Tank will not cycle, help.

[kev012in]

Hi everyone. I was a member here a long time ago but due to inactivity my account was deleted. Anyways I'm having a problem I've never experienced before and need some guidance. I have a 40 gallon breeder turtle tank. I currently have a 2 1/2 inch red ear slider in there along with 3 rosy red minnows. This tank refuses to cycle. I've kept tanks for many years and never experienced this. I've been trying to cycle for 3 months now. Initially I tried Seachem Prime and Stability to cycle with no luck. After a month of nothing I completely emptied the tank and started over with my tried and true tetra safestart. I waited 48 hrs after dosing with prime then I dumped the big bottle into my current 30 gallons of water. 2 months later still nothing. No ammonia, no nitrite, no nitrates. This turtle, 3 minnows and the food have to be producing ammonia at least. I've done everything from 25% water changes once a week, no water changes for 2 weeks, 10% water changes every 3 days, still nothing. I don't get it. I've never ever had this problem before. Why is my tank refusing to cycle? Why am I reading nothing across the board? Any ideas? Everything has been tested over and over with the master test kit. I'm at a loss. I've uploaded my cloudy uncycled tank along with my readings from the master test kit.

Edit: forgot to add tank is filtered by a Sunsun Hw-302 and fluval u3. Water temp is 77 degrees.

 

[tlindsey]

Hi everyone. I was a member here a long time ago but due to inactivity my account was deleted. Anyways I'm having a problem I've never experienced before and need some guidance. I have a 40 gallon breeder turtle tank. I currently have a 2 1/2 inch red ear slider in there along with 3 rosy red minnows. This tank refuses to cycle. I've kept tanks for many years and never experienced this. I've been trying to cycle for 3 months now. Initially I tried Seachem Prime and Stability to cycle with no luck. After a month of nothing I completely emptied the tank and started over with my tried and true tetra safestart. I waited 48 hrs after dosing with prime then I dumped the big bottle into my current 30 gallons of water. 2 months later still nothing. No ammonia, no nitrite, no nitrates. This turtle, 3 minnows and the food have to be producing ammonia at least. I've done everything from 25% water changes once a week, no water changes for 2 weeks, 10% water changes every 3 days, still nothing. I don't get it. I've never ever had this problem before. Why is my tank refusing to cycle? Why am I reading nothing across the board? Any ideas? Everything has been tested over and over with the master test kit. I'm at a loss. I've uploaded my cloudy uncycled tank along with my readings from the master test kit.

Edit: forgot to add tank is filtered by a Sunsun Hw-302 and fluval u3. Water temp is 77 degrees.

View attachment 1268624

View attachment 1268625

Looks cycled according to the colors of your test you took.

 

[kev012in]

You know what I think I had bad lighting lol. Here's a updated test I just did. This time in very good light. Your right. Looks good. Thanks for the response. Took it forever to get there though. I'm filtering this tank really well, gonna have to figure out why this water looks like crap now. I'm running fluval prefilter media in the bottom of my canister, followed by a course pad, 2 fine, and 2 full trays of bio media from the bottom up. Hmm.

Edit: I think I'll change the original post, this tank is cycled. My water however looks very poor. I couldn't possibly need more filtration could I?

 

[kev012in]

Yep, gonna make a new thread in setup and filtration to tackle why my water looks so dirty, even with water changes. Thanks for the help bud.

 

[Drstrangelove]

http://www.apifishcare.com/pdf/34_Test_Kit_WEB_Instructions.pdf

"The tube should be viewed in a well-lit area against the white area of the chart."

This is a common issue, although, most times it's so dark on the metrics, that no matter where you hold it, it is clearly not zero, so it's not asked. It's more accurate placed against the chart.


The only times it comes up is when it's at a low level.

 

[tarheel96]

The API nitrate test will give low results if solution #2 isn't thoroughly agitated. If you tap the bottom of solution #2 against something and shake it hard for 2 minutes then your nitrate might test higher.

Does the cloudy water have a green tint? Or is it more white?

 

[kev012in]

Drstrangelove; I figured it out, bad lighting. It's cycled. Thanks.

Tarheel96; yeah it is kind of greenish. I made a new thread in setup and filtration. Guess im dealing with green water algae..

 

[Yohanon]

It is nice if you have another cycled tank that you cam use to jump start the new one. Barring that, If you have an aquarist friend, You can stick a piece of mechanical media is his/her filter for a week or so, then use it to "seed" your new tank. To me, this seems to work a little better than the store bought "quick starts".

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Drstrangelove; I figured it out, bad lighting. It's cycled. Thanks.

Tarheel96; yeah it is kind of greenish. I made a new thread in setup and filtration. Guess im dealing with green water algae..

You would want to invest into a Green Machine UV, it's cheap but will clear those green algae. Also, you would want to upgrade your filtration system, the turtle is a no joke of a waste machine compare to any fishes.