Fish Cycle Stalled After Weeks

[gregcool]

Hi guys i realy need some help please..
I have been doing a fishless cycle for about 6 weeks now and when i started i used the standard filteration system that came with my setup

90 ltr tank ( fluval)
internel filter pump ( fluval)
and with some plant stock
well it was very slow to start with then speeded up a bit with all the levels after a few weeks and i think at some point it stalled then...
well there is not much algae in the tank but my real frustration is that 5 days ago i purchaced a (Eheim Ecco Pro 200) filteration externel...which i felt would be a much better system and spped things up a bit....well what i did was i took out the small basket of what look like small rocks , there was about 15 of them , i put all of them into my new filter which looked like it had a few hundred in its basket and then the filter medium sponges ( which were small ) I put them in the bottom of the new Eheim Ecco Pro 200 ( the only place they could fit )... i then rinsed the whole old filter in my tank water and all sponge cradles and made sure i would have rinsed any remaining healthy bactiria back into the tank...well since this 5 days ago my levels havent realy changed in anyway atall......

this is my level stats befor and after the new Eheim Ecco Pro 200 was put into the loop..




today 12 hrs after adding amonia upto 5 ppm in the tank = 2ppm

nitrites have been at 0.50 ppm for ages now not going up or down

nitrates never realy reached a very high point the highest they have ever been is about 1.5 ppm but most recent have just sat at 0.75 ppm for a while now so not gone down much



so getting again very frustrated and feeling its never going to get there.....please can someone tell me is there anything i can do to kick this along as i realy felt after having this new Eheim Ecco Pro 200 added into the system i realy felt things would moove along but it seems to me my system has stalled even befor adding this Eheim Ecco Pro 200 ..........ANY SUGESTIONS GUYS....

 

[ellena]

So you put ammonia in up to 5ppm and 12 hours later, it's 2ppm? So there's something happening. Which test kit are you using? Have you checked your pH?
So basically you moved all media across from the old filter to the new? That is the right thing to do and shouldn't have made any difference.
Let us know on the pH

 

[gregcool]

well thanks for helping with this one hear are my results for you

the test kit im using is the API freashwater master test kit


my PH level is about 6.5 in the tank


also i do have a good growth of plants at this time and have been adding co2 into the tank from day 1

 

[gregcool]

sorry i just tested PH from tap its 7.5

 

[gregcool]

iv put my tank readings for anyone that may be able to help solve my cycling

 

[ellena]

So in the tank it's 6.5? Probably that's your problem. The bacteria you're trying to grow work best at pH 8ish and slow down until they almost stop at pH 6ish.
It will be the hardness of your water that causes this. You can get a test kit if you want, but your kH is probably low.
This means there aren't many carbonates in your water. The end result of the cycle (nitrates) are acidic and they combine with carbonates in the water which neutralises them and keeps the pH stable. If you don't have many carbonates, the nitrates can't be neutralised and start to make your water more acidic=lower pH.
So for the rest of your cycle, if there are little stalls, I'd check the pH and what you need to do is a 90% water change and carry on.
I had loads of pH crashes in my fishless cycle, but once I knew what to do, it was fine. The water changes are a faff (normally you don't do any in a fishless) but I got there in the end.
The water change will get your pH up to nearer the 7.5 of your tap water, and adding ammonia will raise it further towards the optimim 8ish

Only just noticed the bit about CO[sub]2[/sub]. That will also lower the pH of your water. If you go to the plant bit, there is a pinned thread about there being no need to fishless cycle planted tanks. So might be best to either go with what they say or cycle your tank with no plants.

 

[gregcool]

thanks everso much for your advice...I just tested my PH again and it was at 6.3 i would never had noticed this and what you say makes perfect sence to me now and would explain everything and that my PH has prob been very low like this for a few weeks ...esp as iv got lots plant growth and have been puting in regular CO 2 \\\so iv doing the water change and will mesure the PH in a while...
so would you say the amonia will speed up from now onwards or will there be a few days kick before it starts,,,,shall i keep putting amonia upto 5PPM till it drops of in 12 hrs

 

[OldMan47]

At a pH of 6.2, your cycle will stall completely. It is time to do a large water change, as much as you can get to, and re-dose back to around 5 ppm. By restoring the tank water's pH, the cycle will get going again fairly quickly. A stall is not the same as killing off the bacteria, it just means they have stopped growing and expanding.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yup, a pH that low is the culprit.

Are you injecting pressurized CO2?

-FHM

 

[gregcool]

yes iv done a 80% water change and put amonia back to 5 ppm and the CO2 is going in daily from flora grow its in a can and i have a tube that comes out of that into a tank thats fitted to a bigger clear plastic canester into the tank and you just push the button on the can to send CO2 to the canister in the tank when it goes dow to 1 3rd left.iv been doing this for 7 weeks now every other day and my plants are looking very green and realy healthy....

 

[gregcool]

my test results for the today please advice




Amonia = i havent test till 12 pm so its been 12 hrs since adding 5ppm

P.H = 7.8

Nitrite== = 0.25
Nitrate === 5


i know iv just done the big water change and that levels will be low
but if my amonia is down by 12 pm, an i right in understanding that i then need to keep adding amonia untill the nitrites then 0 in the 12 hrs aswell.before adding fish .....or if amonia down in 12 hrs and nitrites up a bit put fish in,,,,thanks guys you have been a great help

 

[gregcool]

more test results thur



iv tested again today 12 hrs later and things are still pritty much the same...


Amonia = about 1


nitite = about 1

nitate = about 1



so no real change again so my question is after the water change i felt it would have moved on a far more advanced stage afeter all this time cycling now nearly 2 months esp with now the new filter i had put in.....i was hoping to put some fish in this weekend as i was last weekend and so now it looks unlikly
that it will happen this weekend AGAIN..........i must admit im getting very frustrated coming down testing the levels after all the ajustments iv made and no real change to getting this tank cycled....so im getting fed up again just feels like its never going to happen......iv been doing this now for 2 months and never new i would have to go through all this when i purchaced this tank 2 months ago.....starting to wish i never had the bloady thing now



can anyone advice any further and is it best after testing the amonia after 12 hrs to put more in and just bring the level back up again regardless to its level ....or shall i let it drop right down to 0 then put more amonia back in,.. sory if this sounds amature and imature but i think im getting to the end of my patiance with this now esp as i know the nitrites also have to go through the same procedure after the amonia finaly gets to 0 in 12 hrs....


could having a good amount of plants in my tank have caused the slow down

thabks again Greg

 

[OldMan47]

The new filter is not a way to move things faster. By changing things, it may have slowed things down a bit but it will be better in the long term. Right now you are very early in a cycle on a new filter, maybe day 2 or 3 if I am reading it right. You finally have a pH where your bacteria can begin to grow and now need to give them time to start growing. If you are using enough CO2 to cause your pH to drop from 7.6 at the tap to 6.2 in the tank, you do not have a fish tank, you have a plant tank. Fish will not tolerate CO2 levels that high and the low pH will stall your bacterial growth again. If you want to get the cycle moving, don't push as much CO2 and give the bacteria a chance to grow instead. I use CO2 in one of my tanks but it is only at a level that drops the pH about 1/2 a point from 7.8 to 7.2. That is plenty for my plants and not enough to harm my fish or the cycle on the tank.

 

[gregcool]

oh well that makes sence iv been puting co2 in every day as i was directed by the seller and thats why my plants are amazing and as you say bringing down the PH so i will pop some CO2 in once a week and by the way the new filter has been in for 1 week now but because the stall of the tank i have only benifeted the new filter since the water change 2 days ago to bring up the PH....

would you recomend as i said about the Amonia when testing the 12 hr period should i top up to the 4 ppm mark if not cycled in 12 hrs or do i leave it to finish cycle then put back full from 0 - 4-5 ppm again...thanks for your help mate...greg

 

[gregcool]

can you advice on the amonia ,,,do you think it will cycle sooooon,,,thanks buds