Tank Cycling problem

[Mariachi]

Hi All,

I've just sent up a new 3 foot tank (4 days ago) with loads of plants.
No fish yet. I have been 'feeding" the tank with some food and the
stuff is going all nice and furry as uneaten food does.

Ammonia has measureed at Zero from the beginning (I am guessing the
plants)
Nitrite is stuck on 0.5ppm. I have seeded this tank with old carbvon
from a cycled tank but that did not change it.

Nitrate close to tap water levels.

I was just wondering if there's anything else I can do the help speed
up the process? Should i "feed" it more? I was thinking of using some
gravel from the cycled tank to see if it helps.

Also should I try adding fish and let it cycle with a few fish swimming
around?

Thanks in advance.

[carlrs]

Mariachi wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I've just sent up a new 3 foot tank (4 days ago) with loads of plants.
> No fish yet. I have been 'feeding" the tank with some food and the
> stuff is going all nice and furry as uneaten food does.
>
> Ammonia has measureed at Zero from the beginning (I am guessing the
> plants)
> Nitrite is stuck on 0.5ppm. I have seeded this tank with old carbvon
> from a cycled tank but that did not change it.
>
> Nitrate close to tap water levels.
>
> I was just wondering if there's anything else I can do the help speed
> up the process? Should i "feed" it more? I was thinking of using some
> gravel from the cycled tank to see if it helps.
>
> Also should I try adding fish and let it cycle with a few fish swimming
> around?
>
> Thanks in advance.

Did you add the carbon to a filter and what kind of filter? I prefer
the media exchange method that you are doing. Some gravel from the top
layer of substrate and filter fiber or sponge media also helps too. You
need to add a fish or two or add small amounts of fish food to keep
these bacterial colonies growing.
As to the plants, they can remove nitrogenous waste, not allowing these
wastes to go thruough the nitrogen cycle, I generally wait to fully
plant my aquariums until the tanks is cycled, usually about 2-3 weeks
using the media exchange method.

More nitrogen cycle info:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

Carl

[NetMax]

"Mariachi" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi All,
>
> I've just sent up a new 3 foot tank (4 days ago) with loads of plants.
> No fish yet. I have been 'feeding" the tank with some food and the
> stuff is going all nice and furry as uneaten food does.
>
> Ammonia has measureed at Zero from the beginning (I am guessing the
> plants)
> Nitrite is stuck on 0.5ppm. I have seeded this tank with old carbvon
> from a cycled tank but that did not change it.
>
> Nitrate close to tap water levels.
>
> I was just wondering if there's anything else I can do the help speed
> up the process? Should i "feed" it more? I was thinking of using some
> gravel from the cycled tank to see if it helps.
>
> Also should I try adding fish and let it cycle with a few fish swimming
> around?
>
> Thanks in advance.

Loads of plants, no fish and rotting uneaten food, I think you're mostly
just generating plant food in the form of ammonia, which is fine as your
plants can be a significant portion of your waste processing system (which
is 100% bacteria in non-planted tanks). You're undoubtedly seeding your
filter media with a culture if nitrifying bacteria, but the quantity and its
effectiveness would be hard to determine. I would continue as you're doing
for 2 or 3 more weeks, and whatever bacteria grew (scavenging what the
plants missed) would mostly be established. Even now, if you wanted to add
a small fish load - if your plants are growing (and it sounds like they
would easily outnumber your fish), then you would probably not see any
nitrogen products (NH3/4, NO2) to be worried about.

Speeding up the process is using mature filter media and some established
gravel (these 2 supply a wide range of different bacteria) or bacteria
starter (Biospira is reputed to work well), but with a large thriving plant
load, most, some or all of the job (imo) is already done.
--
http://www.netmax.tk
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium

[Ben Dover]

Mariachi wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I've just sent up a new 3 foot tank (4 days ago) with loads of plants.
> No fish yet. I have been 'feeding" the tank with some food and the
> stuff is going all nice and furry as uneaten food does.
>
> Ammonia has measureed at Zero from the beginning (I am guessing the
> plants)
> Nitrite is stuck on 0.5ppm. I have seeded this tank with old carbvon
> from a cycled tank but that did not change it.
>
> Nitrate close to tap water levels.
>
> I was just wondering if there's anything else I can do the help speed
> up the process? Should i "feed" it more? I was thinking of using some
> gravel from the cycled tank to see if it helps.
>
> Also should I try adding fish and let it cycle with a few fish swimming
> around?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
I would recommend putting a couple hardy fish in there like feeder
goldfish or livebearers for a few days. This allows beneficial bacteria
to grow faster. It will make a big difference in the long run. Good Luck!
Ben

[Mariachi]

Hi All,

Well since I posted the messsage 2 nights a go the Nitrite has finially
started to drp from .5 to .25ppm. (this is basically after I put in
half a handful of seeded gravel). I am going to get some fish tonight
(and more plants) but it looks like things are on their way!!

Thanks!