Tank Wont Cycle? (Over 3 Months On)

[gazb5590]

Had my 145 litre tank up and running for over 3 months now and I'm still getting traces of ammonia in the water when I test it. I've been fortunate enough to only have 1 casualty which happened to 1 of my ADF's a few days back but I can't workout why it wont cycle. I tested the water a few days back and the readings was Ammonia 0.25ppm, Nitrite 0.1ppm & Nitrate 5ppm but just checked it again now and my Ammonia is not much under 0.5ppm, Nitrite 0.25ppm & Nitrate little over 0ppm. I've got 2 internal filters running which are a Tetratec 800 (wool & activated carbon media) and another filter which is just a sponge filter. I've been treating the water with amquel+ to keep the ammonia and nitrite detoxified but apparently it doesn't interfere with the cycle but I'm going to stop using this now anyways just in case.
Also just to make it clear I've been washing my sponges every 3/4 weeks or so in the same water I siphon out of the tank.

Would appreciate any advice on the matter as it seems to be dragging on for a lot longer than it should be doing now?

 

[Fishy friend2]

Do you have any live plants? Have you tried tasting your tap water for ammonia?

 

[gazb5590]

Do you have any live plants? Have you tried tasting your tap water for ammonia?

I've got a few live plants in there (about 5) and good point about the tap water. I think I checked it a while ago and had no traces of ammonia but I think it's well worth checking again.

 

[Fishy friend2]

If the live plants are fairly large or take up a good amount in your aquarium then the resin for no nitrates could easily be because of the plants

 

[lloyd]

If the live plants are fairly large or take up a good amount in your aquarium then the resin for no ammonia could easily be because of the plants

the tests show ammonia is present?

it is a good idea to test your tap water. also was it a brandnew ftank and filter or a second hand 1. what fish do you have in there?

 

[Fishy friend2]

I'm sorry, I meant nirtates

 

[Prime Ordeal]

What's the size of your tank and what fish do you have?

When you say you wash the filter sponges, what exactly do you do?

Do you replace the wool or carbon media?

How much do you feed and how do you clean the tank and how often?

Apart from the amquel what else do you add to the tank?

What's the tank water pH?

 

[gazb5590]

I've got 4 glowlight tetras, 4 neon tetras, 6 yo-yo loaches, 1 male betta, 1 female betta, 1 female crowntail betta, 4 african dwarf frogs, 1 rainbow shark and 1 L162 clown plec. I am trying to offload a few fish though as I took most of them on in emergency when a friend of mines tank shattered but that was a good few months back now not long after I 1st set the tank up.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Assuming that they are small that shouldnt be an overwhelming amount of ammonia for Such a large tank meaning that the Ammonia source must be coming from something else. Decaying matter, or not an amount of sufficient water changes

 

[lloyd]

is it a secondhand tank?

 

[gazb5590]

What's the size of your tank and what fish do you have?

When you say you wash the filter sponges, what exactly do you do?

Do you replace the wool or carbon media?

How much do you feed and how do you clean the tank and how often?

Apart from the amquel what else do you add to the tank?

What's the tank water pH?

The tank is 145 Litres and I never really replace any of the media besides the carbon but I've only ever changed around 50% of it. When I clean the sponges I just shake it and squeeze it a few times in the water siphoned from the tank until it looks pretty much clean. I feed around 2/3 small pinches of granulated food a day (bloodworm/brine shrimp pellets). I do a gravel clean around once a week and I usually just add the amquel+ now and sometimes API stress coat (usually for a water change) also my PH is at 7.2 now but it had dropped to around 6.5 a few days ago.

is it a secondhand tank?

It previously was a marine tank but I completely cleaned the tank out using a jet wash and started a fresh

 

[lloyd]

is the filter media all new. how often do you do water changes?

 

[gazb5590]

is the filter media all new. how often do you do water changes?

When I 1st got the tank I got the filters with it so I washed it all in tap water as it had been used for a marine tank so I had to give it all a thorough cleaning. Also I do water changes about once a week n usually do around 20-40 litres.

 

[lloyd]

puzzling

 

[balajake]

Could be something rotting deep in your gravel or it could be your ammonia detoxifier messing with your results. Do you dechlorinate your fresh water before you add it to the tank or after ?