Has my cycle crashed?

[jessicaanne]

I reeeeeeeeeally don't like having to post because I just feel silly with all my questions but here I go..

I've been cycling my tank since the 7th of April (although it probably wasn't cycling PROPERLY until a few weeks later due to my lack of knowledge) and I'm still not seeing anything other than Ammonia so I'm coming to the conclusion that my cycle has crashed If it has crashed, does this mean that I pretty much have to start a fresh cycle? I've tried to be patient but it's just so frustrating and I'm certain that it shouldn't take this long

I test my levels every day and change the water when it goes above .50 which is generally every 3-4 days. I added ceramic noodles to my filter last week to hopefully aid with the cycle.

 

[Jacquie]

Cycling can be very frustrating.

Are you doing a fishless cycle, or cycling with axolotls?

Cycling can take any time from one to three months to complete. It does sound like something is slowing it down, though.

Do you have any plants in the tank at all? Plants can slow a cycle right down as they are feeding upon the same food sources that the bacteria needs, and will be competing for the food and consuming it all, before the bacteria can even develop.

The good news is, if you have an ammonia reading, there is no need to start again, as the ammonia is the first step anyway. (You can throw a bucket of water at me if you like. )

Ceramic noodles are a great help, but they really come into play later on in the cycling process when the bacteria starts to colonize on the tank surfaces. They provide more surface areas for bacteria to colonize, the more surfaces there are, the more bacteria you will have, the more bacteria you have, the more efficient the cycle will be.

Hang in there!

 

[jessicaanne]

Thanks for replying :happy:
Yeah something IS slowing it down but I have no idea what could be causing it. I'm doing my cycle with an axolotl in there because I literally had no other choice so I feel horrible for doing so There are no live plants in there, my tank basically consists of; a sponge filter with obviously the sponge and I have recently replaced zeocarb with the noodles, a faux timber hide, sand substrate, there were two fake plants but I took one out because there was so much gunk hiding in it (mouldy food, poop etc) and I also have an air stone. I'm worried that perhaps I'm not dosing my water dechlorinator properly and this could be leading to the bacteria being killed I'm just so confused and I'll definitely be happy the day that I see nitrites!