slowwwwwwww cycle

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looksrshady

AC Members
Feb 27, 2007
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I started out doing a fishless cycle it lasted for a week and i caved and added fish now im doing a fishy cycle and its been 35 days and still no signs of nitrite, I did add biospira when i added the fish but i think it was dead cause it was half brown and half white i dunno.Ive tried getting gravel or media from all lfs near me and none agreed to it even if i offered to pay for it they said it isnt a good idea since i dont know whats in their tanks and i could catch something and ruin mine and i was thinking in my head Uh Duh! im buying fish from your tanks arent i lol.

Tank has .25-1 ppm amm,0 nitrI and like 3-5 NitrA i was doing 40-60% water changes daily to keep my fish alive but i heard doing so much pwcs could cause the cycle to stall so now im doing about 50% changes every 3 days or so or unless i see the fish looking stressed or really dirty water from food.

The tank is 29 gallon AGA with whisper 30 power filter ive only rinsed the filter and sponge once in tank water when i did a pwc because the flow was really low.I use either prime or stress coat for conditioner.My stock is 3 pink danios,2 platies (sunburst and hi fin),1 red eyed tetra and a convict.Got the convict as a juvi and im aware of it possible killing off my stock as it gets older and i know i should have more than one tetra but it was the last at my lfs so i decided to get it.I feed them 2-3 times daily trying not to over feed ,I tend to over feed them right b4 i do a water change but im trying to stop that lol.

Their diet consist of freeze dried blood worms or brine shrimp,frozen blood or shrimp,live shrimp and wardleys tropical flakes.I check the water daily with api liquid kit and im starting to think that my kit is old is there any way of finding out if its still good or not? because i dont trust my lfs to test my water for me,they would do or say anything to make a buck.Should i just go out and get a new one and hope it isnt expired too? lol

I keep the light on for about 10 hours daily sometimes 12,still no algae growing.Dont know if thats normal or not but im happy i dont got any yet.Im almost positive my tank isnt cycled yet cause of the ammo in the tank.I also tested my tap water and it has ammo in it could that affect the cycle in any way?



Any ideas plz this is taking forever im getting temped to add more fish and i dont want to stall the cycle even more or kill them.The wife is pretty much attached to the fish as to so am i so returing them is no option.
 
Last edited:

kimmisc

is in your closet.
Mar 12, 2007
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Florence, SC
Where did you get your bio-spira?

My cycle hadn't made progress after over a month either. It took 2 doses of bio-spira to kick it into gear. One dose for the ammonia eating bacteria, then a second dose a few days later for the nitrite eating bacteria. It seems the nitrite eating bacteria dies before nitrite shows up. It takes a couple days.

If you didn't get your bio-spira from http://www.drsfostersmith.com/, you may want to try getting it from there. Both batches I got from there were perfect.

When you add the bio-spira, pour it into the filter.
 

looksrshady

AC Members
Feb 27, 2007
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I got it at an lfs they had it in a fridge it was either dead or i killed it on the way home cause it surely didnt work,i realized i shoulda added it to the filter but it was too late already went into the water
 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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Mr. Normal
The water changes do not stall the cycle.

Since you are in a fishy cycle, perform a water change whenever ammonia or nitrites are above .25

You are over feeding, per how I read your description of feeding and you mention water looking dirty.

You also need to be doing gravel vacs to remove the uneaten food.

What are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate readings on your tap water? Having ammonia in it means you will most always have some base level your testing will pick up. The prime should be converting it to a non-toxic form, but still available for the bacteria.

It is not unheard of for folks to do a fishy cycle, with frequent water changes, and never get visible nitrites, just increasing nitrates.

Your reagents in the test kit should have expiration dates on them.
 

angelfishlover

Angelfish and Discus freak!!!
Mar 8, 2007
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Singapore
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Faiz
Maybe u add too much bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate.Ah u noe that all ur fishes except the platy makes the worse fishy cycle.You should just add some 3-4 platies first.
 
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