Trouble Re-Establishing Cycle

Hey all,

I recently moved my T. Dobrogicus into a larger tank and removed some problematic substrate that was collecting impossible to reach bits of food. Unfortunately, two days later my filter broke and I had to buy a different one. I tried transferring the (ill fitting) filter media, but with all these things going on my cycle crashed.

It's been nearly a month now, and there hasn't been a speck of either nitrites or nitrates. I've been monitoring the water levels daily and have had to change the water far more often than I would like in order to keep ammonia levels low. I'm worried these frequent water changes are contributing to the lack of nitrites.

I'm looking for any advice y'all can give on how to get through this process as painlessly (for the newts) as possible. I have hornwort, java fern, marimo moss balls, amazon sword, and hygrophila lancea in my tank. It's bare bottom for the time being, so I'm able to suction out anything at the bottom.

I still have my old 29 gal tank, so if all else fails I can keep my newts in there while my 40 gal cycles. Alternatively, has anyone tried starting a cycle in a different aquarium, then transferring the filter media/misc solid surfaces to an uncycled aquarium? I know it's probably a stupid question, but I live in a very tiny apartment so it would be much easier if I could just set up a tank in my closet to cycle, and it may avoid putting additional stress on the newts.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi!
If your 29 is well established and working, why not take some bottom media or some decoration from there (a floating cork or something) and put it into the 40 gal and let the good bacteria come that way. I remember that should help you! It's been a while, though, since I've changed any tanks so there might be other ways too, to get the cycling forward. Good luck!