# my tank doesnt seem to be cycling!



## fishman87 (Oct 17, 2012)

Hi everyone. I'm new to these forums and hope someone will/can help. I bought a fluval 12 gallon edge on 10/2/12 from my lfs and set it up that night. On 10/3/12 I put a few guppies in the tank to start the cycle. I didn't know about the fishless cycle when I set it up. Anyways I also added a few live plants (5 to be exact) and after a few days added a Molly and 2 Cory catfish. After about a week my Molly died and decided to buy a API master test kit to begin testing my water after reading forums. Well now I'm 15 days into the cycle and all the remains in the tank are the 2 Corys. I took the guppies out because they weren't gonna stay and I was just using them to jump start my cycle. I've been testing my water for the past few days and I'm never getting a reading above. .25-.50 pom on ammonia. One day I did get. 25 ppm on nitirites but its been at 0 since. Nitrates have always been at 0. Today I just tested my water again and my results were .25ppm ammonia (at least that's what it looks like could be between 0 and. 25) nitrites are at 0 ppm and nitrates are 0 ppm. Is it possible my tank cycled? Because my only other conclusion would be that the cycle hasn't even began? The Cory catfish are both eating and active. They look happy at least. I'm eager to start adding fish to my tank but if the cycle hasn't even started I want advice on how to get it started. Should I be overfeeding? Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks! Oh yea.. do my live plants have any affect in the cycle? They all seem to be doing well also.


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## AFishNamedCP (Oct 7, 2012)

I know it can be tricky sometimes reading results. Sometimes it looks really faint making you think it is .25, and other times you don't really see the faint color. But my question is "do you ever see ammonia at 0, or non-dectable?"

In general, I think it is too soon for your tank to cycle. Plus, I would expect to see some nitrate, even if it is 1ppm. if you are cycled (and haven't done major water changes). I know plants may affect that.

I'm no expert. But if I were in your shoes, I would leave the fish in the tank and feed them like normal. Test everyday and look for nitrite spike and ammonia drop. If they are always zero and you have fish and feeding them, then yeah it sounds cycled to me. Even with plants, I think you should eventually see some nitrate readings.


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## fishman87 (Oct 17, 2012)

Yea I did get some nitrites the other day but only like. 25ppm nitrates looks like it could be between 0-5ppm but ill do another test today. Hopefully I get something different. Can't wait to stock the tank already.


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## AFishNamedCP (Oct 7, 2012)

fishman87 said:


> Can't wait to stock the tank already.


Me Either. I've been doing a fishless cycle for almost 4 weeks. I can't wait to add the fish! still waiting...

Sounds promising if you are seeing some nitrates. Have you nitrate tested your tap water or whatever source water you are using? I test my tap water just to make sure I'm reading it correctly. Just a sanity test. And just an idea. 

I'm curious to know how long / how easy fish in cycle is compared to my fishless cycle that seems to take an eternity.... Let me know what future readings are .... and welcome *w2


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## Brian757 (Sep 24, 2012)

AFishNamedCP said:


> Me Either. I've been doing a fishless cycle for almost 4 weeks. I can't wait to add the fish! still waiting...
> 
> Sounds promising if you are seeing some nitrates. Have you nitrate tested your tap water or whatever source water you are using? I test my tap water just to make sure I'm reading it correctly. Just a sanity test. And just an idea.
> 
> I'm curious to know how long / how easy fish in cycle is compared to my fishless cycle that seems to take an eternity.... Let me know what future readings are .... and welcome *w2


When it comes to cycling your tank, NEVER use stuff like this:








It does contain beneficial bacteria, but it takes time to reproduce and develop in your filtration system. Everyone on this thread is doing great not just throwing fish in! Awesome for all of you to have the patience! But nitrates aren't really lethal to freshwater fish at lower ppm. Saltwater is more finicky when it comes to nitrates because of coral, etc. Nitrites are something to worry about and ammonia is unacceptable @ anything above 0. When it comes to pH, do your homework on what fish you want and the pH, water hardness, and temperatures they prefer. I'm sure your doing your homework, these are just some helpful tips. Happy tanking!!


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

With such a low bio-load and with plants in your system, it's entirely possible that the plants are consuming the nitrates that your infinitesimally small cycle (caused by such a low bio-load) is producing. Try adding more fish, only 2 or 3 at a time mind you, test for a week, and if levels look good continue adding until you're at capacity.

Another possibility is that you're not doing the nitrate test right. You need to shake the bottle of chem #2 for 30 seconds, and shake the tube after adding the drops for a full minute. And when I say shake, I mean SHAKE. Shake the hell out of it to get the best results.


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## fishman87 (Oct 17, 2012)

Thanks a lot. That's the most helpful thing I've heard so far. Wasn't sure if it was a possibility. I will add a couple more fish and keep testing.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Your plants, assuming they are doing well, will consume ammonia first. Usually a cycle with plants the plants will consume ammonia and the nitrates, as the bacteria in your tank matures, accumulates. At the end of the cycle you'd see a spike in nitrates and then the plants would start consuming them and then zero out. In theory of course.

I think your bio-load is fine for just a 12g tank. I used 4 fish for a 75g and cycled in around 5 wks time. I think you are expecting things to fly by and it just doesn't happen that way. You just got started. Also, with that size tank you shouldn't be adding too much more than what you already have. I would just put a few more Cories in there and be done. Go much above that and you will be on here more asking why your fish keep dying.


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## fishman87 (Oct 17, 2012)

I only plan on adding a few more fish. Anyway today my readings are 0ppm ammonia between. 25-.50 ppm nitrites and 0 nitrates. You said my plants would consume the nitrates? I thought it was the nitrites. Anyways with today's readings I think I'm still cycling. What do you think? Its only been 17 days since the setup


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Yes, you are still cycling.


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## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

My tank took about 4 weeks to fully cycle now no amonia. i had really bad amonia when i started . lost about 130$ of fish . Shoulda just had a cpuple of neons 
Also the less chemicals the better to start cycle . start zymes work wounders tho . now my water is clear and plenty of benifical bacteria .


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## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

When your cycle starts you will see amonia then nitrites then nitrates will show then after it will mellow out. Rite now my tank is showing verry high nitrites with medium level nitrates. Im doing dailly water changes so i dont lose fish. Also dont feed your fish every day , every other day around the afternoon is good. fish food causes amonia to . A pinch of food is fine . Fish have small stomaches


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