Fishless Cycling Trouble! Any Advice Appreciated1

[Welshweeks]

My filter is and always was full of mature media!!!!!
 
Aaron, I'm sure you'll be fine. Maybe a smaller tank is harder to cycle as from what I've read they can be harder to balance?

 

[aaronc]

Aaron, get yourself some mature media from a friend or the LFS, and you won't have to worry at all. 

 
 
I already have two of the pads from the Juwel filter in a friend's tank

 

[This Old Spouse]

Well, there you have it.

 

[aaronc]

My filter is and always was full of mature media!!!!!
 
Aaron, I'm sure you'll be fine. Maybe a smaller tank is harder to cycle as from what I've read they can be harder to balance?

This is what I really don't understand about your woes, by normal rules your tank should have been pretty much cycled straight off the bat!
 
How long was the mature media out of the water before it went into the new tank?
 
Do you know what the last owner of the tank did to it before you got it?
 
Aaron

 

[This Old Spouse]

I'm confused here too. I just started up a 10g fry tank which is about the same size. I took a HOB filter I've been running off the back of my tiger barb tank that I had filled with mature media from my 55g. Within an hour I put a clump of java moss, about 20 shrimp and my cory fry eggs. No waiting. So I'm confused about your readings.
 
And yes, I know you had mature media running in it, Welshweeks, I had been referring to Aaron's comment.
 
Is it possible you could have overdosed the ammonia initially?

 

[Welshweeks]

Aaron the person I bought the tank off was himself using it for tropical fish, he had upgraded from the 40L to a larger tank
 
Mature media was out of the tank for no more than 10 mins.
 
Old Spouse, I originally dosed to 4ppm unless of course that was too much.I'm now trying to dose to around 1ppm
 
I think I just have to treat it as a new setup without any mature media in there. It's really baffled me tbh
 
I did a fishless cycle last year on the 180L and had about 20% mature media and it cycled in 33 days.
 
When I started the 40L I thought a few days and it would be done...............................
 
How utterly wrong I was!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Umm ... I think that initial dosing of 4 ppm ammonia might have caused some trouble, especially considering the size of the tank and the future inhabitants, which don't create much of a bioload. After reading on these forums forever most don't suggest dosing more than 2 ppm at a time. 
 
What I would do is start all over, I'm sorry to say. This doesn't mean you have to, but I'd empty it all out and find a new batch of mature media, then don't dose ammonia at all. Let it run for an hour or two, test the parameters and see if they're normal, which they should be.

 

[Welshweeks]

I've pretty much done that yesterday so I'll just run with it and hopefully things will start to improve in the next week or so...............
 
 
Famous last words! lol

 

[This Old Spouse]

I so hope so. I can imagine this is horribly frustrating!

 

[Mamashack]

Well I just tested mine again @12hrs after dosing to 2ppm and the ammonia was 0.25ppm, nitrItes 0.5ppm, pH 6.4 and nitrAtes 160ppm. Done a 75% water change.
I'd dosed to 4ppm initially and it didn't budge for the first 6 days until I added the mature gravel. Since then have been dosing to 2ppm and even 1ppm on one occasion, but that didn't seem to make much difference to the results.
There must be some A-bac and N-bac activity otherwise the nitrAtes wouldn't have got so high - it was at 80ppm 2 days ago on day 27. The nitrItes actually cleared to 0 on day 15, but not to 0 since then. It seems the nitrAtes are converting to nitric acid and causing the bacs to falter. I'm not sure what the answer is.
I'm just keeping an eye on those nitrAtes daily from now on - been doing it every other day since last pH crash 6 days ago.

 

[Mamashack]

My tank is clearing ammonia in 12 hrs and nitrItes in 24hrs so I've taken the bull by the horns and ordered a betta!
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jU9Yz_PLSU
Will be picking him up next Monday! Woohoo!
Can't wait!!

 

[Welshweeks]

Great news. 

 
Lovely Betta!

 

[Mamashack]

Thanks Welsh he is a beauty isn't he?

 

[aaronc]

Nice betta that! A great first addition to your tank

 

[Mamashack]

Thanks! Isn't he just?
Have you started cycling your tank yet aaron?