Still struggling to get tank cycled after more than two months

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On 2006-05-09, ClownPleco wrote:
I live in Madison, WI and can sympathize with your rock hard water. A
10 gal tank is pretty small for most African cichlids, but they thrive
in my 54 gal corner tank. You might post a few questions to:

http://www.cichlidforum.com/

asking what species would work for a 10 gal tank.

What type of filtration are you using? The benefical bacteria will
grow in your gravel and on your ornaments, but they will be abundant in
a good sponge filter or bio wheel. I had a 2 gal tank with a UGF and
it took quite a while to cycle - eventually the LFS squeezed the
contents of one of his filters into a bag for me and I finally got the
bugger cycled.


A Whisper Bio-Filter. The readings today we ammonia between 1 - 2
ppm, nitrite approaching 0.5 ppm and nitrate approaching 10 ppm. So the
nitrite and nitrate do seem to be climbing whereas the ammonia is
definitely not spiking. Just seems to be taking an awful long time.

I fed the fish and then did a 25% water change.

Cheers,

Fred
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--
"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after."
--Alphonse Allais

Fred wrote,
Just seems to be taking an awful long time...
I fed the fish and then did a 25% water change...

Sounds like what is called 'a never ending cycle'. Happens (sometimes)
with a fishless cycle when ammonia is added everyday (feeding the
filter). Stop adding ammonia every day (stop feeding the fish). Your
nitrites should drop to 0 and end the cycle within a week to 10
days.............. Frank