my tanks been cycling

[ams153]

my tank has been cycling for over a month now and my ammonia went up the day after my tank was filled and its been at a steady .50 for the entire time (close to 5 weeks!) what could cause the ammonia to remain so high for so long? what could i do to get the ammonia to go down? i really dont think it's gonna go down any time soon!!!!!!!!

 

[ophiura]

What are all your water parameters, including pH and alkalinity?
Are these tests also the same when you get them at the LFS, or is it only your test kit that you've tried? What test kits do you use.
What filtration do you have...do you have Live Rock?

 

[ams153]

ive never gotten tests at the LFS before but if you think itd be smart then ill defintely do that the other parameters as of a couple days ago were zero but ill test those and get back to you and im using the saltwater master liquid test kit byt aquarium pharmaceuticals and im not using live rock as it is an aggressive tank and i can never find the big pieces of live rock i want, im using Lace rock that i got from my LFS.. which ive used in a previous tank with no problems, but could it cause my ammonia to be so high!?

 

[ophiura]

It can happen if your cycle stalls, which is why pH and factors contributing to pH can be an issue. So definitely get everything tested at the LFS to ensure it is not just the test kitsl.
What other type of filtration are you using...a wet/dry? What circulation do you have in the tank?
What is your ammonia source - raw shrimp, damsels, etc???

 

[ams153]

the tank had a wet/dry filter that i had made with an in sump protein skimmer on it but right now my friend is using it to take care of my shark in his tank b/c he didnt have enough filtration and the reason i had to buy this tank is cuz my first one cracked.. but anyways all it has right now is an HOB protein skimmer and an HOB filter both are only rated for up to 100 gallons and the tank is around 220 it also has a power head. The ammonia source was just a piece of fish food, and with the parameters nitrite and nitrate were both 0 and PH was hard to tell b/c the lighting is bad right now but it seemed to be a little high.. my biggest worry for the cycle needing to end is i have a friend keeping my shark in a 75 and my eel and lionfish are currently in a 29 as it was the best i could do when i realized my other tank had broken, so all my fish are being kept in much to small of tanks!

 

[ams153]

my wet dry also used the nano balls which im not sure if it makes a difference or not but the LFS said that the makers claim the nano balls dont cause the same probs that the larger ones do.. im not sure if thats tru or not though!?

 

[ams153]

oh and alkalinity is 1.025 lol i think thats everything now! :thinking:

 

[ophiura]

Well, you've got a problem here.
You need to seriously boost up your circulation and filtration, IMO, to get this thing going. I think even if the tank cycled, you would be in trouble adding any fish. I think at the very least you need to add some cannisters or at least 2 additional over the back filters. But those filters, IMO, are simply not capable of filtering a 200+g tank. And you need several powerheads.

 

[ams153]

yea my main problem i was having was i had to set my friends tank up when my tank crack i brought down the water, powerheads, filtration, sand, protein skimmer, lights, and EVERYTHING else from my old tank to get his going so i had to go out and buy a few extra things for this tank to get it running.. idk maybe il buy another HOB for the 75 my shark is in and take the wet/dry and protein skimmer back, i believe both the wet/dry and protein skimmer are ok for around a 400 gallon tank size.. and i can take one of the power heads out of the 75 also, and even some of the live rock thats in there.. do you think thatd be an ok start to getting my tank up and running?

 

[ams153]

oh and instead of using a return pump for my wet/dry im using a canister filter rated for a 100 gallon tank witht he part that brings water in in the wet/dry sump and the other part in the tank, so thatll be added also!