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29 gallon tank still not cycling after 5 days

20K views 83 replies 9 participants last post by  gzarr 
#1 ·
Hey, I got a 29 gallon tank for Christmas and set it up the same day. I had heard about fishless cycling before, but I have never used it. I put fish food in to put in ammonia and turned up the heat to about 82 degrees F. I didn't leave the light on, but I turned it on today. Today I got back from a 4 day trip to my grandparents' house. I checked the nitrite and nitrate. Both were at 0. Then I checked the ammonia. It was also 0. There is decaying fish food at the bottom of my tank. When I put in some decorations I got for Christmas at my grandparents' house, all the decaying, fungus covered food got stirred up. So I scooped most of it out with my net and put in some new food. Should I just go to the store and buy some pure ammonia to put in my tank? I thought the bacteria in the tank would have converted some of the ammonia to nitrite by today, but there's not even any ammonia in my tank! What happened? I added some Stress-zyme (beneficial bacteria in a bottle) to my tank today, I hope that helps. My tank is cloudy, so shouldn't there be some ammonia or nitrite or nitrate?
 
#62 ·
I'm going out of town for the weekend, so we'll see what the reading is when I get back. And I uploaded pictures and a video of my 29 gallon aquarium!:p
 
#63 ·
I just looked in my 10 gallon, and the algae is actually brown! What kind is that, and what should I do about it?
 
#64 ·
Probably what's called diatoms, or commonly brown algae; very common in new tanks at some point during the first 2-3 months. It cleans off easily with a sponge scraper (on glass) or a small brush (decor), or your fingers (plant leaves, gently so as not to damage the leaves). If this occurs in established tanks (very rare), it may be due to insufficient light or an imbalance.

Byron.
 
#65 ·
Ok. My 10 gallon is established, and this is the first time I've actually had algae growing on anything in that tank.
 
#66 ·
Oops. Sorry I didn't post with an update, but now here one is!:-D

3 Ammonia or something close to that :eek:mg: one of the bottles in the kit leaked and spilled chemicals all over my hand!
First Nitrite reading! :redyay::blueyay::greenyay::blueyay::greenyay::redyay::greenyay::blueyay:
0 Nitrate
 
#68 · (Edited)
I dunno why the second :red yay: got messed up, but I just went to the LFS and got a full kit!:) I feel so professional now!:lol: (I was using strips for the first test.)

So the nitrite is officially 0.3 mg/L
 
#69 ·
Wow, sorry to make this thread go on for so long, but the bacteria in my tank are really going through that ammonia! Down to a reading of 0.5 now, from 5 a few days ago.
 
#70 ·
Freddy, that is great news and I sure know what you are going through. It looks like your tank and the one I am waiting for is on the same time schedule. I finally got Nitrites for the first time the other day as well. I have had some Nitrates though for awhile. The ammonia is going down fast now as well! I cannot wait until this process is done. Keep us posted how how it goes. BTW, how long has your tank been cycling?
 
#71 ·
Technically since Christmas, but really for about a week, since an ammonia overload might have killed off most of the bacteria I seeded the tank with.
 
#72 ·
Same thing with me....since two days after Christmas. Thought it was cycled and added three more fish (which I knew I should not have done) and then got a big spike. At least now it is at 0 Ammonia and working on the Nitrite part. I cannot wait for it to be ready!

Glad things are going better for you too. :)
 
#73 ·
Are you still adding ammonia to the tank, or are the fish still in there? You should add ammonia to keep the bacteria that break down ammonia initially alive, or if it takes too long for nitrites to go down, the first bacteria will starve. Glad to hear your tank's doing well too!
 
#74 ·
Thanks for post. I started out cycling with fish but then the ammonia got too high. I took them out and have been feeding the tank with food. I could not easily find straight ammonia around here. I assume doing it with food now would be the same as doing a fishless cycle with food. I have been feeding the tank food twice a day.
 
#75 ·
I feed my tank with food once every two days, to give the bacteria a chance to start growing on the food. I added some yesterday, and the ammonia level has actually gone down! The bacteria are growing fast!:-D
 
#77 ·
Nope. Just food. My tank could use some plants, it's filthy! Terrible cloudy water, and as of last night, the nitrites were off the charts. I expected this, there was still a ton of ammonia after an 80% w/c. Too bad I can't add any fish that would normally survive cycling, no fish could survive in my tank... :-(
 
#78 ·
Oh, I thought your ammonia was coming down. Mine has been at zero for two days now. The Nitrites are still too high though, so I still have to wait. My tank is really clear, but I know that it is still not ready.

What kind of filtration do you have. I have a BioWheel (one size up from what I would "have" to have for this size tank), and a sponge filter. It is only a 14 gallon.

I hope things start to go the other way for you. I bet you will notice a difference soon, especially since you do have a high Nitrite reading. I wonder why though you still have so much ammonia. What is the count on it?
 
#79 ·
The ammonia's low, but it was high. Remember, I accidentally added 10 tsp:shock: of pure ammonia when I had the first, cheapo kit that measured 0!

And the new kit isn't API, like I thought it was. It's a Tetratest Laborett, and it doesn't have a nitrate test kit!:evil: All I wanted to measure was nitrite, but nitrate would be a plus! Now I paid $10 extra for stuff I don't need!
 
#80 ·
Yay! :blueyay::greenyay::redyay::blueyay::redyay::greenyay::redyay::redyay::greenyay::blueyay: My tank finished cycling!
 
#81 ·
Well done. Good to hear at last. B.
 
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