Two months... tank hasn't cycled.. What now?

[catmittens]

Hello everyone! I'm coming to you with my struggle of all things because I am pretty stumped.

I started to set up my tank in early-April in order to get the cycling process started. I've tried almost everything under the sun and nothing is happening. I'll give a rundown of what I've bought, tried, and where everything is at.

Specs: 20-gallon long tank, National Geographic black aquarium substrate, fake plants, fake log hide from Petsmart Aquarium section, XY-2822 dual sponge filter (Amazon.com), air bubbler from Tetra (the silent one suited for 20g), Seachem Prime, and the API Freshwater Master Kit, digital thermometer, I bought the Aqueon Pro Heater 100 watt to get bacteria up.

Status:
- I began to cycle my tank with some fish flakes. I put in a little bit every other day, tested for ammonia religiously, nothing happened for over a month. My research told me I should have had some sort of spike in ammonia once the flakes decayed. Nothing like that happened. My water temp was sitting at about 62-65F so I figured that was why.

- I went out and bought REAL ammonia (no surfactants) and self-dosed my tank, getting it to the 4.0 range on my API Master Test Kit. I have made sure it stayed at this level, it has never strayed far from 3.0-4.0. I did this for about 2 weeks, no drop in ammonia and no increase in nitrite. During this time I did have to fill my tank because 1/4 of it has evaporated, the water I put in was dosed with Prime and was then treated with ammonia to get the level back up.

- I then went out and bought a pre-set Aqueon heater because I figured my temp was the culprit, temp sat around 72F (it was supposed to reach 78F), but nothing happened for two weeks. My ammonia still sat in the 3.0-4.0 range, no nitrites.

- Went out and bought the Aqueon Pro Heater about 3 days ago. I have it set to 84 but it's sitting at 78. Nothing has happened... still.

What the heck am I doing wrong? Nobody I know in the Buffalo, NY area has a tank so I can't get used media. My API test kit isn't expired and my ammonia testing bottles are almost empty. My tank still has the fish flakes chilling at the bottom. Argh. Advice, please!

 

[Abed el Rahman]

Remember, a low pH can prevent your tank from cycling, so you have to watch out for that. If the pH is indeed too low, then try to balance it to around 7.5; that should work.

 

[rumsey232]

Hey!

So I would recommend following these guides:
Fishless Cycling - How to Start - A detailed guide from DrTim's Aquatics
A Quick Guide to Fishless Cycling | DrTim's Aquatics
http://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/recipes/DrTims_Fishless_Cycling_Recipe_27Mar15.pdf

if you're like me and live in the uk... replace the dr tims ammonia solution with the pure ammonia you mentioned in your post, and replace the start up solution with tetera safestart.

Tetra/Dr Tims were once the same company so the products are basically the same.

I cycled my 175 litre tank with what I think is my strongest ever bio filter in 14-16 days.

I kept the temp at around 25 degrees c; added all the plants (despite some being a bit erked by the high ammonia) and kept the air stones on for the entire process. Only had to do partial water changes towards the final stages when the nitrite o nitrate bacteria was forming to keep them at a respectable level. From what I can gather the ideal maximum ppm of either ammonia or nitrites is 2-3 ppm. Once it reaches 5 it starts counteracting your startup bacteria.

I hope this helps. The three links provided were like my bible during the process and having the day to day boxes to fill in really helped soothe my worries about progress. It may be frustrating but starting again may yield better results! Do a massive water change, then use the startup solution and does ammonia to an initial 3ppm. Follow the day to day chart and you should be good within a couple of weeks; I promise

(Obviously only do this if there is no occupants in the tank!)

 

[Biev]

The reason nothing is happening is that you didn't add any bacteria to start with. Tetra SafeStart would be your best bet, as @rumsey232 suggested. Since you've already gotten the ammonia to the right level to get started, adding TSS will take care of the rest. Don't add Prime right away, as it interferes with the product, according to the company. Just add the bacteria, keep the filter running, and wait for them to do their job : )