New here - something's up with my cycling

[MikeMTL]

Hey all! I'm new here but i've found this site very useful in the past!

I've begun cycling a new tank and have had 0 progress so far. I am at day 21 today. Here's a pointform of some useful information:
- 21 days ago I added pure ammonia (not a cleaner) and dosed to about 2-4ppm.
- Temperature is at about 80-82
- ph is 7.8
- All I have in the tank is plants, gravel and deco and an airstone.
-Filter is an Aquaclear 30 with a sponge and 3 packs of biomedia
- About 4 days ago I added a pack of cycled media from another tank.
- Water is all dechlorinated

I've been testing everyday and ammonia was still at the exact same point as it was when I started. 2 days ago I did a small WC and then tested my ammonia. It was at about .5ppm. Today I tested again and still ammonia is at .tppm and nitrites and nitrates are still 0. I decided to add a nice pinch of fish food this morning. I don't know what else to do at this point. I know cycling takes a while but I find 0 activity in 21 days is a little abnormal. Any advice/words of encouragement? Do I just need to be more patient?

 

[Treestone]

That's a little bit weird. All I do when I'm cycling a new tank is chuck in a decent amount of food, add some stability and it usually cycled in a week. The only possible problem I'm seeing is not enough ammonia and just leave it at 2-4ppm then u should start seeing some action within a couple of weeks.

 

[MikeMTL]

That's a little bit weird. All I do when I'm cycling a new tank is chuck in a decent amount of food, add some stability and it usually cycled in a week. The only possible problem I'm seeing is not enough ammonia and just leave it at 2-4ppm then u should start seeing some action within a couple of weeks.

I'm wondering if I should do a 90% WC and start everything over with fish food..

 

[mbsqw1d]

How many plants do you have? Are they growing ok? They could be consuming the ammonia before any BB gets chance to. A planted cycle uses around 4-6 stems (of stem plants) per every 5 gallon.

 

[MikeMTL]

How many plants do you have? Are they growing ok? They could be consuming the ammonia before any BB gets chance to. A planted cycle uses around 4-6 stems (of stem plants) per every 5 gallon.

My tank is 25G has about 3 plants of hygrophila polysperma and 2 plants of crypts. It's very minimally planted for now.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Hmm that is a bit odd then, I wouldnt go as far as starting from scratch. What water test kit do you use?

 

[MikeMTL]

Hmm that is a bit odd then, I wouldnt go as far as starting from scratch. What water test kit do you use?

I use the freshwater API kit.

My plants are doing pretty well actually.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Probably going back to what @Treestone said earlier then, might be worth keeping at a high dose of ammonia. If your plants are doing well, they'll be consuming the ammonia you put in before any BB does (majority of plants prefer ammonia to nitrate)

 

[MikeMTL]

Probably going back to what @Treestone said earlier then, might be worth keeping at a high dose of ammonia. If your plants are doing well, they'll be consuming the ammonia you put in before any BB does (majority of plants prefer ammonia to nitrate)

But my plants haven't done anything so far. My ammonia is exactly where it was at when I started the cycle. The only reason it went down is because I did a partial WC. I'm not sure what else to do at this point. Will restarting my cycle with a huge WC and adding fish food indtead of ammonia be a bad idea?

 

[mbsqw1d]

What are you using to dechlorinate? If youve got ammonia theres no point using fish food, both result in ammonia except fish food is more difficult to dose; how much food results in x amount of ammonia? Time taken for food to rot and become ammonia. Id keep dosing the amammonia 5ppm+ until you get a reading for nitrite.
Do you have an airstone? Perhaps position one close to the filter, ensure the BB has enough o2

 

[MikeMTL]

What are you using to dechlorinate? If youve got ammonia theres no point using fish food, both result in ammonia except fish food is more difficult to dose; how much food results in x amount of ammonia? Time taken for food to rot and become ammonia. Id keep dosing the amammonia 5ppm+ until you get a reading for nitrite.
Do you have an airstone? Perhaps position one close to the filter, ensure the BB has enough o2

Yup, airstone is in there.
It's been 3 weeks though with no change in ammonia...

I am using Nutrafin Aquaplus Conditioner. I've been using it for years in my other aquariums.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Just checking dechlorinater isnt one that affects nitrogen. Can't suggest anything more I'm afraid - perhaps API quick start if you're running out of patience

 

[MikeMTL]

Just checking dechlorinater isnt one that affects nitrogen. Can't suggest anything more I'm afraid - perhaps API quick start if you're running out of patience

I don't mind waiting if I know it'll work eventually. Like, can it actually not work? I don't know how bacteria can not grow right?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Ph can affect its growth, ideally needs ph between 6 and 9

 

[Retired Viking]

You could try Tetra SafeStart Plus to jump start your tank or go for a planted/silent cycle like I do. Another issue may be with the Chlorine and chloramine that some city use. The water conditioner neautlizes the chlorine but leaves a form of ammonia behind with the chloramine which will show up in some test. This type of ammonia is not dangerous to fish like regular ammonia is.