18 Days Into Cycle

[kris-b-]

And there's definately still no Nitrites?

 

[trace1]

nope no nitrItes at all, will test again later. starting to get a bit fed up with this now

 

[kris-b-]

It does seem strange

 

[rdd1952]

so as it stands now my tank is almost cycled & i'm desparate to change the water due to the fact it looks green

I missed this in your earlier post. The green water (don't know how green it is) could possibly be affecting the reading you are getting. I'm sure any unclear water will change the way the test looks. I guess you could also have a faulty test kit but that's not real likely. I'm at a loss unless it is the green water.

 

[kris-b-]

Well spotted Rdd1952!

If the water is green to start off with then the final result will defintely be affected by this try performing a huge water change and test the water and see what result you get then! Worth a try!

 

[trace1]

i am now starting to wonder if its the filter i'm using, i got an aquaone 1200 external filter for it brand new. now i have just found some info on the set up of it ( first time with an external) anyway i just messed round with all the media inside it & realised that i had put the filter floss in the middle tray instead of on top when i started it again there was a lot of merky water come out of the pipes. almost like it had just been sat there doing nothing.
i can see me going back & getting an internal filter at this rate, never had any problems getting tanks to cycle before but i've never used an external before

 

[trace1]

so as it stands now my tank is almost cycled & i'm desparate to change the water due to the fact it looks green

I missed this in your earlier post. The green water (don't know how green it is) could possibly be affecting the reading you are getting. I'm sure any unclear water will change the way the test looks. I guess you could also have a faulty test kit but that's not real likely. I'm at a loss unless it is the green water.

its got a greenish tinge to it, not full on green, looks clear in test tube. thought of faulty test kit but have tested my other tank with it & thats ok 0ppm ammonia.
just been to lfs that i got my filter from & they reckon that i CAN'T cycle a tank without adding the bacteria first i got the "i've been in this business for 20 years speach" D**K HEAD.
only went up because thinking about it the filter has never been brill from the start, not a very strong water flow coming out of it. anyway now on the search for another lfs that i like lol

 

[rdd1952]

It actually sounds as if the tank cycled (or at least was cycling) since your nitrites dropped and you had nitrates but then something has gone wrong. The filter type shouldn't be that big a deal. People use all types and my tanks with HOB filters seem to cycle in about the same amount of time as the 75 gallon did with 2 canisters. As long as the water passes through the media (whether it be filter floss, a sponge or whatever) then bacteria should form and multiply so long as there is a food source. The green water is a normal symptom of a cycling or cycled tank so that is actually a good sign. Unfortunately, I'm about out of ideas.

 

[zendarx2]

good luck finding a LFS. I know if your in my area your out of luck. freaking ohio. Well I guess there might be some better ones some where in the state but not in my area I have the crappy ones that kill all the fish and the only good ones are like "buy from me, spend all your money!" I understand that its not cheep but hell I know whats good for my tank and whats good for his 100g tank may not be the best for my 29gl or 10gl.

I was going to say being you said the test kit looks close in color try a new one or something but if you can read it on your other tank...well who knows. you may end up just haveing to do it over agian *shutters at the thought*