# Tank Not Cycling?!



## PugJack (Feb 16, 2015)

We’ve had our 155litre for about 9 weeks now. Running with a Fluval 207 external filter (with quick-clear, Carbon & Ammonia remover media) A live planted bogwood and planted coco cave (anubias and java fern) 

Started using Love Fish filter boost but swapped to API Safe Start a few weeks ago. 

Ammonia levels have pretty much stayed at 0.25 but have now risen to 1.0

The tests have never showed up any Nitrite or Nitrate both have always been 0. I use the API liquid test kit as find the dip sticks crap

Did around 50% water change about a month ago and added the new media (quick clear, carbon & ammonia remover) and added a double dose of API quick start. Rinsed the existing media very briefly in the tank water and put back in. Cleaned gravel. 

Fish-wise we have: 1 male betta, 3x corydoras, 5x otocinclus, 8x cardinal tetra, 8x platys and 5 guppies. 

Can anyone shed some light on what’s going on/wrong? 

HELP


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Hi,

Since you're doing a fish-in cycle, these can take several months. Plus you have a fully stocked tank. With a fish-in cycle you should build up your stock gradually, not adding any more until ammonia and nitrite are at 0.

When you did the 50% water change, did you get rid of any of the old media to make room for the new? If so, you were throwing away the good bacteria that had built up, setting your cycle back further.

Are you only doing a water change once a month? For a fish-in cycle, especially with ammonia levels so high, you really should be doing a 50% change every day! I'm amazed you don't mention losing any fish tbh, but they will definitely be suffering and may well have problems in the longer term as a result.

Sorry if that comes across as critical - a lot of fish shops give really bad advice, so you may well have been on the receiving end of that through no fault of your own.

The best thing to do would really be to return all the fish and do a fishless cycle with an ammonia source, as described in the sticky thread. If you're unable/unwilling to do this, you really should be doing daily water changes, and be prepared to be doing them for at least another month or two, probably more, until the levels settle down. Don't change any of your filter media in the meantime, or even clean it, apart from the top wool pad for mechanical filtration, which should be cleaned weekly in old tank water and replaced whenever it starts to fall to pieces.


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## PugJack (Feb 16, 2015)

NaomiM said:


> Hi,
> 
> Since you're doing a fish-in cycle, these can take several months. Plus you have a fully stocked tank. With a fish-in cycle you should build up your stock gradually, not adding any more until ammonia and nitrite are at 0.
> 
> ...


We did add the fish gradually since it's been running, I did wonder if lack of cycling may be because we added too many too quickly.

The only filter bits removed and thrown away was the bag of carbon and replaced with a new one and then added additional ammonia remover bag and the quickclear wool pad. I just followed what it said in the filter manual in regards to maintenance and replacement. Do I need to change the carbon/ammonia remover regularly? The sponges and ceramic I leave in there.

No fish loss currently and have 3 baby platys that seem to be doing well.

So keep doing water changes to lower ammonia level. Do I need to keep adding the API bacteria when I do this? Obviously tap safe will need to be added.

Oh and I've been feeding the fish every other day as was told it would help with leftover food and less fish waste


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

PugJack said:


> We did add the fish gradually since it's been running, I did wonder if lack of cycling may be because we added too many too quickly.
> 
> The only filter bits removed and thrown away was the bag of carbon and replaced with a new one and then added additional ammonia remover bag and the quickclear wool pad. I just followed what it said in the filter manual in regards to maintenance and replacement. Do I need to change the carbon/ammonia remover regularly? The sponges and ceramic I leave in there.
> 
> ...


TBH I tend to take the carbon out and replace it with more biological filtration media. The only time carbon is really beneficial is when you need to remove chemicals such as medication from the water. But then I've never had ammonia levels as high as 1ppm, so I guess it might be of some use in helping to reduce this initial spike. It's a case of balancing potential benefits against the fact that it needs regular replacing and so means that you're throwing away a certain amount of the good bacteria every month or so.

Ammonia removal media I have no experience with. Is it meant to actually remove ammonia or just detoxify it? (If the former, it doesn't seem to be doing its job!) I wonder if it could be interfering with the cycle at all? What I've used instead, any time when I have had an ammonia spike, is Seachem Prime. This replaces the Tapsafe and also detoxifies ammonia while making it still accessible to the filter bacteria, so won't negatively affect the cycle. If being used to detoxify ammonia in this way, you need to dose it daily, enough for the whole volume of water in the tank. It's hyper-concentrated so this won't be very big doses (it's worth getting a 1ml or 2ml dosing syringe to make it easier to measure out the correct dose). While it appears fairly expensive, a bottle lasts a long time so it's actually quite economical.

Yes, carry on feeding the fish every other day until the tank is cycled.


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## George Duke-Cohan (Mar 17, 2020)

@PugJack Hey, got to say that your profile pic is so cute. Hope the tank is going ok. Got any pics to share with us?


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