Need Help On Tank Cycle Bacteria Not Growing.

[the_lock_man]

Clearly, the baking powder has had no affect, as the pH has dropped again, so I would suggest doing a 100% water change to get rid of it all, and then start again, increasing the pH with baking soda to 8.2, and then redose ammonia to 2ppm.
 
THe nitrate itself won't kill off the bacteria, the danger is that it converts itself to nitric acid, which obviously drops the pH again, and stalls the cycle, ie it inhibits the bacteria from doing what they do, it doesn't kill them. The good thing with using sodium bicarbonate is that it increases the carbonate hardness of the water (KH), which helps to keep the pH stable.

 

[xion0374]

update june 12 2013
 
ph 6.8
am 4ppm
nit .25ppm
nat 5ppm
 
did a 20g water change last night to dilute the baking powder and added 10 teaspoon of baking soda to the tank.  ph jump back up to 6.8 from 6.2.  after doing water change the nitrite seems to be low, maybe its due to the lost of some nitrite converting bacteria or something and nitrate also drop under 5ppm.
 
this morning tested the water again. nitrite remain at .25ppm while nitrate is between 5ppm and 10ppm, while ammonia is between 4ppm and 2ppm.
 
i might just let it set like this untill it fully cycle.  maybe i lost some bacteria when i rinse the filter, i know it was a bad idea but i had to remove the baking powder that was sucked into the filter, it was clumping up.
 
however i was wondering when the tank does fully cycle, do i wash everything even scrubbing the glass or do i just rinse and refill again.  whats the proper way of finishing up the tank.  I plan to add fish by mid week or late next week.
 
let me know thanks.

 

[xion0374]

update june 12 2013 pm
 
ph same
am same
nit same
nat same
 
not change in stats at all but im pretty sure there is some change very small that i cant tell.
 
However my 5 gallon tank is off the wall.
ph 7.6+
am 8.00+ppm
nit 0.00ppm
nat 40ppm
 
i dont know why there so much nitrate when theres little to none nitrite present in this small 5 gallon tank.  I used tetra safe start for up to 30gallons on this 5 gallon tank.  so why is there a hug spike in nitrate when the ammonia is still 8ppm.
 
someone help me understand this.

 

[the_lock_man]

As previously advised, continue to add baking soda until the pH reaches 8.2 - this is the optimum level for establishing bacteria colonies. If you just let it sit, the tank will NOT cycle. The bacteria colonies won't grow if you do not regularly feed them - they are living organisms, remember.
 
Re the 5G, do a 3G water change to reduce the ammonia level, at 8ppm, the wrong type of bacteria grow. I don't see any reason why the nitrate reading is that high. Can you confirm the level with another test, please.

 

[xion0374]

I honestly dont know. I use tetra safe start for the 5gal but wow its so high, i'll do a 3 gallon swap before i go to work.

 

[prestonhart787]

Is there any do-it-yourself ways to raise the pH?
By do-it-yourself I mean a way to do it with normal house hold items I already have

 

[the_lock_man]

Is there any do-it-yourself ways to raise the pH?
By do-it-yourself I mean a way to do it with normal house hold items I already have

 
THis is pretty much covered in this thread - have a good thorough read through, and it'd be best if you post a separate thread if you have any further queries rather than adding to this one.

 

[xion0374]

Is there a safe level of nitrate for fish to live in.  I know the best is 0 nitrate but what level is still consider safe enough that wont harm the fish.
 
My 5 gallon tank has fully cycle and every day i add 5 drops of ammonia to test if it fully cycle or not, and it was, every morning i wake up to test the water and there ammonia is gone and nitrate has build up.
 
So what is a suitable nitrate level to work with.

 

[the_lock_man]

Do you mean nitrate or nitrite?

Nitrite is also lethal, the only safe level is 0ppm.

Nitrate is not very harmful. Most species can tolerate 150ppm and more. However it's recommended that try and keep it to around 20ppm above your tapwater level.

 

[xion0374]

Yep its the nitrate that I'm trying to figure out how much is safe for the fish before it starts killing them.

 

[xion0374]

Tank has stalled out
 
Ph at 7.6
ammonia at 2.0ppm
nitrite at 0.0ppm
nitrate at 0.0ppm
 
My 55gal tank has stalled and I was researching on a product called One and Only Nutrifying Bacteria developed by Dr. Tims Aquatics.  He claims that he grows his bacteria in a control lab and markets them.  That he did his life research on nutrifying bacteria and got a ph d in aquariam.  He sounds like he knows wats hes talking about but at this point in time, I just dont care and cant wait any longer.
 
I spent to much money on buying other bacteria in a bottle from petsmart and petco, that I decided to give it one more try of bacteria in a bottle.  If this time it doesnt work, I giving up on the hobby.
 
He claims that his product and only his product will take no more than 7days to cycle depending on the size of the tank.
 
I just hope he lives up to his name.
 
Any suggestion would be helpful as I am at an dead end.
 
Thanks in advance, and off to work now.

 

[the_lock_man]

I hear good things about Dr Tim's, provided you stick to the instructions completely. We have quite a knowledgeable member who goes by the name of TwoTank Amin. He swears by Dr Tim. In fairness, he might actually be Dr Tim. No-one's sure. You never see them in the same room together.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You need to pay a bit more attention to the details. You can not simply throw things into a tank willy nilly without having a good idea of what they are how they might do what they claim they will.
 
DrTim's makes a decent product, and he did the things he claims. He is a Ph.D. microbiologist and he is also a lifelong fishkeeper. 
 
I would tell you that, with what you have done to date, if you wish to give One and Only a shot you need to do so starting from scratch. You have poured so much bad stuff into your tank who knows what is in it.
 
Go back to square one- empty it, clean everything and DO NOT USE SOAP OR DETERGENTS. I think you may need to replace all the filter media too. Start with everything clean.
 
The problem now, and I have sent an email, is some of DrTim's site links don't seem to be working properly including the one for fishless cycling with his product. So I would have to go off the top of my head if you need help once you are ready to go. My best recollection is it's basically two ammonia additions. Also be sure to get the right size bottle for your tank- always size up not down.
 
The key to making this work is for you not to get antsy and to start trying to add, subtract or change things once you start. Done right it really is about a week long process. If you would like my help, I am happy to work with you. However, I do have one condition- you would have to do it my way without any departure from the directions.

 

[toshapetriji]

Cycling takes time and to be honest is time well spent if you spend the time researching. Fish keeping for many of us is a life long hobby and though I understand that you want to get the fish in, in the great scheme of things a couple of months to cycle is neither here nor there really. The satisfaction you get by doing it right is priceless when the big day arrives.
 
My feeling is that you are trying to rush things and need to slow down a bit and understand what it is you are trying to achieve before throwing 'stuff' into the tank.
 
Twotank is right, you need to strip the tank down and start afresh. Mature filter media is the way to go if you absolutely must get fish in fast.

 

[xion0374]

You need to pay a bit more attention to the details. You can not simply throw things into a tank willy nilly without having a good idea of what they are how they might do what they claim they will.
 
DrTim's makes a decent product, and he did the things he claims. He is a Ph.D. microbiologist and he is also a lifelong fishkeeper. 
 
I would tell you that, with what you have done to date, if you wish to give One and Only a shot you need to do so starting from scratch. You have poured so much bad stuff into your tank who knows what is in it.
 
Go back to square one- empty it, clean everything and DO NOT USE SOAP OR DETERGENTS. I think you may need to replace all the filter media too. Start with everything clean.
 
The problem now, and I have sent an email, is some of DrTim's site links don't seem to be working properly including the one for fishless cycling with his product. So I would have to go off the top of my head if you need help once you are ready to go. My best recollection is it's basically two ammonia additions. Also be sure to get the right size bottle for your tank- always size up not down.
 
The key to making this work is for you not to get antsy and to start trying to add, subtract or change things once you start. Done right it really is about a week long process. If you would like my help, I am happy to work with you. However, I do have one condition- you would have to do it my way without any departure from the directions.

At this point I am ready for any advice, what you can teach I am willing to learn.  And I just gotten the product in today and will wash the tank everything tommorrow morning.  SO please let me know if you can help me.