Fishless Cycle

[xgillian89x]

I currently have 3 tanks, a 95 litre coldwater tank which i cycled with no problems and has been set up for about 6 months. I'm cycling a 65 litre with the internal filter i got with the tank, i put some fish food in to get it started and the ammonia has went up, it has now went right off the chart and has been like that for about 3 weeks, with still no sign of any nitrites. I did a water change and had a look inside the filter and it was totally clogged up so i gave it a rinse to get the stuff out it and put it back in the tank. The ammonia levels have dropped slightly but its still off the chart so i don't know exactly what it is but there is 0 nitrates and 0 nitrites. I haven't added food to the tank for a while. It's been set up for 6 weeks now. My smallest tank seems to doing fine at the moment. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Gillian89.
Try a huge water change to get your ammonia down to reasonable levels. The next step is to make sure you have rinsed out the filter properly and then finally, clean the filter from the 6 month old tank in your new 65 litre while its filter is running. That will give you a clone of your cycled filter that can then develop and improve in the 65.

 

[xgillian89x]

Ok, thanks for the help. I did that today so hopefully will get somewhere now. Would an external filter be too much for a 65 litre tank? I'm putting tropicals in it.

 

[OldMan47]

I have run 20 gallon tanks, a bit larger than yours, using small canister filters and find them nice but an expensive alternative.

 

[xgillian89x]

Hi, sorry for the late reply, been offline for a wee while. I've done a few water changes to lower the ammonia and i've eventually got some nitrites showing up so hopefully i'll have my fish in soon I have now come across another problem with my smallest tank, there is no ammonia in the water but the nitrites and nitrates have went totally off the chart, will doing water changes help with this aswell? Thanks.

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Gillian

Does your smallest tank currently have fish in it?

 

[xgillian89x]

No theres no fish in it

 

[OldMan47]

A water change will indeed lower the nitrites and nitrates but with no ammonia in the tank the ammonia processing bacteria will be dying back. It is time to add a dose of ammonia.

 

[xgillian89x]

Ok, thanks for your help, i'll add some fish flakes and let you know how i get on