Help? New tank, 4 weeks, No Nitrites OR Nitrates yet

L

Lesmiz4

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Nov 1, 2005
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Hello, I hope that someone here can help me. I'm not sure what my next step should be.

I have a 30 gallon freshwater setup, plastic plants with 6 Zebra Danios in it. I've had the Danios in there for 4 weeks now, and the Ammonia is sitting at probably 1.5 ppm and I don't have ANY nitrites or nitrates. How can that be possible? The first week I had them I did a lot of water changes trying to keep the ammonia at .25 ppm, but then I thought that it needed to be a bit higher to get the Nitrites to start.

My question...do I just keep waiting...should I add more fish? I just don't understand why my cycling process seems to be just sitting there.
 
For the sake of the fish, you want to keep the ammonia down - I think it's the 0.25 ppm that my test kits recommend. Either way, maintaining that level of ammonia won't keep the cycle from being established, and I think it's kind of curious that after four weeks, you're seeing no nitrites yet.

I wonder if you're doing something that is killing off the beneficial bacteria. Are you treating your water with which you are performing your water changes with a good water conditioner (like Tetra Aquasafe, Seachem Prime, Amquel+)? What kind of filter are you using? Are you cleaning the biological media? If you clean your filter's biological media with tap water, the chlorine or chloramine in the tap water will kill the bacteria.
 
I do treat it with a water conditioner, I'm not sure what kind it is because it's at home, I'll have to check. As for the water itself, though...I have a well, so there isn't any chlorine or anything like that. I'm using an AquaClear filter than hangs off the back with foam, carbon and the biological media which I have not cleaned. I swished it in some fish water when I did my last water change but that's it. I've changed the carbon because I'm supposed to do that once per month.

I'm glad to hear that keeping the ammonia at .25 won't stop the cycle...I did worry about having it up so high. I'm going to work tonight to get it back down to where it should be.

I'm really baffled about the Nitrites, though. Nothing after 4 weeks...i think I'll bring a sample of my tap water and my tank water to my LFS and have them double check both just to be sure.

Thanks so much for your reply!
 
What kind of test kits are you using? Liquid test kits (the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals [Dr. Wellfish] kits are popular) are considered more accurate than paper test strips.
 
I have an Aquarium Pharm. Master test kit that I use. I also read that the test strips aren't as good.
 
Do you have an LFS that will test your water for you? If so I would do that to get a "second opinion" so to speak. Could be a bad test kit. I don't know why you would have no nitrites or nitrates after 4 weeks, as long as you haven't changed out the foam or bio-media and are getting a good flow of water through the filter.

Unless.....maybe the water conditioner you are using is locking up the ammonia somehow? I'm not familiar with water condioners since I don't use them (I also have a well). I'd stop using the conditioner if it's not needed, but that's just me.
 
Personally, I think your ammonia is way too low to build any beneficial bacteria in the bio media. Most people and books/articles will tell you not to do any water changes until you are fully cycled and start getting nitrate readings. If you do water changes during the cycling process, then you are slowing down the cycle by constantly reducing ammonia which needs to be able to spike high during the cycling process (in order to stimulate and feed the growth of nitrite-producing beneficial bacteria). Some fish can handle the ammonia spike, and some might get stressed and sick. If you want to be safe, quarantine your fish in a seperate tank when you cycle your main tank. Some popular ways of cycling tanks without fish in them, are to put some coctail shrimp (2 or 3 at a time) in the tank (the ones you buy from the grocery store that taste really good). Let them sit in the tank and disintigrate over a 1-2 week period and they should produce enough ammonia to jumpstart the cycle. Once you get a nitrite reading, then a nitrate reading, do a partial water change to reduce the nitrates... your tank will be fully cycled and you can now re-add your fish. Another method of cycling the tank instead of using coctail shrimp.... you can buy bottled ammonia from the LFS (I think one is called "cycle") and this will raise the ammonia to jumpstart the cycle. But if you have some coctail shrimp in the freezer, just use those! If you feel your fish are healthy and hardy enough to withstand an ammonia spike (which many fish can - my damsels did no problem), then keep them in the tank, but just stop doing water changes and feed them lots of food and slowly watch your ammonia increase. It's not that risky... because as soon as your ammonia gets kinda high, the first bits of beneficial bacteria will start to grow on your bio media in the aquaclear filter, and because its bacteria it will reproduce at really fast rates, so there will quickly be enough to eliminate ammonia. It wont take as long as some people say, just spike up your ammonia.

Oh ya, one more thing... dont mess with your filter media during the cycle process either. Let it sit and build the beneficial bacteria. When you take it out and rinse it off, it will slow down the cycle process.

Hope this helps!

-Dave
 
Do you have live plants in the tank? My own planted tank got "stuck" in a cycle for over 6 weeks, with no showing of nitrite, only a little ammonia. As soon as I removed the plants, I started getting nitrite readings.
 
No, no real plants. Just plastic ones.

This is part of the problem I've run into since beginning this hobby. There is a lot of debate on the best way to cycle a tank. I'm really not sure at this point what to do...and I just got more fish as a "surprise" from my friends when they came to visit yesterday. 6 Neon Tetras and a Betta. So now they are in there too. I had one Neon that didn't make it but the rest seem fine.

So, I assume that now I may be flamed for adding these new fish, but I know people that have had tanks forever and never check more than the PH. The Smithsonian book I just got said to only check the PH too. So, instead of playing with the tank too much, I'm going to ride it out, keep an eye on my fish, and see what happens.

I do appreciate all the advice, truly I do. Just please don't yell at me because now I have too many fish in my tank.
 
i would change about five gallons of water every day for the next few weeks, as long as the fish are doing well. (i wont flame you... ).

it really is a good idea to get your well water tested professionally, though, more for YOUR health than your fish. you will also get a comprehensive readout of what is in your water. it's not unheard of to have ammonia present in well water.

the nitrite thing is puzzling... maybe you got a faulty test kit. although rare, i'm sure it does happen.

in any case, you are probably going to have some sort of cycle going on with your new bioload, and the best remedy is daily partials. i chose 5 gallons cause its easy.. more certainly wont hurt anything. make sure you equalize the temp.

good luck,

eric
 
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