speak? Maybe someone here can write you a note.

 

[fmervin]

Hi kaisa, I used Soll bactinettes for my 65L tank and it really worked great. I can thoroughly recommend it. Of course my lfs told me to have my tank running for 2 days before I could add fish. Even so, after adding 3 fish after 2 days the ammonia levels are still 0 after a month. One bottle treats around 100L of water so you will need to add accordingly taking into account your tank capacity.

Just make sure you either pop the capsules into the filter (after chucking away the ammonia solution) straight away or keep it in the fridge. It needs to be stored between 4 - 8C. I did not do this and my bottle was left at room temperature for around 8 hours. I guess that is why my nitrites have always been between 0.3 and 0.4. But 0 ammonia always. I'm thoroughly impressed by this product and would definitely recommend it.

P.S: Before anyone asks, I do not work for them smile.gif Just a happy customer

 

[Miss Wiggle]

unfortunately cycling with fish does take a while, you should really have around a third of your final stock in to do it though as this is what you get otherwise, harsh as it may seem you need to buy some more fish to get it finished off