Help with my fishless cycle

[Jorgenp12]

Hello everyone Im new in the forum and in the hobby, I have problems with my cycle and I dont know what to do :/



I started the fishless cycle on June 24, my tank is 45 Gallon, I used tap water, prime, and api quick start. My tap water ph: 8.2, kh: 13, GH: 26.

I added pure ammonia 4.0 ppm nitrite and nitrate was 0.

After a week the ammonia was the same and I had 0.25ppm nitrite and 0 nitrate. On July 8 since I didnt see any change, I read that one of the problems could be the minerals on the tap water and since my tap water is too mineralized I decided to do a 50% water change using R/O Water. So I did the water change

my ph went down to 7.4, kh 6, and gh 13, The ammonia went down to .50ppm and nitrites disappeared. So I added ammonia again to 2.0ppm.

Since then I dont see any changes at all and I dont know what to do, I added TSS+ 4 days ago but everything is the same. ammonia 2.0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0

What should I do? I shouldn't changed the water? Im frustrated with my empty aquarium and I dont have experience is my first aquarium and I dont know what to do.

Thank you.

[Shidohari]

i just had to restart my cycle because i screwed it up but according to the fishless cycle you are not to do any water changes not even to top off during the cycling process. Lady hobbs made a pinned article on fishless cycling at the top of the cycling forum. also you are not to add ammo again until the ammo becomes zero.

slap one of the mods can clarify this better for you but that's two things that i did wrong that might have affected your cycle. below is the link to this forums fishless cycle topic.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...d.php?t=125481

[Jorgenp12]

Thank you.
So how did you restart the cycle?
What should I do?

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to the AC.

I would drain the tank as much as possible, and start over.

Read and understand completely the fishless cycling sticky here: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=5640

Skip the "quick start" stuff, you don't need it.

What kind of test kit are you using? What is "TSS+"? What kind of ammonia are you using, and how did you calculate your initial dosage?

A successful cycle can usually be achieved with ammonia only, you don't need to use other chemicals, they usually complicate things more than they help.

Are you located in the States, or elsewhere?

[Jorgenp12]

Hello Slaphppy7 .
Im using API master test kit, I got the ammonia from amazon "Fritz Pro Aquatics Ammonium Chloride" it has the dosage instructions to get the desired ppm.
I live in Mexico, but travel to Texas frequently because my job and is where I get all the stuff for my aquarium (petco and petsmart).

After I read all the instructions for cycling I also noticed that I made a mistake rinsing gravel, decor and everything with tap water and I guess I shouldnt have done that, but I used double dose of seachem prime after I filled up the tank, could this might be affecting the cycling?

Thank you.

[Riyadh]

Something we do over here to help with the cycle is to add few specs of flakes(2 pieces) or bits to the water and allow it to break down.

[SueD]

Hello Slaphppy7 .
Im using API master test kit, I got the ammonia from amazon "Fritz Pro Aquatics Ammonium Chloride" it has the dosage instructions to get the desired ppm.
I live in Mexico, but travel to Texas frequently because my job and is where I get all the stuff for my aquarium (petco and petsmart).

After I read all the instructions for cycling I also noticed that I made a mistake rinsing gravel, decor and everything with tap water and I guess I shouldnt have done that, but I used double dose of seachem prime after I filled up the tank, could this might be affecting the cycling?

Thank you.

Rinsing your substrate and decor shouldn't have mattered. In many cases, cycling just takes time...and patience. Get the ammonia to 4.0 as you did the first time and leave it alone for several days before testing again. Prime is not needed until you're ready to add fish after cycling, at which time you'll do a large water change. I've used the cycling period to start adding plants/decor so that the tank looks just the way I want it to be. Plants may even help a bit and give you something nice to look at rather than an empty tank. And not all plants will work in all tank so you may have to experiment a bit here. Easier to do when there are no fish in there.

Do not do water changes but topping off as evaporation occurs should not be a problem. As ammonia starts to drop to zero, you should see nitrites start to build. Add more ammonia when it tests at zero - each time - until you see nitrites building and dropping to zero and nitrates building. When ammonia and nitrites build and then drop to zero within about 24 hours, and nitrates are present you're cycled. A cycle can take as little as a few weeks to a couple of months - ugh, I know. Have patience. You will be rewarded in the end.

[Slaphppy7]

Prime is not needed until you're ready to add fish after cycling, at which time you'll do a large water change.

If the OP's source water is chlorinated, Prime IS needed, or the BB won't survive.

[Jorgenp12]

Hello again,

Its been a month and still no changes, ammonia has not dropped yet, no nitrites no nitrates.

should I drain the tank and start over? :(

[Slaphppy7]

Is your tap water chlorinated?....if so, and you did not "condition" the water before starting, the cycle will never happen.

Get a bottle of this, the best conditioner available, IMO: https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-Prime.../dp/B00025694O

Empty the tank, start over, but first read and completely understand the cycling sticky here: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=5640

Do not add anything but conditioner and the proper amount of ammonia to get started.

Beneficial bacteria (BB) grow best at higher temps, so get an adjustable submersible heater, and raise the tank water temp to 82-84F.

Oxygenation also promotes BB growth, so get a cheap air pump and bubbler going in the tank.

What kind of filter is on the tank? If the flow is adjustable, turn the filter up to max flow.

Once the cycle starts, DO NOT clean anything in the tank, ESPECIALLY the contents of your filter.