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Stubborn 5gall

4K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  onefish2fish 
#1 ·
ive been cycling (fishless) my five gallon for 2.5 weeks now. at the start i through in fish food to build up ammonia now its just started to go at zero. but the Nitrite is still high
here are the acctuall params:
ammonia- 0
niTRITE- >1.6 ppm
niTRATE- >20 ppm
ph- 7.5 (still to basic)

the nitrite is high and its not going down... so what do i do now. wait longer, water change, and cycle liquid bacteria.

thanks
 
#2 ·
If there's no fish in the tank you don't need to do water changes. That will only lengthen your cycle. Just have patience. The nitrite usually takes longer than the ammonia to go to 0.

You're still feeding the tank with a bit of fish food, right?
 
#5 ·
Yes, keep adding an ammonia source so your bacteria don't die off. Once your ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 you'll probably have a high nitrate reading and will need to do a big water change before you add your fish.
 
#7 ·
so here's an update on me 5 gall

the parameters: Didnt budge, they're exactly the same :?
this tank has been cycling for whole month now and is still too toxic to add anything. ive been adding fish food every 3 days or so but other than that its all the same proceadure.

does anyone know what can be going on? is it common to have tanks as small as mine to be going for a month? or is my lack of patience starting to eat at me?
 
#8 ·
Umm well, I didn't continue adding fish food. I'm pretty sure I stoped adding fish food when I had a nitrite reading. Then after a month I'm pretty sure I did a little water change and everything evened itself out. Perhaps I did it wrong? Either way my tank cycled and I never had a problem with water parameters since.
 
#9 ·
How long did it take your tank to get an ammonia reading. There is quite a bit of fish food in mine, and I add more every day. It has been over a week and there is still no ammonia :( . Could it be my test kit, it is really old?? Anyway, I just wondered how long it took yours because we are using the same method. Thank you.
 
#10 ·
i got a good ammonia reading after a week and a half. its not your test kit kim, (i thought the same thing of all mine) they cant get old. but after a few more days, the ammonia decended to zero. im just waiting for the flippin' nitrite to finally die.

thats funny your tank worked out like that too Little-fizz.
 
#11 ·
update: parameters are still the same

there is now some sort of fuzzy grey fungus growing on the decor. it comes off really easy but then grows back again the next day. what is this and is it supposed to be there?
 
#14 ·
Meatpuppet.. can you get an ammonia source with no added chemicals? That'll help speed things up. Also, what temperature is the tank at? I've found that if you keep the water at a steady 80 degrees it will cycle more quickly. You could also try adding some mature filter media or gravel from another tank to speed up the process.
 
#15 ·

sorry my camera is no fancy contraption so this pic isnt really clear. the fungus is like that but all over

my lfs doesnt sell ammonia. but i did turn on the heater for 80 and took some polyfiber from my 30 gallon filter. hopefully that works
 
#18 ·
I think I would take out the decoration and scrub it. I would be hesitant to use something like bleach though. Maybe just try hot water at first. What material is the decor made out of?
 
#20 ·
well i went away from town for a week and when i came back, the tank was cycled. yahoo! the water is crystal clear, nitrite zero and nitrate super high. im going to do a 90% WC. so ya i guess it cycled, you were all right :D (thanks for the info) and i am such i fool. :shake:

yet i scrubbed the figure and let it sit in hot water for a few minites before i left but now its back. should i try bleach?
 
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