You all are very tired of hearing from me on this topic, but my tank is still not cycled.

It has been set up for 10 weeks -- 11 on Sunday. I got over the ammonia hump very quick and easy, but try as I might, I CANNOT get rid of the 1.0 ppm nitrite that I've had for like 7 or 8 weeks.
Here are the details (if you don't already know them by heart):

• 75 gallon tank. (Before I thought it was 55 gallons because it was mis-labeled at the LFS. Now I know from measurements that it is 75 gallons. Lucky me! I got a deal!)
• Emperor 400, Aqueon 325, and Rena Filstar xP2 filters (for a total of 1025 gph). The canister filter was just added about a week ago and is completely full of Seachem Matrix biomedia. The HOB filters have been there all along. Every spare millimeter in them is crammed with extra sponge, floss, and biomedia.
• Currently 4 goldfish (used to be 5, but Cricket died over the weekend) and 1 bristlenose pleco.
• Fish are fed lightly once a day with one fast day per week.
• I am in week two of treatment with Prazi.
• Tank is salted to 0.1%
• KH between 300-350(!) and GH also quite high. pH 8.2-8.4. Temp 78. No ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate in the tap water.
• 75% water changes every 72 hours with gravel vac. Days in between AmQuel+ added to keep nitrite below 1.0 ppm.
• Nitrate between 5.0 and 10.0, depending on how many days since last water change.
• I have developed a complicated method for aging and treating water for temperature-matched water changes (the water out of the tap is 90 degrees). I have a 50 gal trash can in the shower of an unused guest bathroom, which I fill with water using my Python and treat with NovAqua. Then the water sits for 24-48 hours. I remove water from the tank using the Python, then replace water from the trashcan using a water pump submerged in the trashcan with 50 ft of attached vinyl tubing.
• Test kit is API drops. I have even bought a new nitrite test, but it gives me the same results.

Does anyone have ANY idea why my nitrites just aren't coming down? Everything I have read says that a tank should take 8 weeks max to cycle. I am going to be out of town the second week of July and have to have the tank cycled by then because I won't have anyone to do water changes or add chemicals while I am gone.

Thanks for any advice!

BTW -- the UV sterilizer is turned off. I am waiting until the tank is cycled to start using this new toy.

Hi,

I am so sorry you are having so much trouble.

It took me 12 weeks to cycle my new tank, as with you it was driving me mad!!!!!

I do hope it sorts it's self out soon for you!

Sorry I can only really give you sympathy.

I just kept testing every day, then doing small water changes to reduce stress.

Good luck!

Just wanted to post back to say:
IT HAS BEEN FOUR DAYS SINCE MY LAST WATER CHANGE AND THIS MORNING MY NITRITES ARE ZERO!!!



This really happened all at once -- two days when I started this thread ago my nitrites were 1.0. Yesterday they were 0.25. Today they are gone! Oh joy! I was beginning to think that this was never going to happen.

What am I going to do with all my spare time, since I am not having to do humongous water changes every day or two?

Well, it didn't take me long to figure this out. My husband has been wanting some clown fish, so yesterday we went out and bought live sand and rock and set up the empty 20 gallon with salt water. This morning the ammonia in there is 1.0, so here we go again! This time I am doing a fish-less cycle (with die-off from my live rock as my source of ammonia), so I won't be having to do all the water changes and constantly worrying about my fish.

Haha, funny, I actually skipped nitrites....

Hooray!!!! Congrats on cycling!!!! What a huge relief... and now you've got yourself into it all over again...