Why Won't My Ammonnia Fall - Help

[jonny]

Guys,

I set up my new tank about 20th January and it has been cycling ever since!

It is 200L with a Eheim 2126 Thermo filter and i expected my cycle to be complete by now as it has been 5 weeks. Am i wrong?

I had a nitrite spike weeks ago but now it sems to be stuck with a little bit of Ammonia.

My current stats are:

PH = 7.4
Ammonia = 0.6ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 5ppm

I seem to get around 1-2 deaths per week. I currently have 1 bristlenose, 4 corys, and two guppies in the tank. I have no other tank so i had no choice but to leave the in there.

Is this normal or do you think there is something else going on. My only concern is the piece of bogwood i have in there as i cleaned it with bleach as it was really dirty when it came out of another tank. I did give it a good soak and after with clean water and then allowed it to dry out before putting it in the new tank. Do you think it is leeching nasties? If it is then would it show on an ammonia test?

please help......

 

[sharktale]

Hi, what ammonia test are you using?

 

[jonny]

I have used two different kits with the same results. A dodgy kit was my first thought too.

 

[sharktale]

When did you last do a water chnge? and how much did you change? It can take around 6+ weeks for a tank to fully cycle.

 

[jonny]

When did you last do a water chnge? and how much did you change? It can take around 6+ weeks for a tank to fully cycle.

I have been changing around 20% weekly

 

[Castellop123]

Cheers...

 

[ant0]

to speed up mine i soaked my filter media in the stuff you can buy to speed up cycling - basically bacteria in a bottle

 

[TerraDreamer]

Does your tap water test positive for ammonia? Your ammonia isn't horribly excessive, but it does sound like a water quality issue.

How much bleach did you use on the bogwood? Just a little of that stuff goes a very long way.

What method do you use to clean your filter?

I love your tank, very nice

 

[jonny]

Does your tap water test positive for ammonia? Your ammonia isn't horribly excessive, but it does sound like a water quality issue.

How much bleach did you use on the bogwood? Just a little of that stuff goes a very long way.

What method do you use to clean your filter?

I love your tank, very nice

My tap water tests negative for ammonia so i ruled that out.
I added bleach to some tap water and tested that and it shows no ammonia so i ruled that out too.

As for cleaning my filter, i haven't yet. It is a new one that was set up with the tank.

 

[confusion]

The best course of action is to get a bit more aggressive with your water changes. If you are able to get the ammonia to 0 through water changes, it may well stay there.

 

[Amunet]

I'm in the same boat as you.
I thought our tank had cycled... ammonia went down, nitrite went down, started getting nitrate readings. Then all of a sudden ammonia started creeping back up with no nitrites but with some nitrates.
*shrugs*
Ive been doing gravel vacs and water changes every day to every other day and ammonia still doesnt go away.
Wish I could tell you what was wrong b/c I'm wondering as well.

 

[confusion]

did you use any medicine recently? Are you using a dechlorinator with your water changes?

 

[jonny]

did you use any medicine recently? Are you using a dechlorinator with your water changes?

No meds, yes to dechlorinator. I did use some flourish excel to combat BBA but otherwise nothing.

 

[esquirette2007]

Sounds like it's still cycling. I suggest picking up some Stability by Seachem, especially since you have no other tank to put the fish into. It has lots of beneficial bacteria in it & can quickly help get rid of the new tank syndrome. I put a little into the tank after every water change, even though my tank's well-established. Great stuff.

Karen