Tank Just Not Cycling :(

[AdAndrews]

Hi, i am currently trying to fishless cycle an 125litre fluval roma tank, it has the following things:

Coral sand-so ph is high-8.0
tetratec ex1200 filter, and external heater-set to 85 farenheight
Ammonia im using is boots and my API test kit is reading 4ppm
I am also running an air pump in case of lack of oxygen

Nitrites havnt even started yet and its been 4 weeks/28 days since i started the cycle, has anyone got any idea on how to help or anything that could be going wrong?

Thanks
Adam

 

[james_fish]

Hi, i am currently trying to fishless cycle an 125litre fluval roma tank, it has the following things:

Coral sand-so ph is high-8.0
tetratec ex1200 filter, and external heater-set to 85 farenheight
Ammonia im using is boots and my API test kit is reading 4ppm
I am also running an air pump in case of lack of oxygen

Nitrites havnt even started yet and its been 4 weeks/28 days since i started the cycle, has anyone got any idea on how to help or anything that could be going wrong?

Thanks
Adam

I always thought you needed fish in the tank to get a full cycle complete? no?

 

[OldMan47]

You do not need any fish in the tank to cycle it James. That is the whole point to doing a fishless cycle. It lets you cycle the tank and prepare the filter with no threat at all to any fish. We did not understand how to do that 50 years ago when I got into the hobby, but it is well understood here. There is a link to a thread with instructions on how to do it in my signature area.

 

[philak]

Sounds like you are doing the right things AdAndrews but i'm just finishing a cyle on my second tank this year and both finished in just over 4 weeks so something is odd if you aren't even seeing any nitrites yet.

Have you been doing water changes perhaps and not using dechlorinator? I know water changes aren't needed for fishless cycling but a tank can start to look messy after a couple of weeks, especially if algae gets a grip, so it's tempting to refresh it. Straight tapwater would really slow or kill off your process. Just a thought.

 

[james_fish]

What are the benefits of doing a fishless cycle rather than a cycle that includes fish before its climax, Oldman?

 

[OldMan47]

I have no idea what your hold up is Adam. Have you tried adding bacteria by squeezing out an older filter into the tank? You will get a starter colony of bacteria going that way in the new tank and it won't hurt the existing filter to get some of the dirt out of it.

The main advantage to a fishless cycle is that you do not harm any fish and you don't need to be constantly testing and replacing water James.

 

[Mercury2234]

Hmm...my nitrites for some reason also didnt pick up until week 4-5; but I got to warn you though, when it spikes...it WILL spike, like off the charts. Patience, I guess...

 

[BigFairy]

I would be patient my friend.

 

[AdAndrews]

ok guys, i will squeeze some media into the tank and wait

 

[grumpysteve]

is the ammonia clearing after 24hrs?

 

[AdAndrews]

is the ammonia clearing after 24hrs?

obviously not if i have no nitrites.

 

[grumpysteve]

then there's obviously a reason the bacteria aren't colonizing........

is the filter working? did you dechlorinate the water? have you done a water change?

don't add any ammonia until the last lot has cleared. a lot of people agree that after the first dose of ammonia you only need to add half the suggested dose.

do you have any live plants?

 

[AdAndrews]

then there's obviously a reason the bacteria aren't colonizing........

is the filter working? did you dechlorinate the water? have you done a water change?

don't add any ammonia until the last lot has cleared. a lot of people agree that after the first dose of ammonia you only need to add half the suggested dose.

do you have any live plants?

yes the filter is working, i have dechlored the water with API conditioner, and i havnt done a water change, ammonia is 4ppm,
no live plants.

 

[grumpysteve]

is the ammonia clearing after 24hrs?

obviously not if i have no nitrites.

sorry if that seemed like a silly question, if the tank was heavily planted, the plants could be consuming the ammonia (i know, it would have to be very heavily planted to clear that amount of ammonia...) thus no nitrite.

have you tried adding any bottled bacteria? nutrafin cycle seems to work, a lot of people don't trust bottled bacteria but i tried it out of curiosity and it sped things up. it wont cycle the tank for you but might give you a kick start

 

[Truck]

Cycle is terrible, it doesn't work, it may have appeared to speed the cycle up, but there are other factors, and the only way of testing it would be under lab conditions. bottling bacteria simply doesn't work unless they're refrigerated.