Having Fish-In Cycling Issues

Hey all,

I have set up a 10 gallon tank 3 weeks ago. I originally thought it would be okay to buy a couple of snails (as the ammonia source) and dose bacteria, but I now realize there are more efficient (and harmless) ways than fish in cycling.
I dosed Tetra Safestart 24 hrs before I got my snails, and tossed some more in 24 hrs after I got my snails to ensure the bacteria would survive.
I do 2 water changes a week, each being done when I have around 0.1 ppm ammonia to 0.15 ppm ammonia.
No nitrites nor nitrates have shown up throughout this whole journey. I heard you should see nitrites at the 2 week mark, so this kind of concerns me.
I test every other day.

Basically, my question is am I doing anything wrong? I realize I did do something wrong, but currently am I making any mistakes? And if so, how can I fix them?
Thanks!

 

A couple things.

First, the timeline is not consistent. Its common to see nitrites after 2 weeks. But that time can vary.

And second, you used a bacteria starter. And sometimes people who use these products never see a nitrite spike.

It sounds like you are doing everything right. Just keep at it.

It also may be a good idea to test your ph. Sometimes a low ph can slow things down.

 

What kind of snails did you get? They might not be producing a lot of ammonia so it will take longer for your tank to build up a healthy bacteria colony.

Some might disagree, but I think fish-in cycling is fine for most species of fish as long as parameters are kept in check. Depending on what you plan to keep I would start stocking the fish you want (gradually) so your bacteria can begin to grow to accommodate the larger bioload the tank will eventually have. Obviously sensitive fish and shrimp should not be used to help cycle so wait if you plan to stock them.

If you do add fish you'll likely have to do more than 2 WCs per week to keep ammonia/nitrite low but it will cycle faster. It's more work but it can be done safely imo as long as you are diligent and keep up WCs.

 

Thanks for the replies.

PH is at 6.8.
I have 3 mystery snails, so a fairly solid amount of waste is produced. Should I be doing more than 2 water changes a week?

I don't plan on adding anything else until water parameters are stabilized.

 

Thanks for the replies.

PH is at 6.8.
I have 3 mystery snails, so a fairly solid amount of waste is produced. Should I be doing more than 2 water changes a week?

I don't plan on adding anything else until water parameters are stabilized.

For fish-in cycles, the most common answer I've seen is to change water when needed to ideally keep the combined ammonia and nitrites below 0.50 ppm, and definitely below 1.00 ppm. It sounds like that's pretty close to what you're doing. I don't know if the numbers would differ for snails instead of fish.

 

Thanks for the replies.

PH is at 6.8.
I have 3 mystery snails, so a fairly solid amount of waste is produced. Should I be doing more than 2 water changes a week?

I don't plan on adding anything else until water parameters are stabilized.

I don't think you need to do more water changes. The levels of ammonia you are measuring are small enough to be safe.