My tank will not cycle

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
what do you have in your filter? also, did you add the filter from day one, two months ago? my experience is that a normal with-fish cycle will take about 6 weeks. i also noticed that when nitrites peak, they stay at their peak for a long time but will drop to zero overnight. depending on your situation, your nitrites may be reaching the end of their peak and should drop to 0 shortly
 
I hope so man, this stinks not having any fish. Yes I have had the filter since day 1. Ps i have an XD as well. Tactical.
 
sweet i love the XD's! also, stop adding those bacteria additives. unless its Bio-Spira, youre just pouring in dead gunk into your tank. bottled bacteria needs to be either refrigerated or have a constant food source (ammonia) in order to survive in a bottle. if its not Bio Spira, youre wasting your cash!
 
i dont know its strange as bio spira claims to cycle the tank right away. have you done anything to your filter media lately? did you treat the water you did a water change with?
 
This is interesting.

You chose wisely with SuperBac. The fact it's not working and the aquarium hasn't started on it's own after 2 months says there's something not allowing these bacteria to perform/divide. The ones in the SuperBac bottle are the same as the ones in the bio-filter so that at least points us in the right direction.

A few questions I'm sure you answered but if you could condense them for me:

Are you using RO water?
If so are you "aging" it in any way?
If you are using tap water what conditioner are you using?
Are you using any kind of ammonia detoxifier?
What region do you live? (municipal water)
How many fish did you start with and how many have died?

Something is messing with your bacteria. We just have to find out what.
 
Using a product (superbac,biospira etc etc) to cycle your tank is a good thing(should be faster), but could give you false readings. Until your nitrites hit 0, nitrate readings wont be 100% accurate either. Also, make sure your water source is dechlorinated before you add it to the tank. This will be true for all future water changes you do. It will kill your bacteria otherwise. You can also get a test of your tap water and see if it has any nitrites.


IN MY OPINION:

Doing water changes during a cycle is also not good.Even when using a product for a faster cycle, water changes would slow you down. I always wait for 0 nitrites before the 1st water change. Just be patient and wait to add the keeper fish when everything is done-it takes time. An un-cycled tank is probably the biggest hobby killer. It really does take some time,but you will have healthier fish and a better experience if you do it the right way.
 
To elaborate on what Pwn said, your tap water could cause you problems. I have a friend that runs a fish wholesaler in the Bay Area and sometimes they get their water from Yosemite straight up. Well, it contains no bicarbonates (sodium, magnesium, calcium) and more importantly no phosphate so it was a real pain in the butt.

Also, if you run your tap water through a high quality filter it could be eliminating these very important things.

Nitrifying bacteria will not convert if they are in a phosphate free environment. They simply won't do it. They need a trace present then like magic they turn on again.
 
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