Stuck fishless cycling?

Anne L.

Anne L.

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Dec 3, 2003
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First of all, happy 2004 to everyone!

I have some questions about the fishless cycle I've been doing. I started it in my 10 gallon on Dec 12th. pH of the tank is 7.4 and has held steady.

My ammonia has dropped to 0 since Dec 29th, nitrites have been at 3.3 or above since Dec 24th. I have not seen a decrease in the nitrites yet, although the color may be a little lighter today.

I've also been adding 1 ml of household ammonia since the levels dropped to zero to feed the bacteria.

Is my cycle stuck or slowing down, or are we on the right track?
I also added some Cycle to the tank today as I had a little left. Approximately how long should it take to see the nitrites fall, and do they fall quickly or gradually?

Can someone tell me if I'm doing the right things here as this is our first aquarium and I want to be successful. I'm sure you guys remember me posting a lot at the beginning of all of this.

Thanks in advance!
 
Bumping for help - I bet everyone's still recovering from New Years'.

aquariumfishguy, are you out there?

thanks
 
Thanks, Matt W, I sure hope so. So am I right in giving the tank 1 ml of household ammonia every day until I get zero nitrites?

Also, should I spike the tank with more ammonia (say 5 ppm) after the nitrites drop to zero just to make sure it's cycled?

Not sure about this part.
 
Different people use different techniques, but I would probably dose the tank to get it to 3ppm-5ppm Ammonia each day, as long as it is dropping to 0 within 24 hours....

Once you can dose the tank to 5ppm ammonia and it ends up with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite with 24 hours, you are ready to go....
 
What are your nirate readings. Sometimes high nitrates can lead to a stall in the cycle. But if your nitrites aren't too low yet I expect that your nitrates really haven't climbed.
 
Thanks for all the help, guys!
I tested my nitrites again this morning and they seem to have come down to the next level. It was at the highest - 3.3 and is now down to the next color level. Can't remember what the number is and I'm not near the kit right now.

I also added 2 extra droppers of ammonia this evening and I'll see what that level is tomorrow as well.

I don't have a nitrate kit yet, but I'll get one if things don't start happening soon to see what's going on.

Gulp, I wish I could get biozyme/biospira up here in Canada, but our fish stores don't stock it and I can't import it for some reason. Cycle is about the only thing; it came with the starter kit so no harm in trying it, I guess.

Well, wish me luck in the next few days and I'll come back and let you know how things stand.

In the meantime, I've been doing lots of research into the types of fish that are suitable for beginners and have been prowling the LFS around here. We have 2-3 pretty decent ones, so I've found.
 
Well, last night I dosed the tank with more ammonia to bring it up to approx. 3 ppm. This morning ammonia is down to 0 again and nitrites are at 1.6 ppm, same as yesterday.

Hopefully I'll see a drop again in the nitrites over the next few days.

Does anyone think that adding more cycle will help at all? I have a little bottle that came with the kit, so it's not costing me anything to add it. Or will it slow things down?
 
No Cycle

When the nitrites start to drop they do it really fast. By adding that bump of ammonia you have lengthened the time you must wait. The ammonia processing bacteria can handle it, but the nitrite processing ones now have to catch up again.

Slow and steady, keep the ammonia level and be patient. Don't add any Cycle, it may contain ammonia also.

The increase will mean that you can stock more fish, but no one has ever figured out how many fish equals any particular ppm of ammonia.

When the ammonia goes to zero 24 hours after addition, and the nitries are zero too, you are done. Do a very large water change and add fish.

In a 10 gallon you can add about 10 small fish, like 6 tetras, plus 3 or 4 others to be the clean up crew. I like otos and shrimp and cory catfish or kuhlie loaches. Each of these likes to be with several of their own kind, so I suggest 3 catfish, and 3 otos. Yes, I know that adds up tomore than 10 fish but these are small fish if you get the right catfish, 1 1/2 inch not 3 inch ones.

I would suggest adding all of one sort at the same time, then testing for a few weeks to be sure they tank has handled that well. That way all the competition within a zone is all worked out, and the earlier fish are not stressed by having their territory cut in half or worse by later fish showing up. Adding fish to another zone, like the bottom feeders, isn't as stressful.

Here is a link to a few articles that I particularly like

Not so Boring fish -- by Tom Griffin

In Praise of the Species Tank - by RTR
 
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