Entering Month Two of Cycling Tank...

[Looodle]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on Caudata but I’ve been lurking for awhile. I’m currently in the process of fishless cycling a 20 gallon long tank for two axolotls (that I have not purchased yet) and I’m at my wits end trying to get this tank to cycle.

I purchased some Tetra Safe Start Plus a little over a week ago, and I’m now showing low levels of Nitrate (5-10ppm) but I’m also still showing WAY too much ammonia (2ppm down from previous levels of 4ppm). Initially I thought that the SafeStart had solved my problems, as the ammonia levels did decrease a little, but they seem to be stalling again. I have never seen any Nitrite in my tank, even after testing daily (after administering the SafeStart). My ph is somewhere around 7.4-7.6. Water temperature is around 67-70 degrees. Whenever I’m adding water I make sure to add a tiny bit of API Tap Water Conditioner. What am I doing wrong? Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[Wyvell]

What kind of Filter are you using? It can take quite a long time for the cycle to become fully established, while sometimes frustrating, there are not a lot of shortcuts you can take. Are you adding ammonia or using fish food as a source of ammonia?
There are a few things you can do to speed it up by a bit. You can purchase products like Quickstart that has the Nitrifying bacteria in it already or you can buy the bio blocks that are full of bacteria to give your tank a jump start too.
The size of your tank is also a major factor. Large tanks can take longer to cycle.

 

[Looodle]

What kind of Filter are you using? It can take quite a long time for the cycle to become fully established, while sometimes frustrating, there are not a lot of shortcuts you can take. Are you adding ammonia or using fish food as a source of ammonia?
There are a few things you can do to speed it up by a bit. You can purchase products like Quickstart that has the Nitrifying bacteria in it already or you can buy the bio blocks that are full of bacteria to give your tank a jump start too.
The size of your tank is also a major factor. Large tanks can take longer to cycle.

Thanks for the reply! The filter I’m using is an Aqua Clear 30 Power Filter (link). I used a tiny bit of Fritz’s Aquatics Ammonium as my Ammonia source, enough to originally bring my levels up to 5PPM of Ammonia.