over two months and No Nitrites.

bmthepainter · Sep 9, 2017

Hello . I have had many tanks in the past and never seen this before.
I have a 50 gallon corner tank with about 10 small African ciclids in it. Also have a small catfish.

My tank has been cycling for over two months now. The ammonia levels have been rising to 2 on my API test kit and I have been doing 50% water changes a few times a week. The fish are not showing any signs of stress or disease. Now to the question. I have been testing for Nitrites and it is not going up at all, still at 0.

Also tested for Nitrates thinking I may have missed the cycle. they are at 0 still . The test kits are still within the best before dates by just under a year.
Also I have been using Prime not daily but a few times a week to help with the Ammonia. Anyone have any ideas why the cycle is not going past the Ammonia Level.
Thanks
Brian

Demeter32 · Sep 9, 2017

I can't think of a reason why it isn't cycling. The best thing to do is find someone that has an established tank and get some filter media from them. You could probably get some from a reliable fish store as well. It think it is vital to seed a tank with used media to get a quick and easy cycle.

Byron · Sep 9, 2017

I agree in principle with the above post, but not with the suggestion of using filter media from another person and worse yet a store. There is no telling what pathogens might come with it. We quarantine new fish for good reason, it is the same with anything coming from another fish tank.

One of the bacterial supplements would be better. Dr. Tim's One and Only, or Tetra's SafeStart. I have used Seachem's Stability myself, even though it is not the "right" bacteria, but it still works.

Of course, the best thing are live plants, though rift lake cichlids do have issues with plants. But some floating plants, even if temporary, would help. Plants use a lot of ammonia.

By the way, in case you do not realize it, when you use Prime it detoxifies ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, but the binding is such that test kits (like the API) will still show the bound (non-toxic) form if ammonia, nitrite or nitrate are present. Second, Prime is only effective for 24-36 (maybe 48) hours, after which these bound substances will revert back to the toxic form if they are still present. So using Prime will not cause any of these to "disappear," but the non-toxic state is not permanent either.

Byron.

bmthepainter · Oct 4, 2017

Hello
Here is an update. I still didn't see a cycle happen and its been about three months.
Ammonia is still high at 3.0 according to API test kit.
Also No nitrites to be found.
Nitrates are around 2.5 to 3

Im starting to think that I missed the cycle and it happened.
High ammonia levels maybe to over stocking..

I added a pic to show the tank. (50 gallon corner tank)

Fish I have are 13 - 2" cichlids
1 Catfish of some type striped with long feelers. about 3 " long
1 fish (see Pic) like a ID shark about 4.5 "
1 tiny loach which I haven't seen since setup
I am doing 50% water changes and using Prime to help de toxify.
what do you guys think.
PS: i just re setup my second 50 gallon tank in the basement to move the extra fish too when its ready.

bmthepainter · Oct 4, 2017

Byron said:
I agree in principle with the above post, but not with the suggestion of using filter media from another person and worse yet a store. There is no telling what pathogens might come with it. We quarantine new fish for good reason, it is the same with anything coming from another fish tank.

One of the bacterial supplements would be better. Dr. Tim's One and Only, or Tetra's SafeStart. I have used Seachem's Stability myself, even though it is not the "right" bacteria, but it still works.

Of course, the best thing are live plants, though rift lake cichlids do have issues with plants. But some floating plants, even if temporary, would help. Plants use a lot of ammonia.

By the way, in case you do not realize it, when you use Prime it detoxifies ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, but the binding is such that test kits (like the API) will still show the bound (non-toxic) form if ammonia, nitrite or nitrate are present. Second, Prime is only effective for 24-36 (maybe 48) hours, after which these bound substances will revert back to the toxic form if they are still present. So using Prime will not cause any of these to "disappear," but the non-toxic state is not permanent either.

Byron.

Yes I did know. thanks.
did however forget about the reverting back part..LoL . thanks. again.
Also I posted an update .

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over two months and No Nitrites.

bmthepainter

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Demeter32

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