loosing patience with this cycle

[bathawk]

I am still having problems getting this tank to cycle it is a 88 lt tank with 1 dwarf pike cichlid I have fluval 207 with some seeded media I have a sponge filter from another tank a small corner filter driven by air pump with some seeded media yet this tank will not cycle some plants did die off buy they are now picking up I am going to list the readings so bear with me.
here are my readings rom 26/11/19 this all started when the filter broke down was with a canister filter for 2 days but kept the seeded media an a media bag whit a power head pumping water over the media bag until I got a new canister filter as you can see there seems to be no end. I do 25% water change twice a week and using seachem safe to keep the dwarf pike safe.
26/11/19 ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 ppm 22/12/19 ammonia 1.0 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
27/11/19 ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 pm 24/12/19 ammonia 0.50 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
28/11/19 ammonia 0.5 ppm nitrate 160 ppm 26/12/19 ammonia 0.50 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
30/11/19 ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 ppm 29/12/19 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 80 ppm
02/12 19 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm 31/12/19 ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 40 ppm
04/12/19 ammonia 4.0 ppm nitrate 80 ppm 02/01/20 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm
07/12/19 ammonia 0.00ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm 03/01/20 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm
09/12/19 ammonia 0.25ppm nitrite 0.20 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm 07/01/20 ammonia 2.0 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm
11/12/19 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrate 0.25 ppm nitrate 10 ppm
13/12/19 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm
15/12/19 ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
17/12/18 ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 4.0 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
20/12/19 ammonia 1.0 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 80 ppm

 

[TheWolfman]

What are your tap readings?

 

[dr exum]

Stability?

 

[twentyleagues]

You are all over the board with your dates. You have 160ppm nitrates? That sounds like you are converting amonia and nitrite just fine. Sounds like you need to adjust your water change schedule or just start changing the water at all. The reading on API tests for amonia always throws me too. I really think you are cycled especially with the nitrate reading youve listed.

 

[DN328]

I think your results should be in chronological order lol.

The most recent reading you provided for Jan 3rd shows having .25ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5ppm nitrate. Assuming no ammonia in your tap and test done right, you are very close OP.

 

[esoxlucius]

There are some notable oddball results there, for instance on 13/12/19 your nitrate was 5ppm and yet on the 15/12/19 it had shot to 160ppm! in 2 days!! With just a small pike cichlid? Unlikely. This descrepancy alone would leave me with no confidence in trying to make head nor tail of the other up and down readings.

I'd say that with so many tests being done over a relatively short space of time, that some of them maybe have been skewed. That's possibly why there's just no improvement in pattern to suggest you're actually getting somewhere. Throw your water changes into the mix and these too will muddy your readings even more.

I think extra extra care in testing each sample along with writing that list out so it actually makes sense (it's not easy to read at all) and to also add in when you did your water changes, then we might just have something we can make sense of and help you with.

 

[bathawk]

When I did the list there were spaces between the dates seems to have got jumbled up after I posted the thread .I think the tank has gone off balance and may never cycle my readings today were Ammonia 4.0 ppm Nitrite 0.00 ppm Nitrate 2.0 ppm my ph also dropped from about 7.2
to about 6.6 Now this is the crazy bit did a 25% water change the tank went cloudy did a 25% water change on my 127 lt tank no issue I am totally lost as to what's happening never had a problem like this before this cloudy issue on Saturday happened as well after the water change the tank went cloudy I put it down to some capata leave water I added to the tank but today I didn't add any and the tank still went cloudy after the water change this is just crazy.

 

[squint]

Low pH stalls nitrification so...

 

[bathawk]

here is the list again at first didnt have a nitrite test kit

26/11/19 Ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
27/11/19 Ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
28/11/19 Ammonia 0.5ppm nitrate 160 ppm
30/11/19 Ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
02/12/19 Ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
04/12/19 Ammonia 4.0 ppm nitrate 80 ppm
07/12/19 Ammonia 0.00ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm
09/12/19 Ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.20 ppm nitrate 4.0 ppm
11/12/19 Ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 10 ppm
13/12/19 Ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
15/12/19 Ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
17/12/19 Ammonia 0.25 ppm nitrite 4.0 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
20/12/19 Ammonia 1.0 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 80 ppm
22/12/19 Ammonia 1.0 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
24/12/19 Ammonia 0.50 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
26/12/19 Ammonia 0.50 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 160 ppm
29/12/19 Ammonia 0.50 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 80 ppm
31/12/19 Ammonia 0.00 ppm nitrite 0.25 ppm nitrate 50 ppm
02/01/20 Ammonia 2.0 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 0.25 ppm
03/01/20 Ammonia 0.20 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 0.25 ppm
07/01/20 Ammonia 2.0 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrite 5.0 ppm
09/01/20 Ammonia 4.0 ppm nitrite 0.00 ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm

so by the the 31 /12/19 I thought the cycle was complete and tank cycled but then the ammonia starts creaping up again to todays reading before I did a 25% water change still using seachem safe and started using stability as well.

 

[squint]

Stability isn't true nitrifying bacteria so I would avoid it. Also, remember to dose Safe 6 times more than recommended. At 6X it matches the dose of Prime (almost).