Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if calcium could be a limiting factor in the reproduction of bacteria during a fishless cycle. If your Gh is very low, say 2 or less.
I cycled my tank a couple of months ago but it seems I have a problem when I fishless cycle my aquariums. We recently decided that we're moving in the next few months so I haven't transferred my fish out of the quarantine tank so that I could move the aquariums easier when the day comes. I have this problem with all my q-tanks and my main one. They are all completely cycled, but the bioload can't handle more than 1.2 ammonia. I originally started to cycle the main tank (50 gallon) in December 03. I was putting enough ammonia to reach 5.0. Weeks passed and I saw my nitrite spike, then it went down to zero, but the bacteria was never able to oxidize the ammonia more than 1.2. I have enough media for sure, one fluval 304 and an aquaclear 500, a gravel bed etc... When I fishless cycled my q-tank the same thing happened. I could only make an educational guess and say that the fish that are in the q-tank (for over 3 months now) are generating less than 1.2 ammonia because the at the end of the day all readings except nitrate are zero. I'm using Aqua Plus as a dechlorinator, my PH is 7.5, KH 1.7, GH 2.
Anybody have any ideas?