55gal Won't Cycle Been Months

I have a 55 gal tank setup for a few months and still haven't got it to cycle and I ve tried adding sea chem and still nothing it is a fish cycle
Ammonia between .50ppm nitrates .0ppm
Nitrites .0ppm
PH 7.6ppm
I feel so lost

 

I have a 55 gal tank setup for a few months and still haven't got it to cycle and I ve tried adding sea chem and still nothing it is a fish cycle
Ammonia between .50ppm nitrates .0ppm
Nitrites .0ppm
PH 7.6ppm
I feel so lost

Are there any live plants in the tank? What filter are you using, and have you washed the filter media under any tap water?

 

I have a 55 gal tank setup for a few months and still haven't got it to cycle and I ve tried adding sea chem and still nothing it is a fish cycle
Ammonia between .50ppm nitrates .0ppm
Nitrites .0ppm
PH 7.6ppm
I feel so lost

Which Seachem product are you using? And by fish cycle, did you mean fishless cycle?

 

I am doing a fish in cycle I did wash it under tap water when I first got it I do have a moss ball and a Java fern but that's it I think it's seachem stability it been months ago when I did that

 

Can you provide us an outline of your tank’s history, what fish you have in there now & what equipment you are using? Welcome to fishlore!

 

Ok so I got the tanks 4 months ago today fill it put the fish in was using stress zyme at the time that what was recommended to me at the pet store then I start reading about 10 days ago that it will not cycle a tank so I swapped to stability and I have 3 Cory cats and a few guppies that's it

 

Have you got a picture of your tank?

What filter are you using?

 

The tank is for my nephew but I've did all the work lol
My filter is a tetra 40-50 filter it is a hang on the back

 

How long have you been testing the water?...and how often? Have you ever gotten a reading for Nitrites?

 

I was taking it to the pet store they tested it said I had .25ppm nitrites but I tested myself the same day and had nothing I was using the same test kit they use its apI master test kit

I test the water every other day

 

I was taking it to the pet store they tested it said I had .25ppm nitrites but I tested myself the same day and had nothing I was using the same test kit they use its apI master test kit

So you've been testing every other day for past 4 months and the highest nitrite reading you've seen is the .25 the pet store got? How long ago was this?

Guess what I'm getting at is if its been 4 months with fish in, perhaps the tank already cycled and you missed the nitrite spike because you weren't testing then. And now you're just getting small nitrite/ammonia reading. Just trying to eliminate that as a possibility.

Every gotten nitrates or getting nitrates??

 

It's been about a month ago on the nitrites read that's when I started testing but my ammonia always stays the same doesn't go up or down

 

It's been about a month ago on the nitrites read that's when I started testing but my ammonia always stays the same doesn't go up or down

Glad you are learning about the nitrogen cycle!
Thank you for the summary & this. Some questions:
1. What were the last testing results you got for your tank? PH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates
2. In the 10 days since you have been testing & using Stability - can you give us a general outline of what your test results have been?

Sounds like you are early in your cycle.

 

The results for the past 10 day have been
PH 7.6
Ammonia .50
Nitrites .0
Nitrates .0
I did a water change a big one to night cause the guppies was acting weird just tested the water results are
PH 7.6
Ammonia between .25 and .0
Nitrates .0
Nitrites .0
Guppies also seem to be doing better

 

The results for the past 10 day have been
PH 7.6
Ammonia .50
Nitrites .0
Nitrates .0
I did a water change a big one to night cause the guppies was acting weird just tested the water results are
PH 7.6
Ammonia between .25 and .0
Nitrates .0
Nitrites .0
Guppies also seem to be doing better

Your numbers look like you are at the beginning of your cycle. You can do this - but it will take some time.

I am not sure which Seachem products you are using but I would recommend using both Prime (detoxifies ammonia & nitrites up to 1.0) and Stability which helps colonize the tank with beneficial bacteria which will convert your ammonia to nitrites and your nitrites to nitrates.

Sounds like your guppies may be sensitive- and you were 100% right to do a water change. A general rule of thumb for cycling is:
If Ammonia # + Nitrite# = or is >1.0, then do a water change, dose with Prime, then retest in 24 hours.
If Ammonia + Nitrite <1.0 dose with Prime & retest in 12-24 hours.
However, if your guppies are showing signs of distress you may need to do a water change when the sum of the numbers is less than 1.0.
Keep reading here ... I have learned so much in the last couple of years!

 

I would throw in some zebra danios, you can get them cheap enough and they're quite tough. That's how I cycled my 75g. Also, if you can get some cheap not so fancy plants, that can help too. As well, maybe you have a friend that has some old media in their filter they can give you to throw in your filter, that'll give you a kick start. Edited to add:
A good plant you can use is hornwort . You can float it, or plant it. It grows quite fast and can help with removing some of the ammonia and nitrite while you're cycling. You'll probably notice a lot of the needles collect algae however, which is nothing to worry about. Once I had my tank established I just chucked it in the garbage.

 

You guys are very helpful I ve been struggling with this tank for a while and I am completely new to all of this I will look into hornwort see if I can't find any not many places where I live sell live plant fish tanks aren't really a big thing down here
Should I be testing every day or just every other day

 

You guys are very helpful I ve been struggling with this tank for a while and I am completely new to all of this I will look into hornwort see if I can't find any not many places where I live sell live plant fish tanks aren't really a big thing down here
Should I be testing every day or just every other day

Daily & then act according to the recommendations above as to whether to do a water change or not.

 

Ok just tested my water every thing is at 0 expect the PH of course still at 7.6 should I add some stability soon or just wait

 

When you test for nitrates are you really banging the heck out of bottle #2? Bang it on the ground, a counter, etc Really hard. I am wondering if you are cycled , but not getting an accurate reading on nitrates since Ammonia went down to zero?

 

Yes I bang it on a table and shake it really hard but I am going to test again today and see what the results are I will post them I don't know if I am doing anything wrong but I really want to get this tank stocked

Ok this is what I got today when I tested the water

I think I am cycled just missed the spike cause I wasn't testing

 

Looks cycled to me. Nitrates between 5-10...hard to make out for sure from the picture. If you wanted to be on safe side you could wait another week and test then to see if you get same result.

 

I think that's what I'll do I am starting to feel better about the whole cycling thing been worried that it wasn't cycled