Cyle Not Kickstarting ....newbie Question

[CezzaXV]

Some cycles do take longer than others, though yours seems to be exceptionally slow. What temp have you got the water at? Ideally it needs to be around 29 degrees celcius to encourage bacterial growth.

 

[Anthoz]

Some cycles do take longer than others, though yours seems to be exceptionally slow. What temp have you got the water at? Ideally it needs to be around 29 degrees celcius to encourage bacterial growth.

Temp 30 degrees

 

[CezzaXV]

What are you using to test? Is it possible you've got a faulty test? Are you shaking the bottles before testing?

Might seem like a silly question, but you've got the filter running 24/7, right? Is it working properly?

 

[Anthoz]

What are you using to test? Is it possible you've got a faulty test? Are you shaking the bottles before testing?

Might seem like a silly question, but you've got the filter running 24/7, right? Is it working properly?

Filter running 24/7 and using a full nutrafin testing kit as per the directions

Any idea what the white fur is in the thermometer and filter?

 

[HayzH]

What are you using to test? Is it possible you've got a faulty test? Are you shaking the bottles before testing?

Might seem like a silly question, but you've got the filter running 24/7, right? Is it working properly?

Filter running 24/7 and using a full nutrafin testing kit as per the directions

Any idea what the white fur is in the thermometer and filter?

this always appears during a cycle....mine has it too.

 

[CezzaXV]

I've got it on my wood.

 

[Anthoz]

I've got it on my wood.

Great news
My cycle has kicked in and ammonia is dropping to zero every 12 hours
However after 10 days of this nitrites are staying off the chart
Any idea of the usual timescale before double zeros or if I need a water change at this stage
Nitrates are at 20 so the cycle is complete but it's just that nitrites don't want to budge
Thanks in advance

 

[CezzaXV]

I've got it on my wood.

Great news
My cycle has kicked in and ammonia is dropping to zero every 12 hours
However after 10 days of this nitrites are staying off the chart
Any idea of the usual timescale before double zeros or if I need a water change at this stage
Nitrates are at 20 so the cycle is complete but it's just that nitrites don't want to budge
Thanks in advance

The cycle is not complete if the nitrites are still off the chart, but if you have nitrates in your tank and none in your tapwater, it does show that progress is being made. The time it takes to get a zero on nitrite is usually double the time it takes to get a zero on ammonia as the bacteria just don't reproduce as fast.

If you're not already, drop down to a half dose of ammonia until you start getting zeroes as it'll mean the N-bacs don't get overloaded while still keeping the A-bacs fed.

 

[Xraymark]

How long did it take for your ammonia to start dropping?