Water change with no cycle?

stevedsona

stevedsona

Member
So I am realy being tested here.......
I have had my Tank up and running for about 13 weeks and have yet to cycle. What is wrong here.
I have a 29 g tnak with:
35 lbs of live sand wich was added at start up
35 lbs LR added at start up
My Amonia has been arround .2-.5 the whole time.
No Rites Or Rates ever.
I was testing everyday and now just every 2nd day or so it seamed like a wast of cash to keep testing every day.
Do top offs every other night or so with about 1/2 gal of RO
My tank looks nasty right now. There is all sorts of algea growing all over the place(on the glass and in the sand).
So my question is should I clean my tank or not?
Why no cycle?
And HOW MUCH LONGER!!!!!!!!
Any help would be great
 
mbrands

mbrands

Member
What test kit are you using? Some are known to give a false-positive reading for ammonia.
After 13 weeks I'd think you would test for some nitrates. If it weren't for that I'd say your tank didn't really go through a typical cycle due to the amount of LR.
 
stevedsona

stevedsona

Member
I dont recall off the top of my head what kit i am using.
But wouldnt I at least have some Nitrates if the tank was established?
Can you recomend a good test kit.....
What should I do for now? Just keep waiting i am sure..
 
gfk

gfk

Member
call around to the local fish stores and see if any of them test water for free. i know one locally to me does. they probably use the best test kits available that you couldnt afford yourself.
 
stevedsona

stevedsona

Member
My LFS tested the water last week and has the same results as i do. I do understand that a cycle can take as much as 16-18 weeks. But its been such a long time.
I just dont know what to do.
The only diff was ph I show 8.2 LFS 8.1
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Pretend you have a pair of Clownfish in your tank and feed your pretend fish with real food. Just a pinch a day. If ammonia climbs over 0.5ppm then you're feeding too much. Your tank will be ready for a small fish in a week if you do this.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by stevedsona
I have been fake feeding for the past 3 weeks...
Really... OK I need to rethink... I have never encountered that.
No, a tank doesn't have to have detectable amounts of Nitrate but Nitrate is one of those things that doesn't just go away, it needs to be exported.
How much circulation does this tank have?
Bang <--- baffled
 
dmc888

dmc888

Member
I think it might have cycled already.
Probably a while ago.
Considering you did use live rock and ls.
Although the nitrate would definitely be there..
The algea would help absorb the nitrates but i don't think you would have enough to absorb it all.
Is there any macroalgea in there (large plant algea).
 
stevedsona

stevedsona

Member
Not so large but i do have growth on my LR. About 6 or so growths about 2 to 3 inches long of what looks like plants.
 
dmc888

dmc888

Member
If it looks like anything like a plant its macro.
There is microalgea(small algea) such as common green and brown algea.
Then there are macroalgea(large algea) which you can see leaves and such.
Macro is much better . The more macro the less micro you will have.
Both feed off of phosphate and nitrates.
Could be possible you have enough to absorb most of your nitrates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top