Is something wrong with my cycle?

[LinkLover]

So I have been trying to cycle my tank for nineteen days now. I have a ten gallon with a filter, one betta, and a moss ball. Every time the ammonia reads .25 ppm I do a 50% change. There are only two days I have not tested the water, so I am very on top of the readings. I test ammonia every day, and am increasing nitrite tests to every day, since I know that is what is supposed to spike next. But, I have NEVER had a nitrite reading, it's always been 0. So is my cycle just taking a long time, or is something wrong?

[sandinourshorts]

I'm also dealing with a fish-in cycle in progress. Be patient. Took 3 or 4 weeks for nitrItes to appear in my tank. In fact they showed up about a day or two after I got frustrated a posted a similar question to yours on this forum.

Now I am waiting for the nitrites to begin to drop which is seeming to take forever as well. I'm getting a little bit tired of the 50% daily changes to keep the nitrite levels low enough for my comfort (and of course the fish) but it's the path I'm on now.

I'm a rookie at this so can't answer advanced questions but a couple of weeks ago I was where you are at now. I think the cycle just progresses slower because we are not allowing the ammonia and nitrite levels to go wild.

Good luck

[LinkLover]

WHEW! That makes me feel much better. I don't mind how long it takes, I just wanted to make sure it was on the right track (although the water changes do get tiring). So I'm guessing pretty soon I'll start seeing some nitrites, and someday my cycle would be complete. Haha. Thank you so much, that really helped!

[jaela]

Sometimes these things take a lot of time. You might want to test nitrates too, just in case you missed the nitrite spike, but more than likely it's just taking a while. If you can get gravel, filter media, a decoration, or a plant from an already-cycled tank, you might be able to speed up the process with it. If you have friends who keep fish or a pet shop with nice people in the fish department, they might be able to help you. Just make sure what they give you stays wet and gets transported quickly so the good bacteria stay alive. =]
If that's not possible, patience is key. You might try a little bit of very finely crushed-up food, too -- I mean basically turned into a powder. If your fish doesn't eat it all, the phosphates will help with the cycle.
Good luck!

[LinkLover]

Ok I'll start testing those too. Unfortunately, I don't have any friends or anything with a tank, so I just have to wait it out. But it's definitely good to know that it takes a while sometimes, so I know it's not just me!