10 Gal tank cycle stuck

[KoppeKatxx]

I’ve been cycling my 10 gal tank for the past two weeks maybe, and the ammonia has been able to go down within two days.

The last time I redosed the tank with ammonia which was May 1 2024 the ammonia has not gone done, it has stayed at around 1.0ppm.

Nitrites are reading 5.0ppm and I have Not seen any Nitrates yet. The tank has a filter but there’s not any plants yet.

I need advice on what to do.

 

[FishyD]

I’ve been cycling my 10 gal tank for the past two weeks maybe, and the ammonia has been able to go down within two days.

The last time I redosed the tank with ammonia which was May 1 2024 the ammonia has not gone done, it has stayed at around 1.0ppm.

Nitrites are reading 5.0ppm and I have Not seen any Nitrates yet. The tank has a filter but there’s not any plants yet.

I need advice on what to do.

You may get varying opinions. I would do about a 50% WC, redose ammonia to 2ppm. Make sure the temp is warm enough. Raise it a few degrees to the high 70s works with my water. A few more options are to try to get some used media from a pet store. You can also add some bottled bacteria but I have never had to resort to that. All of this said, the bacteria to process nitrites can come slowly. You are not the first person to wait weeks for this step to occur. Too much nitrite can stall a cycle though and a WC will cut them in half.

 

[KoppeKatxx]

You may get varying opinions. I would do about a 50% WC, redose ammonia to 2ppm. Make sure the temp is warm enough. Raise it a few degrees to the high 70s works with my water. A few more options are to try to get some used media from a pet store. You can also add some bottled bacteria but I have never had to resort to that. All of this said, the bacteria to process nitrites can come slowly. You are not the first person to wait weeks for this step to occur. Too much nitrite can stall a cycle though and a WC will cut them in half.

I don’t have a heater in the 10 gallon only the five gallon has a heater when the heater is not on the tank can get as low as 74 degrees Fahrenheit… should I get a heater for the 10 gallon now?

 

[FishyD]

I don’t have a heater in the 10 gallon only the five gallon has a heater when the heater is not on the tank can get as low as 74 degrees Fahrenheit… should I get a heater for the 10 gallon now?

It may not help but I strongly prefer to have a heater for all my tanks. 74F should be sufficient to cycle. My tanks definitely cycle faster a little warmer than 74 though.

 

[gwand]

I’ve been cycling my 10 gal tank for the past two weeks maybe, and the ammonia has been able to go down within two days.

The last time I redosed the tank with ammonia which was May 1 2024 the ammonia has not gone done, it has stayed at around 1.0ppm.

Nitrites are reading 5.0ppm and I have Not seen any Nitrates yet. The tank has a filter but there’s not any plants yet.

I need advice on what to do.

I use Tetra Safe start or old filters from another tank. Even with these supplements it once took me 6 weeks to get a tank fully cycled. Patience.

 

[algeaverse]

KoppeKatxx, I always enjoy reading about other hobbyist cycling experiences as im a new again aquarium hobbyist myself who has just recently went through a 'new tank' cycling process, & I'd really like to give you my "two cents" worth of advice/opinion but I know that I don't have nearly enough knowledge or experience to do so ... all I can offer is my own personal tank cycling experience, it took my tank about 8 WEEKS to cycle pretty much as describe here https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/
obviously patients is a virtue when cycling
I can tell you that based on my water tests results since cycling that my tank appears to be extremely stable

to get the best advice & encouragement from members here who can really help you it's best to give as much tank information possible .... such as : aquarium water parameters, GH,KH, PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate , temperature, ... also best to perform the same test your tap water too..... also other tank information too like; filter(s) , heater(s) , lighting, ...type & amount of substrate if any, .... type of plants if applicable , .... any decorative wood type etc etc .... all these variables could have effects on your cycle process.

good luck

 

[FishyD]

I use Tetra Safe start or old filters from another tank. Even with these supplements it once took me 6 weeks to get a tank fully cycled. Patience.

Some old media makes it so much easier. My hard water cycles pretty fast from scratch. Typically in about 3 1/2 weeks. With just a small amount of old media it is getting close in under a week. A world of difference. I always have an extra sponge filter cycling in my main tanks so a new tank can be started almost instantly with conservative stocking.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Because your tank is in the low 70s, your cycle is going to progress more slowly. The optimal temperature for cycling is in the 80-82F range. The same thing applies to pH. As it sinks below 7.0 ts slows and by 6.O it appears to stall. However, it does not. The bacteria prefer to use ammonia as NH3. But, in water most of the ammonia turns to ammonium NH4. The bacteria can use NH4, but they do so much less efficiently than NH3. So the lower the pH, the longer it will take to cycle.

Whose directions for cycling are you using? You also did not mention what test kits your are using, If it is the ones from API, the nitrate kit stops at 5.0. But you may be higher. The most common cause of a cycle stalling is that nitrite gets to high. On the API kit that is equal to 16.4 ppm. The cycling method here was designed to make it impossible to get that high. If you are adding too much ammonia and or adding it too often, then your Nitrite reading will be above 5.0 and the would mean you might need to do diluted testing to determine the actual level. If you need to do diluted testing, there are instuctions for how to do this in the artcile here on Rescuing a Fish In cycle gone WIld Part II. --> https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/

Also do you know what both the tank and your tap water parameters are for pH? Also KH is important because the bacteria need inorganic carbon which includes the carbonates and bicarbonates which make up most of KH in a tank, They can also use CO2.

Normally, it is not necessary to do a reset of the cycle by doing a huge water change and then bringing the ammonia level back up to 3 ppm and going from there. You may not need to do that yet, but I cannot tell without the information I asked about above.

 

[KoppeKatxx]

KoppeKatxx, I always enjoy reading about other hobbyist cycling experiences as im a new again aquarium hobbyist myself who has just recently went through a 'new tank' cycling process, & I'd really like to give you my "two cents" worth of advice/opinion but I know that I don't have nearly enough knowledge or experience to do so ... all I can offer is my own personal tank cycling experience, it took my tank about 8 WEEKS to cycle pretty much as describe here https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/
obviously patients is a virtue when cycling
I can tell you that based on my water tests results since cycling that my tank appears to be extremely stable

to get the best advice & encouragement from members here who can really help you it's best to give as much tank information possible .... such as : aquarium water parameters, GH,KH, PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate , temperature, ... also best to perform the same test your tap water too..... also other tank information too like; filter(s) , heater(s) , lighting, ...type & amount of substrate if any, .... type of plants if applicable , .... any decorative wood type etc etc .... all these variables could have effects on your cycle process.

good luck

Sure as of today the ammonia is 2.0ppm - ph-7.4ppm high range ph-7.4 , down below are kh,gh etc