Cycle stuck on nitrite part

[sliemm]

I've been setting up a new tank for months now, and the cycle seems to be stuck on the nitrite part. I thought the process would be much quicker than this.

I've been putting a large dead prawn in a 125L tank as an ammonia source (I live in Australian and cannot get pure ammonia anywhere - it's banned). I've also been putting in a seeding bacteria called Aquasonic Bio-Aid super concentrated probiotic bacteria, recommended by my local aquarium and which I keep in the fridge.

The ammonia levels took a while to go down, but now I have them at 0. That happened about six weeks ago. I expected the nitrite to go down pretty quickly, but it's been about six weeks and they are just not going down at all - they are stuck on 5ppm. In addition the nitrates are stuck on 80ppm.

I am doing weekly water changes of about 20%. When I put that new water in, I put some Prime in there, as Sydney water is very chlorinated.

When the prawn gets a bit manky I change it for a new one.

What am I doing wrong here? The cycle is just stuck and I have no idea where to go from here. I was expecting to be able to buy axies to put in the tank ages ago, and it's a real drag having an empty tank for almost 3 months!

 

[tammyaxie]

You could start out by doing larger water changes more frequently. I really don't know about adding decay to your tank.

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[Autumncrossing]

I agree try more water changes , daily if needed. Are your nitrites 5 ppm or higher, are you just guessing because the test only goes up to 5 ppm? Possibly could be quite higher. Maybe take out the dead animals and try something like adding a pinch of fish flakes everyday instead... Or get some white cloud minnows, guppies or hardy fish and keep up with water changes to maintain a healthy tank and get it cycling.


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[keiko]

Do not get fish just to cycle your tank, a. it's cruel to the fish too to keep them in bad water and b. then you need to find somewhere to put the fish after the tank is cycled.

I would do a huge water change to bring the nitrite and nitrate levels down and see how it goes after that.

 

[Autumncrossing]

It's not cruel if you check the water quality daily and do proper water changes to keep things in check. It does however take longer but it seems like the OP has been trying to cycle for months already. White cloud minnows are generally fine to keep with salamanders I have some with my newts they are too quick for the newts to catch and the babies make tasty snacks. You'd have to double check to find out more about their compatibility with axolotls. The OP is tired of seeing an empty tank, the minnow fry will make good snacks, and having something living in there will be an incentive to keep good tabs on water quality and develop habits before they adopt an axolotl. Replace white cloud minnows with ghost shrimp if you desire.
Win win situation in my opinion.


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[sliemm]

Thanks guys. I will try frequent water changes and see if that improves things.

 

[keiko]

It's not cruel if you check the water quality daily and do proper water changes to keep things in check.

If they're going to keep the water parameters in check then why not just get the axolotl they want instead of some fish...

 

[Icyriah]

If they're going to keep the water parameters in check then why not just get the axolotl they want instead of some fish...

Because axolotls are very sensitive to water quality, unlike some breeds of fish that are very hardy and forgiving when it comes to water quality. Not to mention axolotls are extremely messy, which is why you cycle the tank beforehand to ensure it can do its job.

 

[ChristineB]

How is the cycle going? Guppies and platies (in my experience, especially platies) are not bothered by low-level ammonia of 1 or 2 ppm, and it sounds like your levels are below that. People describe ammonia burns for axolotls and it sounds awful, but the fish species suggested for cycling don't go through anything near that unless you were terribly over-stocked and never changing water. Their skin and gills are different. Axies seem like the aquatic version of the canary in the coal mine . . . with hardy fish like happy sewer rats or something. ;-)