I can see why people get impatient with a fishless cycle!

[Ian H]

It's been 3 weeks for my fishless cycle so far. Its a 125l fluval roma with an old fluval 3 plus internal filter. Adding 9.5% ammonia.

I've got a few swords, anubias, valais, crypt and java fern in the tank and the temp is 26°.

The filter is processing around 3ppm ammonia in 24 hours which is great but nitrite is just not shifting! It's been at 5+ for at least 2 weeks with nitrates never going higher than 10. I've done 2 big water changes (first was 50% and the second a week later was 75%) just incase the nitrites were too high, after testing again they are either 2 or 5, can't see the difference on the kit (api master) but when adding the nitrite solution it slowly turns pink/purple rather than instantly like it did before so I'm taking that as a lower reading that should (hopefully!) Be under 15ppm

I can see why people get impatient with a fishless cycle, i just want to start stocking!

I've just ordered an all ponds solutions 1400 EF filter so I'm just going to add my old media to one of the baskets and hope that the massive increase in media will speed things up a bit!

On the plus side there's plenty of algae available for my future bn plec and ottos!

 

[Ichthys]

Maybe it has been above 15 for a while?
Do you have KH?
Are you banging the nitrate bottles on a hard surface before you test? (my standard response for nitrate testing. If you had high nitrates you wouldn’t have stuck nitrites).

 

[AlexT]

There is a point where high nitrites stalls the cycle I believe? I think some guides say over 5ppm and some over 15ppm. Some test kits only measure to 5ppm. That might not be what's happening here, but something to think about. Water changes can of course bring the nitrite down, if you go down that path.

Edit: did not read your post properly, I think you are doing all of this already.

 

[Ichthys]

There is a point where high nitrites stalls the cycle I believe? I think some guides say over 5ppm and some over 15ppm.

Online is very confusing / confused.
I’ve always used Waterlife Biomature as a source of “ammonia and other bacterial nutrients”. The instructions are to add daily until either ammonia reaches 5 or nitrite reaches 15. These are pretty much the maximums.

 

[Ian H]

Maybe it has been above 15 for a while?
Do you have KH?
Are you banging the nitrate bottles on a hard surface before you test? (my standard response for nitrate testing. If you had high nitrates you wouldn’t have stuck nitrites).

Yeah bashing hell out of them to make sure.

There is a point where high nitrites stalls the cycle I believe? I think some guides say over 5ppm and some over 15ppm. Some test kits only measure to 5ppm. That might not be what's happening here, but something to think about. Water changes can of course bring the nitrite down, if you go down that path.

Edit: did not read your post properly, I think you are doing all of this already.

Yeah I'm doing this, I've always known the limit as 15. Done some water changes just incase.

I'm just being impatient, it's only been 3 weeks. It will be worth it in the end!

 

[AlexT]

I feel your pain, I am also very inpatient, and it's so easy to just tell people "be patient", and not so easy to actually be patient!!!

 

[Essjay]

How often are you adding ammonia? The old way, which says to add it every time it drops to zero, or the method on here where ammonia is only added when certain target readings have been reached?

 

[Ichthys]

Try adding a dollop of bottled bacteria…?

 

[Colin_T]

If you have access to established filter media, drain the tank and refill it with dechlorinated water. Add the established filter media. Let it run a couple of days and add some fish. Monitor the ammonia and nitrite for a few weeks after that and if there is none, add the rest of your fish.

 

[10 Tanks]

It's been 3 weeks for my fishless cycle so far. Its a 125l fluval roma with an old fluval 3 plus internal filter. Adding 9.5% ammonia.

I've got a few swords, anubias, valais, crypt and java fern in the tank and the temp is 26°.

The filter is processing around 3ppm ammonia in 24 hours which is great but nitrite is just not shifting! It's been at 5+ for at least 2 weeks with nitrates never going higher than 10. I've done 2 big water changes (first was 50% and the second a week later was 75%) just incase the nitrites were too high, after testing again they are either 2 or 5, can't see the difference on the kit (api master) but when adding the nitrite solution it slowly turns pink/purple rather than instantly like it did before so I'm taking that as a lower reading that should (hopefully!) Be under 15ppm

I can see why people get impatient with a fishless cycle, i just want to start stocking!

I've just ordered an all ponds solutions 1400 EF filter so I'm just going to add my old media to one of the baskets and hope that the massive increase in media will speed things up a bit!

On the plus side there's plenty of algae available for my future bn plec and ottos!

Hello Ian. You can cycle a tank instantly by just using a product like API's "Quick Start" or another product that immediately establishes a bacteria colony to consume ammonia and nitrite produced by the fish waste material. Just use the product according to the instructions every time you perform a water change. I recently cycled a 55 gallon tank in a couple of days using a dozen Buenos Aires Tetras and just remove and replace half the tank water every few days and dose the "Quick Start" when I change the water. You don't need to wait weeks before enjoying your new fish.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Essjay]

These products do not cycle a tank instantly. The best of them take a week or two.

The best two are tetra Safe Start and Dr Tim's One & Only as these contain the correct species of nitrite eaters.

 

[10 Tanks]

These products do not cycle a tank instantly. The best of them take a week or two.

The best two are tetra Safe Start and Dr Tim's One & Only as these contain the correct species of nitrite eaters.

Hello. Alright. I guess we're splitting hairs a little here. The product doesn't instantly cycle the tank. It will immediately establish the biological filter. Guess I thought the two statements were essentially the same. My error.
Anyway, it works for my tank. The twelve Buenos Aires Tetras are all fine and as long as I keep removing and replacing most of the tank water weekly and dosing the API product, I and they should be good.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[AlexT]

Hello. Alright. I guess we're splitting hairs a little here. The product doesn't instantly cycle the tank. It will immediately establish the biological filter. Guess I thought the two statements were essentially the same. My error.
Anyway, it works for my tank. The twelve Buenos Aires Tetras are all fine and as long as I keep removing and replacing most of the tank water weekly and dosing the API product, I and they should be good.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

There is no splitting hairs. There is a massive difference between "instant cycling" and it taking 7-14 days, don't you think??? Especially if there is fish health involved. The ones other than Tetra Safe Start and Dr Tim's, immediately establish nothing. They certainly do nothing about nitrite, and then unsuspecting customers who have not purchased a simple test kit, are stuck in nitrite hell, wondering why their fish are dying. And no, changing more than half the water either once or twice week, won't cut it in this situation. Nothing is established, and nothing is immediate outside of Dr Tim's and Tetra, and even they don't do anything remotely instantly. The terms immediate and instant are bull.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello Alex. Well, apparently I'm confused. The water change water is always treated. So, if the product says it immediately establishes the bacteria colony, then when I dose the product and put in the fish and start changing most of the tank water weekly, the fish should be okay. Anyway, that's what happened with this tank. Here's the photo. I said earlier it was 55 gallons. It isn't, it's 50 gallons. I put in a small Chinese Evergreen to help remove the toxins from the fish waste, but it's not growing very fast. So, possibly the water changes and the bacteria starter are removing most of the nitrogen from the fish. Anyway, all the fish are alive and active. The tank has been running since late June with no problems. Maybe some of the experts have an explanation.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Ian H]

I fail to see how anything that's been sat in a bottle on a shelf for months is going to have any beneficial bacteria left. From what I gather most of these products just temporarily bind the ammonia so it is no longer toxic but that is not a fix at all

After a bit of googling I found nitrico goop, I think this has potential as it is not harvested until it is needed and then has a short (48 hours I think) window where it has to be used. I've ordered some that's arriving on Tuesday with my new filter so it'll be interesting to see if it works/helps

What are your test readings showing 10 tanks? From what you have described you are just doing a fish in cycle. Just because the fish haven't died immediately doesn't mean that the tank has cycled, it can just mean your fish are surviving in a toxic environment.