Cycling issues. Help please.

H

hhgtrillian

AC Members
Dec 2, 2006
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I have a 29 gallon tank with a Rena Filstar XP2 that we put the ceramic rings in. The water return is below the water surface so to help with oxygenation/circulation, I also have an airpump with two small airstones running down the back two corners. I have a heater. I treat my water with SeaChem Prime. Our tap water is of fairly high pH at about 8.0. Temperature kept around 76 F. We have a few decorations and fake plants.

I am doing a fishy cycle and have 6 smallish tiger barbs in the tank. The tank has been going since shortly after Christmas (so approximately 9-10 weeks). I have ammonia showing up and have been doing regular water changes (every 2-3 days) to keep that in check, but have yet to see any nitrite. It seems there should be nitrite by now? Where are my nitrifying bacteria? What can I do to help them grow? As a desperate measure I tried Hagen Cycle even though I didn't think it would help...and it didn't seem to. There isn't any place local that sells Bio-Spira or I would have bought that.

Any insight? Suggestions?
 
Do you think Bio Spira is worth it? Is there something else I'm not seeing that could be hindering the growth of the bacteria?
 
if it wasn't rendered inactive by getting hot, then it's worth every penny, some where in AC i have a post to tell you of all my tanks fully stocked crashing overnight and nothing could have saved these fish but bio spira, pleas find and read, all is true in my case..
 
outdated test kit?
 
hmmm, beats me. You could try to get some gravel from an established tank.
How much ammonia are you seeing?
 
I've been considering calling my local fish shop and seeing if I can have some gravel or filter media or something.

With my water changes I'm pretty successful at keeping it at the 0.25 range, but I let it go a few days longer just to see what would happen and it got to 0.5-1.0, but I just did a water change because I didn't want to see what would happen if I waited longer. My guess is that it would probably go higher if I just let it go.
 
I could explain this but Seachem's FAQ does it a lot better, read question 2 and 3.
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime_faq.html

I would stop doing water changes every 2-3 days and go weekly or biweekly. You probably have chloramine in the water and this is a normal thing to happen from that. If you have nitrates at all then I would say you are probably fully cycled.
 
Maybe I should try their test kits out? Apparently it will help reduce any false negatives...or maybe just put money in their pocket because it's a sales ploy. Either way, I may give it a shot. Thanks.
 
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