So it has been 4 weeks since I added my ammonia and nothing :(

Today I got some water with filter squeezings from a colleague who collected it last night. She kept the bag if water open near a heat source so hopefully that was enough to keep at least a few bacteria alive long enough to start to colonise in my tank.

I checked the water that I got from her. 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite with a relatively high nitrate level. My tank is barely registering the now diluted nitrate but hopefully the filter will start to colonise now.

Hoping this will kick start me off, starting to lose hope after setting the tank up before Christmas initially...

Best wishes,
Iain.

Ask your friend to give you a bit of sponge from her filter. Put it inside your own filter and you'll be away.

I might manage to get some. However, my filter now seems to be clogged...the 'waterfall' is now a dribble. I shall need to investigate.

And check ammonia/nitrites when I get home!

Do clean the filter out by rinsing in water taken from the tank. If it's clogged that can stop the bacteria from working as they need flowing water and oxygen to function.

Will do FL. I hope that it helps. Heading home soon from work so will update accordingly. Long overdue coffee coming your way!

Don't worry you'll get there in the end Many thanks for coffee - much appreciated.

Sometimes the impeller gets clogged - might be worth giving it and the impeller well an extra clean with a cotton bud if you haven't done that already. :)

So I have finally got round to working at the tank this evening. No shift in ammonia and no shift in nitrite. Sigh.

The water level was slightly under that of the minimum line so I think that was partially responsible for the dribble. I have removed the carbon filter and just kept the regular sponge filter (which I washed in tank water).

The filter 'waterfall' is not really disrupting the water at all after adding more water. It is very weak. I am thinking of getting an air pump with an air bubble strip and putting it at the back of the aquarium to get some extra oxygen in and water movement going.

What level of ammonia do you have in the tank?

3ppm - it hasn't decreased since I added it 4 weeks ago. I will need to add a wee bit more tonight after adding an addition 4L of water to help the filter water level.