Regular Member kila Posted September 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 Hi there, I'm having a very frustrating time cycling my new 33 gallon tank. It's been running since July 22nd with 3 goldfish and I still have no Nitrite readings. I'm exhausted from doing water changes to keep the ammonia levels at a relatively safe level. I'm changing 70% every 2 or 3 days. Ph: 8 Ammonia: 2 or 4 (before water change) Nitrites : 0 Nitrates: 10 (same as tap water). Water Temp: 76F Filtration: I have two internal filters running. Both suitable for a 30 gallon capacity each. Test Kit: Aquarium Pharm Master Test kit. Any ideas, suggestions most welcome. Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member abcdomo Posted September 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 I thought it went ammonia spike then nitrites then nitrates.. also it can take months to cycle a tank I heard:/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted September 2, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 Yes, you're right, it does go like that. The NitrAtes are in my tap water, they don't signify the third stage of the cycle :-( 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LovelyChaos Posted September 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 Cycling with fish is bound to take longer. Usually without the fish, ammonia stays at 4ppm until nitrites appear but since this would kill fish it's counteracted with waterchanges. I don't think you are doing anything wrong, but don't take my word for it until a more experienced member chimes in. Cycling can take anywhere from 60-90 days and for many people it is closer to 90. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Purpledays Posted September 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 I have done cycling with fish in and fishless. Both times it took approximately 75 days to cycle the tank, and both times I never had a nitrite spike. I went right from ammonia to nitrates. I've never been able to figure it out, the only thing I can think is it is something to do with my tap water. I also have a high pH of 8.4, but not sure if that has anything to do with anything. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted September 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 What media are you using in the filters? What is the combined gph of both filters? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted September 2, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 Sponge media in both filters. One of them also has a charcoal chamber. I have a little cutting from a filter pad in both filters also. I took this from an established tank 4 weeks ago in the hope that it would seed it and speed things up. I'm working in litres here but using a conversion table.... one filter is 264gph and the other one is 185gph. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted September 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2012 Right now, the priority is to get all of that ammonia out of the tank, because that's too high, and is dangerous for the fish. You can do this by doing two back to back 90%. Update on parameters daily here, and let's try to work on this together. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted September 3, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2012 Ok, I'm on it. Thanks for your help. I'm going to work now but I'll do a 90% water change when I get home and post back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted September 3, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2012 Water change done. All parameters are the same apart from Ammonia which has reduced to .5 since water change. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shakaho Posted September 3, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2012 How big are these fish? 33 gallons is small for three goldfish unless they are just babies. What cleaning do you do of your tank and filters? Is there any ammonia in your tap water? What water conditioner do you use? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted September 3, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2012 1 black moor - about 3 inches. 1 canary yellow comet - about 3 inches 1 red capped Oranda - about 5/6 inches. In the past 6 weeks I've rinsed one filter out in used tank water because it was all clogged up. I left the other one be. Ammonia in tap water - 0 Water conditioner: MultiFit. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member viking_snail Posted September 4, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2012 Perhaps it would be an idea to pick up some ceramic media? It provides alot more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow, plus it will last forever unlike sponge. Certainly you could put some in the charcoal chamber, since I think charcoal isn't really necessary unless removing meds? I would be careful about removing the charcoal though since it's probably acting as media right now. Maybe pick up some Prime/Amquel Plus as well - it will help keep those fishies safe in between water changes 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Cyprinidae Posted September 4, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2012 (edited) 1 black moor - about 3 inches. 1 canary yellow comet - about 3 inches 1 red capped Oranda - about 5/6 inches. In the past 6 weeks I've rinsed one filter out in used tank water because it was all clogged up. I left the other one be. Ammonia in tap water - 0 Water conditioner: MultiFit. That tank is seriously overstocked, and that will only make your problem worse. I am actually going through similar issues right now, and it is enough work with one 1.5 inch fish! Do you have Seachem Prime? It gets rid of ammonia and detoxifies nitrate and nitrite, it would probably help you in addition to the water changes dnalex suggested. Once you get things sorted out, you might want to consider getting an additional tank for the 5/6 inch fish. I really wish you the best of luck with fixing the water! Keep up the water changes -Cyprinidae Edited September 4, 2012 by Cyprinidae 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member cmclien Posted September 5, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hi there, I want to chime in because my tank FINALLY cycled last week after 3 months!!! I started memorial day weekend and finished a week ago. So it hasn't been too long. I had 2 gf in a 20g, I did daily water changes to keep the ammonia under .5. That phase took 2 months to start showing nitrites. Once I got nitrites the highest they got was about 2.0, I did daily water changes with those too to keep the fish safe. My daily water changes were 75% It took about 4 weeks to go from nitrites to nitrates. So hang in there! You will get there. I totally agree to add ceramic rings. I bought two small bags of ceramic rings and put two in each filter after the sponge or pad. I rinse my sponges lightly 2x a week to get the gunk out. I don't think it made it take longer but I will never know I guess. My water would get dirty if I didn't rinse them out frequently. The rings are important because when you go to switch out a sponge or pad your cycle will stay right on target. I had to cut out a new one because one of them wasn't holding up and the bb from the other media, namely rings kept right up. I feel your pain 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted September 5, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 5, 2012 Aww thanks Cmclien. That makes me feel much better. I'll get the ceramic rings tomorrow. I've cycled 4 tanks in my time but I never had to wait this long for nitrites to show so it's good to know I'm not alone. :-) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kila Posted October 2, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 2, 2012 Oh joy of joys.....NITRITES!! Finally. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted October 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted October 2, 2012 Wow. That was a long wait! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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