The sand went in around a month ago. I put 2 20lb bags (with water included in bag) into the tank over a course of about a week and a half to two weeks. I kept adding half of a bag every 3-4 days......they girl I got the filter media from said she has had her tank up and running for 7 yrs and was well established. I've known her for about a yr and she had the exact tank when I first met her.....but I am still getting no readings like that.....just high ammonia and 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate.....
Tank that will NOT cycle!!! Please help.
- Thread starter jarrett181
- Start date
High ammonia is the first stage first stage of thr cycle. The changes you've made to the tank could have disrupted the cycle and/or restarted it.
But even if it disrupted the cycle it wouldn't have made the nitrates disappear.
The bacteria you got from the cycled tank should have resulted in at least some nitrates. It doesn't make sense to me at all.
You said you're running two HOB filters? I wonder if it would be worth it to try filling one of them up with bio media only . . .
The bacteria you got from the cycled tank should have resulted in at least some nitrates. It doesn't make sense to me at all.
You said you're running two HOB filters? I wonder if it would be worth it to try filling one of them up with bio media only . . .
UPDATE: Today I tested the water in the tank (first time in about a week) the results were very relieving however still not perfect but so so so much better than before. .25 ammonia 0ppm nitrite and about 30ppm nitrate......question....now that it's FINALLY showing signs of a cycle should I do a water change now even though it's still showing .25 ammonia or would this disrupt the cycle?? Because obviously it isn't complete yet.
I would not do any WC until the cycle is finished, unless the Nitrites or Nitrates get too high.
I would change water to keep ammonia in check also, it can get high enough to kill fish and beneficial bacteria.
Low buffering can cause problems because the minerals are used by the bacteria as they reproduce. If the hardness is low enough that use can cause the ph to drop as the organic acids overcome the reducing low buffer. A ph to low can stall the cycle. But since you have higher ph now that is not an issue.
Just as a suggestion of alternate assessment, how are your fish behaving? Do they seem relaxed or are they pumping their gills rapidly? Since you have them in the tank they are there to provide a reality check on the accuracy of the tests. If the ammonia was really that high I would expect deaths and very stressed behavior, rapid gill movement and lethargy. If the fish are calm, yet responsive, I would suspect the veracity of the tests.
Just as a suggestion of alternate assessment, how are your fish behaving? Do they seem relaxed or are they pumping their gills rapidly? Since you have them in the tank they are there to provide a reality check on the accuracy of the tests. If the ammonia was really that high I would expect deaths and very stressed behavior, rapid gill movement and lethargy. If the fish are calm, yet responsive, I would suspect the veracity of the tests.
The Ammonia is now .25ppm Nitrite is between .50 and 1ppm and Nitrate is around 30ppm. They are actually much more vivid in color now compared to before and they seem more energetic. They are always swimming around and it's like a feeding frenzy when it's time for food (this never happened before) their gills look normal to me as far as I can tell with a pinkish color. They are mostly calm besides when I step closer to the tank (I'm assuming they think it's feeding time)
It isn't the look of the gills that is important because that doesn't really change even if they have been burned by the ammonia. You know what stressed respiration looks like, or you should if you can think about what they did in the bag when you brought them home. Compare that gill movement rate with now. If they are stressed they will be gasping, possibly at the surface and pumping their gills as fast as they can go.
If they don't seem to be working very hard to pump water past their gills they probably are not stressed. Ammonia readings are stressful, and 2 ppm can be deadly. The fact that your fish are alive leads me to question the tests accuracy. If you got a lab grade test like lamont you would still have to calibrate the test to get accurate results. This hobby test is much less accurate and not calibrated in addition. Your results could be skewed and off by a percentage. Get some distilled water and test that. If test results show anything you would then know things are off.
If they don't seem to be working very hard to pump water past their gills they probably are not stressed. Ammonia readings are stressful, and 2 ppm can be deadly. The fact that your fish are alive leads me to question the tests accuracy. If you got a lab grade test like lamont you would still have to calibrate the test to get accurate results. This hobby test is much less accurate and not calibrated in addition. Your results could be skewed and off by a percentage. Get some distilled water and test that. If test results show anything you would then know things are off.
Their gills seem to be moving normal. About 2ish seconds or maybe a little less in between movement. The ammonia levels are only .25 ppm (not 2ppm anymore) they are occuping all levels of the tank so I would say no they are not at the surface gasping (they are constantly changing levels)and the test kit I use is the API freshwater master test kit.
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