Want to give up on Fishless Cycleing!

U

umitosora

AC Members
Feb 14, 2009
7
0
0
I am new to the world of fish keeping and this site.

My 7 year old got a 10g tank, which has been fishless cycling for the past 7 weeks. My nitrite has been stalled at 5+ (Nitrate 10) for more than a month. I need help.

Here is some information.

The 10 gallon tank is equipped with a penguin HOB filter by Marineland, Mid sized gravel, Plastic Plants, 2 Decors, Heater (82F), 10-inch long air stone, Light (on for 24 hours with no allege problem, is this the cause?), and Water filled about 3 inch below to help oxygen flow. Water is treated with AquaSafe.

API test kit is used for NH, NO2, and NO3. API Strip test is used for GH and swimming pool testing kit is used for KH. (I can’t find GH and KH test locally)

Tap Water Perimeter is GH 180 or 10, KH 140 or 8, PH 7.6+, NH, NO2 and NO3 all 0.
GH, KH, and PH readings are also the same for aquarium water.

Since I could not find ammonia without surfactants within 20 miles from where I live, I added a small pinch of fish food (TetraMin) on Day 4, 7 and 10 initially.

Everything was fine from Day 1 ~ Day 15. But on Day 17, ammonia jumped from 5 to 8+. NO2 and NO3 were 0. I think this was where problems began…

By the Day 23, NO2 also jumped to 5+ from 1 within a day….

Ammonia was stuck at 8+ for a week, and nitrite was stuck at 5+ for 6 days. During Day 22 through Day 29, I did 50%, and 20% x3 PWC for ammonia, and 20%, 50%, 40%, and 85% PWC for nitrite to bring them down to the readable level. I have read enough threads saying high ammonia and/or nitrite will stall the cycle even if it is fishless.

Since Day 28, 2.0 NH can convert to nitrite within 24 hours.

On Day 41, I added a potted plant with rock wool to see if it would seed the tank.

However, I have not seen any change. Nitrite and Nitrate have been stuck for 32 days. (NO2=5+ and NO3=10~17).

I have tried 90% WC and did not feed the tank for 3 days once. NH and NO2 stayed 0 and NO3 was 10 for those days. I added 2 drops of ammonia on the 4th day. Within 2 hours, nitrite was back to 5+ again.

I have also experimented by stopping the feeding of the tank for a few days to see if nitrite will die back. NH=0, NO2=5+, NO3=10. It did not change anything.

I have been doing PWC every other day right before I add ammonia for a month now.

I added some fish food 2 days ago to see if it was caused by a lack of phosphates.
I have not seen any change yet.

It appears to me that my tank is colonized by over populated nitrites. Are they taking up a surface space for nitrate to grow? How can I reduce their numbers? Is the hard water delaying the process? Do I need to start all over again?

I don’t see the end to this cycling. :cry:
 
the wc might have hurt you.everything all the levals haveto spike in the tank. sometimes it just takes time. hard water could be your problem, but i doubt it. just leave it alone. hang in there
 
umitosora said:

I have tried 90% WC and did not feed the tank for 3 days once. NH and NO2 stayed 0 and NO3 was 10 for those days. I added 2 drops of ammonia on the 4th day. Within 2 hours, nitrite was back to 5+ again
I have also experimented by stopping the feeding of the tank for a few days to see if nitrite will die back. NH=0, NO2=5+, NO3=10. It did not change anything.

I have been doing PWC every other day right before I add ammonia for a month now.

It appears to me that my tank is colonized by over populated nitrites. Are they taking up a surface space for nitrate to grow? How can I reduce their numbers? Is the hard water delaying the process? Do I need to start all over again?

I don’t see the end to this cycling. :cry:
Click to expand...

OK...
1) Nitrite and nitrate are not critters of any kind, they are chemicals (it wasn't clear from your post if you realized that). What you're doing when you cycle is allowing one type of bacteria to grow - the type that metabolizes ammonia and releases nitrite ions. Once the nitrite increases, that encourages a second bacteria to grow that metabolizes the nitrite ions and releases nitrate ions. Ammonia and nitrite are very harmful to fish, nitrate not so much.

2) You should not be doing water changes of any kind. Let the levels spike, that's the only way the bacteria are going to start to grow. You DO NOT want to get rid of the nitrite, if you do you will starve the bacteria that convert it and your tank will not cycle.

3) Try to get something that's been in an established tank that will have some of both types of bacteria on it. You could also use API Stress Zyme, which has the bacteria you need in the bottle.

I know this is tough -- hang in there, you can do it!
 
:welcome: :hi:

Hi!! Welcome to AC. You've come to the right place, don't give up.
 
The water changes are the most likely culprit. I wouldn't do any more until ammonia and nitrites are 0 ppm and nitrates are beginning to increase. You can leave the lights off as this has no effect on cycling and may lead to an algae bloom. My tanks usually do a fishless cycle in about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks with no water changes.

What type of filter do you have? Have you added any bio media to it (i.e. ceramic rings, bio balls, etc.)?
 

Thank you all for the replys. I thought that the nitrite test turning greenish color every time when I added ammonia means too much nitrite for nitrate to convert into.... I will stop WC right away. As long as I know that I am getting close to the end, I can hang in here a little longer. Do I still need to feed ammonia everyday or should cut back a little?

I have an HOB filter with a bio wheel. I stuck some parts of rock wool from the plant pot and new filter floss at the empty slot where you can use to put your second cartridge. I don't know if they are considered as bio media. I am still leaning...Is it ok for me to put a ceramic ring or bio ball in the bag and stick it in the filter?

Instead of reading everysite on the internet for 3 weeks trying to figure it out alone, I should have posted a thread here sooner. You guys are so helpful!
 
You will need to keep adding ammonia. This feeds the bacteria that oxidize the ammonia into nitrite. Without the presence of nitrite, the bacteria that oxidize it will not take root.

In the simplest terms, fish and rotting debris in your tank produce ammonia. Bacteria A consume ammonia and give off nitrite. While ammonia is bad for your fish, nitrite is even worse. Luckily, Bacteria B comes along and consumes nitrite and gives off nitrate. Nitrate is far less harmful providing it is kept at levels below about 40 ppm. Nitrate is also plant food, so if you keep live plants they will consume some of the nitrate.

If you have a filter with a bio wheel (like a Penguin) that will suffice as your bio media.
 
If there's nitrite and ammonia there, then water changes won't make a difference; these bacteria grow at the same rate at 5ppm as they do at 2ppm; if there's unused food they will reproduce. The reason for using 5ppm is that you only add once per day and you want to get to a point where that much is used in 24 hours.

The problem here is introducing the bacteria in the first place. There's no substitute for putting some established media from another tank into the filter.
 
Also remember if you are anywhere the ground is frozen during the winter it can take a very long time to fishless cycle (months). Frozen ground means a lot less innoculum of the needed bacteria is floating around as dust. If you really want to speed things up either get some established media from someone else or buy a plant.
 
THE V said:
Also remember if you are anywhere the ground is frozen during the winter it can take a very long time to fishless cycle (months). Frozen ground means a lot less innoculum of the needed bacteria is floating around as dust. If you really want to speed things up either get some established media from someone else or buy a plant.
Click to expand...

Cool info, I always wondered how you get the needed bacteria in the tank without adding something from an established.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom