Cycle won’t start in either of my 3 gal bowls?

So I want to have shrimp in the bowls but of course I need to cycle it well it’s been a week or 2 and still no ammonia? I checked for nitrite and nitrate just in case and there’s none. I put in some fish food in both so i thought that would start it but I’m obviously doing something wrong right? I have 2 cycled sponge filters in each those mini sponge filters AND a little filter media from buttercups tank. And in one of the bowls I have one little anubias (I’m planning on getting wayyyyy more plants)

 

It can take up to 4 weeks for a tank to be fully cycled, sometimes even more

 

Oh one piece of info is I used to keep a betta in one of the bowls so it had a lot of tannins in it but I know that stalls the cycle so I did a 50% wc

 

If you have two fully cycled filters in the tanks taken from your existing tank then you shouldn’t see any ammonia - your nitrifying bacteria are already established in the tank.

 

It can take up to 4 weeks for a tank to be fully cycled, sometimes even more

Ok so pretty much I need to be more patient lol

If you have two fully cycled filters in the tanks taken from your existing tank then you shouldn’t see any ammonia - your nitrifying bacteria are already established in the tank.

I’m not even seeing nitrates though

 

There is only a little fish food in there. Probably wont make much for nitrates.

 

There is only a little fish food in there. Probably wont make much for nitrates.

Ah makes sense. What should you think I should do? add more food? Or something else

 

Add more food like you are feeding the fish that will be in there. Do that until the ammonia goes up. Watch for Nitrates.

It is much easier with liquid ammonia. Then you can add as much as you want. With fish food it is hard to say how much you are feeding.

 

Add more food like you are feeding the fish that will be in there. Do that until the ammonia goes up. Watch for Nitrates.

It is much easier with liquid ammonia. Then you can add as much as you want. With fish food it is hard to say how much you are feeding.

That’s true I’ll look into getting liquid ammonia

 

See if you can get dr tims. It seems regular store bought is kind of hard to get sometimes. In my stores by me they have all had suficants in them.