nitrogen cycle

I've recently setup a new 24gallon Walstad tank. Day 3 and 4 in, I'm seeing high ammonia and nitrate values. Daily water changes, but still high. Your valuable opinions are appreciated! Details below: DIRT: 0.5 - 1 inch (normal garden soil with no fertilizer and removed organic matters, mixed...

I just got a sponge filter since my other filter stopped working. Even though the main filter is malfunctional, I don't want to remove it right away because I could risk crashing the cycle. So, how long after having the sponge filter in can I take out the broken filter? Another problem. The...

I had three tiger barbs in my ten gallon one of them was trying to become alpha it seems and was attacking one of the other tiger barbs so I removed the aggressive tiger barb and put him in another tank and then the next day I come home from work and the fish that was attacked by the aggressive...

My tank has failed to cycle after adding an ammonia source daily, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia all stayed at 0. I've done it for two months now with no results, so I decided I'm going to do a fish in cycle. I did a water change. My fish should be fine as long as I add Prime in every day. But...

Ammonia used to be at like 1 but now it's back to nothing. Maybe because I've been a little sloppy and forgetful with adding it. I added more after these results.

Hi, new to having fish and learning about cycling. I have a 5 gallon tank. I am doing a fishless cycling. I've been putting in fish pellets and blood worms everyday for 1 week to create ammonia. I tested ammonia after 7 days and it's at zero. Nitrite and nitrate is also zero. Tested again...

Hello, I am new here and new to the hobby. I know this was a rookie mistake but I went online and bought a 20 gallon tank off someone, wasn't until shortly before I got there that I found out it had fish in it!!! The fish were bagged and the tank was about 80% emptied. I brought it home, set up...

hello, I've been cycling a 29 gallon tank since 2-26-21 and i added several zebra danios a few days later after adding TSS+ and yes i know the fish-in method isn't a method ill do again as i am currently cycling 2 other tanks with pure ammonia (another 29 gallon and a 10 gallon QT tanks.) i...

hey guys! new to the forum as i’ve completed gave up trying to figure out the issue myself, and my LFS is absolutely zero help. currently have over 600 gallons of tanks ranging from 3 125 gallon tanks, 2 75’s, 2 29 gallon, and a 40 breeder hospital tank all in my detached garage/fish room.. i...

Hello, I'm trying to get the fishless cycle right on a new tank, but I've run in to one or two problems. I'm using the fish food method as a source of ammonia, but I'm five days in and seeing relatively low levels of ammonia (0.25ppm rising to 0.5ppm today). I've been testing daily and adding...

Hi, I've got a 10 gallon tank set up for a betta fish, and of course I've been trying to cycle it before I get my fish. I used API quick start after adding about 4 ppm of pure ammonia, thinking that would get the cycle happening quickly. But it's been about two weeks now, and it seems like my...

So I'm trying to cycle my 29 gallons with fish in them, I bought pretty hardy fish but think I got too many in there for it to cycle well. I currently have 5 guppies, 1 platy, and a spotted catfish. I recently moved them from my ten-gallon tank so it has some of the substrate from it (that...

I set up my 30g tank 3 weeks ago. I was advised to use a hardy fish as an ammonia source so I got a young bn pleco 12 days later. Although I learned afterwards that it's a bit controversial he seems to be well with good energy and appetite. Using a Sera liquid test kit 5 days ago the results...

Three of my 4 tanks were all cycled beautifully and according to directions on this website using Ammonia. It usually took 5-7 cycles of ammonia before I could get 2 days in a row of 0's in all the right places. Where I deviated was to adjust the PH down with PHdown before fish were added. Our...

I have never had a fish before and just purchased a betta from Petco two days ago. The person helping us at Petco assured us bettas are low maintanence and all we need is distilled water and a tank of any size. We used distilled water and a 2.2 gallon tank. Upon further research apparently it's...

For the life of me I cannot get my newest tank to cycle. (my first one did it perfectly). It's a 29 gallon glass that has 2 zebra danio's in it (backstory - one mean danio is responsible for the death of a number of his peers and all the danio's were upsetting my 1st tank because they can be...

Hello, a question re. infusoria I've been culturing from hay and tankwater. I have a thriving colony of paramecium and other small life to feed my guppy and minnow fry. My question is -does the addition of these tiny critters, and the bacteria they're feeding off, affect or benefit the chemistry...

Hi there, Im really puzzled with my first attempt at fishless cycling using ammonia. My two 5 gallons I successfully did a fish-in and had them cycled in about 3 weeks. Starting my new 10 gallon isn't going so well. Here's some helpful info on tank setup: First 2 days I had the tank filter...

Hi! I'm still new to the aquarium hobby and trying to figure out this crazy scientific nitrogen cycle. I have seen many diagrams made by people trying to explain this thing to a newbie, but really it's not helping. Specifically the part about how to start the darn thing. And suggestions on how...

My 10 gallon tank is now pretty much empty due to the fact that my betta died not too long ago. All I have left is some java fern, and driftwood.There are of course no other fish in my tank.I was wondering if my beneficial bacteria will starve to death since there is no source of ammonia for it...

Hello all this is my first post so bare with me here. I'm new to the aquarium world so I have a few questions I started cycling my 10gal betta tank over 2 months and 2 weeks ago. I am doing a fishless cycle with pure ammonia and my ammonia was dropping from 4ppm to 0ppm in about 12hours so I...

So this is my first post but it is with a purpose. I came here looking for advice on my 20 gallon tank . I have had the tank cycling for just over a month now and the ammonia is at 1.0ppm the nitrite is 5.0+ppm and the nitrates are at 20.0ppm I have had these same readings for over a week. its...

About 50 years ago, I used to have an aquarium -- a very happy healthy one.  My success must have been blind beginner's luck, because I knew nothing of the nitrogen cycle, yet my tank flourished!  Okay, so here I am 50 years later, trying to pick up this hobby where I left off.  Unfortunately, I...

I'm cycling a new 55 gallon fish tank for my elephant nose fish community. I put about 30% water from my 75 gallon tank into it, and the carbon pack from the other filter. I also put one of the large decorations into it to try and put as much bacteria in there as possible. I also put a small...

Hello!   I have some questions about adding things to my tank. When my Gold Dust Molly had 14 fry, we had to rush out to the store to buy a 10 gallon tank so we could fit the breeding tank in with mama Buzz.   It was from one fish in a 2.5 gallon to 14 fry and one adult Molly in a 10 Gallon...

Hi there, just a couple of questions from a newbie to the pros! I've always loved aquariums.. my gramp had two huge ones with all sorts in when I was a kid. I wasnt very brave, not being knowledgable, and I bought an aquaone 28l tank, solely for a betta once its cycled. It has a filter and a...