No worries - I appreciate your replies. I had only been doing 25% WC but was getting frustrated and tried to take a deep dive on it since the fish were not in there. I had thought I’d get a few cheaper fish to put in there - I just couldn’t put my fish through that stress any longer.
Cycling Problem - Stuck
- Thread starter KellyQ68
- Start date
Yes, with each WC I have been adding tap water conditioner relevant to the amount of new water added.
That’s why I am so frustrated - I have done everything I would normally do when setting up and cycling a tank - and this one just wants to pluck my nerves! LOL
That’s why I am so frustrated - I have done everything I would normally do when setting up and cycling a tank - and this one just wants to pluck my nerves! LOL
Yes very understandable? If you feel uncomfortable just use the raw shrimp method and monitor your water parameters.
Unless you declor the water before adding it to the tank?
If you fill right into your tank you need to declor the whole water volume of the tank and filters.
My 125 has two AC110'S, and an FX4. Thats about 5gal of water plus the 125gal tank is 130gal, thats the amout I declor, so 2 and 2/3rds caps of Prime.
Sounds like some clorine is getting thru and killing the BB.
Low temp and/or low PH will hamper your cycle. At ph below 7 ammonia will become ionized and less available as food for nitrosomonas and at some point ph will impact the metabolism of the bacteria as well. Give your ph a quick check to eliminate this as a possible cause for the slow cycle.
Thanks - I’ve actually struggled to keep the temp DOWN in this tank from day 1. It’s running 78 now.
Another oddity about this tank - not in direct sunlight or near window, house temp averages 75, but this tank averages 80 without a heater. . And I have used an LED light strip from day 1 vs the fluorescent fixture that came with it.
pH has been on the rise with the ammonia levels - topping out around 7.9, it’s around 7.6 now. Ammonia levels are still 8.0 or above - they are not budging...
Starting to hate this tank...
I believe acrylic aquariums retain heat much better than glass, but not sure why it would be that much higher than ambient air temp. It also seems a little odd to me that PH has been rising unless the substrate has carbonate minerals in it(lava rock should be inert). It sounds like you have really good conditions for cycling the tank, and I don't have any other ideas. Just for reverence here is a chart that shows the relationship of ph and free ammonia. There is a point where ph is too high for for nitrosomonas and nitrobacter, ph between 7 and 8 is "ideal" for both.
That’s great info - thank you! I did buy the test kit to test for both types of ammonia and they were both off the chart too. Looks like I just need to keep investigating.I believe acrylic aquariums retain heat much better than glass, but not sure why it would be that much higher than ambient air temp. It also seems a little odd to me that PH has been rising unless the substrate has carbonate minerals in it(lava rock should be inert). It sounds like you have really good conditions for cycling the tank, and I don't have any other ideas. Just for reverence here is a chart that shows the relationship of ph and free ammonia. There is a point where ph is too high for for nitrosomonas and nitrobacter, ph between 7 and 8 is "ideal" for both.
I always use combo of crushed coral and cichlid specific substrate and have had no issues prior.
As for the tank - I don’t think i would buy another one. It was a good solution for being able to place a tank in the dining room where I couldn’t have housed an external canister and didn’t want the hang on filters - but wow - what a price I’ve paid for that! LOL
Many thanks for your help!
