Tank taking forever to cycle

In Fish cycle taking forever

Please help we are beginner fish keepers and having issues trying to get the tank to cycle.

Tank set up 3rd Jan and fish were then added 7th of Jan.

We originally dosed the tank with Tetra Safe Start and have been using Fluval Aqua plus for our water changes.
I originally was going water changes anything above 0.25ppm ammonia but I was told to leave the water changes until 0.50ppm which I have since been doing.

We have a 200litre tank with 6 tetras, 1 betta, 1 platy, 6 guppies, 1 pleco and 5 corydoras

PH consistently around 7 -7.2
Ammonia is now 0.50ppm-1.00ppm doesn’t really go higher or lower than this
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0

I was recommend to use Seachem Stability which I have done so for a week and a bit but nothing seems to of changed. We are now 9 weeks into the cycle and starting to lose my mind a bit.

Can you please help, willing to try anything to get the tank cycled.

 

What test kit are you using and what are your tap water parameters ?

 

What test kit are you using and what are your tap water parameters ?

The API liquid master tests kit

 

The API liquid master tests kit

They are known to give false positive when used with Seachem Prime.

You should also test your tap water, as it might be the cause of your problems.

 

They are known to give false positive when used with Seachem Prime.

You should also test your tap water, as it might be the cause of your problems.

Ah right I have never used seachem prime only stability

 

Are you shaking all the various bottles of testing solutions? I shake all bottles although the only one the instructions stress is bottle #2 when doing the nitrate test. Bang bottle #2 against a hard surface a couple of times and then bang it against the palm of your hand while shaking it really really well. If it isn't mixed well you are not going to get an accurate reading.

Just yesterday another member was going crazy because he kept getting an ammonia reading when no ammonia should be there. He shook the bottles and finally got an accurate reading. If you do this you may find your ammonia isn't as high or may actually be zero and you may also find you have nitrates.

 

Are you shaking all the various bottles of testing solutions? I shake all bottles although the only one the instructions stress is bottle #2 when doing the nitrate test. Bang bottle #2 against a hard surface a couple of times and then bang it against the palm of your hand while shaking it really really well. If it isn't mixed well you are not going to get an accurate reading.

Just yesterday another member was going crazy because he kept getting an ammonia reading when no ammonia should be there. He shook the bottles and finally got an accurate reading. If you do this you may find your ammonia isn't as high or may actually be zero and you may also find you have nitrates.

funny i should run into this was going to explain just that

 

Is this a bare tank? Are there any filters, substrate? The bacteria need surface area to grow as well as oxygenated water.

It probably is already cycled, otherwise your fish would not be alive....

 

Is this a bare tank? Are there any filters, substrate? The bacteria need surface area to grow as well as oxygenated water.

It probably is already cycled, otherwise your fish would not be alive....

Hi,

yes we have filter, gravel, plenty of plants and ornaments

Are you shaking all the various bottles of testing solutions? I shake all bottles although the only one the instructions stress is bottle #2 when doing the nitrate test. Bang bottle #2 against a hard surface a couple of times and then bang it against the palm of your hand while shaking it really really well. If it isn't mixed well you are not going to get an accurate reading.

Just yesterday another member was going crazy because he kept getting an ammonia reading when no ammonia should be there. He shook the bottles and finally got an accurate reading. If you do this you may find your ammonia isn't as high or may actually be zero and you may also find you have nitrates.

I will try that tomorrow on our test. Thank you for your help. Fingers crossed

 

If mattgirl advice about testing doesn’t solve your problem. . .

Have you cleaned your filter? If so, can you describe what you did to clean it?

 

I haven’t cleaned the filter yet as with everything taking so long I didn’t want to mess up any of the bacteria already there.

 

Are you shaking all the various bottles of testing solutions? I shake all bottles although the only one the instructions stress is bottle #2 when doing the nitrate test. Bang bottle #2 against a hard surface a couple of times and then bang it against the palm of your hand while shaking it really really well. If it isn't mixed well you are not going to get an accurate reading.

Just yesterday another member was going crazy because he kept getting an ammonia reading when no ammonia should be there. He shook the bottles and finally got an accurate reading. If you do this you may find your ammonia isn't as high or may actually be zero and you may also find you have nitrates.

Hey, little update done the tests past two days 1ppm for ammonia and nitrates i wouldn’t say is 0 but isn’t anywhere near 5ppm yet in terms of colour of the test. Nitrites still 0 and PH 7.2

 

Hey, little update done the tests past two days 1ppm for ammonia and nitrates i wouldn’t say is 0 but isn’t anywhere near 5ppm yet in terms of colour of the test. Nitrites still 0 and PH 7.2

I think it is time to be doing some water changes if you've not already been doing them. You need to get and keep the ammonia as low as possible with water changes. If you've not done so run the ammonia test on your tap water. It is difficult if not impossible to get the ammonia down in your tank if there is ammonia in the tap water.

I wouldn't be at all concerned about the nitrates. They will eventually show up. The important numbers are ammonia and nitrites. We also want to keep an eye on the pH. We want to see it up to the 7-7.2 you are seeing.

 

Yeah have been doing water changes when the ammonia is above 0.50ppm. Nitrites have consistently been at 0 which is good.

I have done an ammonia test on the tap water and this has come in at 0ppm so nothing in the tap water.

 

Yeah have been doing water changes when the ammonia is above 0.50ppm. Nitrites have consistently been at 0 which is good.

I have done an ammonia test on the tap water and this has come in at 0ppm so nothing in the tap water.

At this point then all I can recommend is just continue doing the water changes as needed and give it time. This tank truly should be cycled in this length of time. I can't imagine why it isn't.

What kind if filter are you running on it? The only thing I can think of is there is not enough filtration. Bacteria grows on everything in our tanks but the majority of it is going to be on our filter media since that is where the most food is going to be. I am wondering if maybe your filter is not turning the water over as much as it should so is not pulling all the ammonia through it or maybe there isn't enough media in the filter to hold enough bacteria.

 

Ehiem Pickup 200 internal filter - it has a filter sponge inside

 

Ehiem Pickup 200 internal filter - it has a filter sponge inside

This may very well be why this cycle isn't doing as well as it should. Given the size of this tank and the number of fish in there the filter you have isn't enough. I highly recommend you look into upgrading your filter to one designed for a tank even bigger than this one.

We can never have too much filtration on our tank. we can have too much water movement but never too much filtration. Instead of another internal filter I highly recommend you look into getting at least one HOB (hang on back) or some type of canister designed for a tank this size.

Personally I run 2 penn-plax cascade 300's on my 55 gallon tank along with 2 dual sponge filters. I am satisfied with my filters but others seem to really like Aqua Clear Filters. Should you go with either get the one that turns over the most water.

I feel sure if you add more filtration along with what you have right now this cycle will finish up. Until you do I fear you will be constantly battling these ammonia levels.

 

Thank you so much for your help. I have ordered an additional filter that will be coming tomorrow so fingers crossed after that the cycle finishes.

 

I am sorry I didn't think of this sooner. Thankfully Dunk2 asked you about you filter maintenance and it rung a bell. Hopefully once the new filter is up and running this issue will be behind you.

What kind of filter did you order? You may want to look into starting it out with more permanent filter media than some filter come with. If the new filter comes with a cartridge for its media you may want to shelve that cartridge and replace it with a sponge and some kind of media in a bag from the start. I run a mixture of matrix, lava rock and ceramic rings in my HOB's. This media will last almost forever. Sponge may one day need to be replaced,

You don't actually need the carbon that is normally inside cartridges. I've not run carbon in my tanks for years.

 

Hi, I ordered another internal filter. I couldn’t believe how bad the other filter was as soon as I put the new one in the water went cloudy with it pulling everything towards it.

It arrived on the 19th March and we seem to be making progress in the nitrogen cycle showing about 0.75 Ammonia between 0.25-0.50 nitrite and between 5-10ppm nitrate so I’m about to start a pwc as we speak.

I just want to thank you’s all for your help especially Mattgirl!

 

Fantastic news. Things should move forward faster now.

 

That is the tank officially cycled. 0ppm Ammonia and Nitrite and 5ppm Nitrate!

Thank you so much again

 

That is the tank officially cycled. 0ppm Ammonia and Nitrite and 5ppm Nitrate!

Thank you so much again

Pat yourself on the back for a job well done. I may have advised but you did the work.