Frustrated and impatient...

[Fangirl]

Okay, I have been very patient so far, but I admit that it is wearing thin. Four weeks with 3 zebra danios and 3 headlight-taillight tetras (29 gallon tank with Bio-Wheel). Ammonia still at .75ppm and NO NITRITES!!! I am trying so hard to be kind to my little fishies. I am doing my water changes and not feeding them too much. When are those darn Bacteria gonna do their part???

Sorry, just a vent, but I really would like to know if this Cycle is taking longer than it should. I have promised myself not to add any more fish until I know that the conditions are safe. I thought that the general time length was 4-6 weeks, and so I was hoping to see some more results at 4 weeks.

And... thanks a bunch for all the wonderful info. on this site. I am learning so much by reading all of these threads.

Thanks.

 

[Blinky]

I think sometimes it just takes a little extra time. IME, when the bacteria arrive, they seem to arrive en masse - everything always happens at once. One day I'll see nothing but ammonia, the next day, all of a sudden, there are loads of nitrites. The same thing happens with the second wave; nothing but nitrites, then BANG - nitrites hit zero and the nitrates skyrocket. Sometimes cycles are slow, sometimes they're faster, but as long as there's a source of ammonia the cycle should take place.
Many people here have said that the biggest thing we all seem to learn in this hobby is patience - if there's anything that's a lesson in patience, it's cycling. Vent away, it's a frustrating process.

 

[Stefanie]

I am pretty new to keeping fish, too, but here is my experience and novice advise:
Don't give up! I did a fishy cycle myself (didn't know any better), and I had to do water changes all the time.
I kept ammonia under 0.25 (with a lot of water changes), but my nitrites would not lower, which was horrible. Then one morning I measured and they were gone!
One suggestion is try to keep the Ammonia below 0.25, even if it means more water changes. It will be more gentle on your fish.
And don't use any reagents to keep those levels low, they will not make the nitrite and ammonia usable for the bacteria anymore... That is at least what I heard.
Hang in there and good luck!

 

[daveedka]

Agreed,
The cycle can be frustrating to estabilish, and IME with a few small fish and careful water changing you may never see readable nitrite levels at all. In the Old days, I had never heard of fishless cycling I usually cyled my 55's with One or two giant danios. Essentially I would see several weeks with trace ammonia levels, and then one day nitrates would show up. The bacteria will grow and reproduce to low levels pretty quickly (by comparison) the down side is that you will still need to add fish very slowly and give the bacteria time to adjust to increased bio-loads. I would test for nitrates after about week 4 and see where you are at. If nitrates are showing up (be sure to test your tap water as well for comparison) and ammonia is holding or dropping, It's time to carefully add fish. nitrates really tell the story at the end of the cycle. Either way, your patience will pay off, no matter how frustrating it seems right now. when it's all said and done there is a lot of satisfaction in knowing you did things right, and protected your fish.
Dave

 

[Fangirl]

Thanks for the support! I will continue to watch and wait. Once this cycle finally completes itself, I am thinking of adding (just a few fish at a time... more patience required) 3 Leopard Danios, 3 Corys, 3 Swordtails, and maybe 3 Mollies (in addition to my current 3 Zebra Danios and 3 Headlight-Tailight Tetras). Is this too overstocked for a 29 gallon? I have lots of bubbles to enhance the oxygen plus a biowheel filter. I was also thinking about Ghost Shrimp. Do they take up much of the bioload? Would they coexist with my hypothetical tank set-up?

Thanks again.

(watching... waiting... swishing the cat away from the keyboard...)