Cycling

[Daniel1]

i ve been cycling my 5 gallons tank for 2 weeks and these are the readings
ammonia .25
nitrate 20
nitrite 1.0
when im fully cycled im planning on buying a betta...i really like this type of fish.......i havent done any water change...i have two real plants...gravel...everyday i add some flakes....i have a fluval 1 plus and a heater.....i was wondering how long do i have to wait so that i can buy my betta.........on monday my readings seemed to be better.....ammonia 0 nitrate 0 nitrite .5...is this normal?...can the ammonia go up and then go down?....
suggestions are welcomed
Daniel

 

[Bullrock74]

i ve been cycling my 5 gallons tank for 2 weeks and these are the readings
ammonia .25
nitrate 20
nitrite 1.0
when im fully cycled im planning on buying a betta...i really like this type of fish.......i havent done any water change...i have two real plants...gravel...everyday i add some flakes....i have a fluval 1 plus and a heater.....i was wondering how long do i have to wait so that i can buy my betta.........on monday my readings seemed to be better.....ammonia 0 nitrate 0 nitrite .5...is this normal?...can the ammonia go up and then go down?....
suggestions are welcomed
Daniel

Since you didn't give the full history of your water test results, we can only guess as to where in the cycle you are.

Yes, ammonia level will rise and then fall to zero. While ammonia is falling towards zero, nitrites will rise. When nitrites get to zero and ammonia is still zero, the cycle is complete.

 

[Egmel]

Yes, ammonia level will rise and then fall to zero. While ammonia is falling towards zero, nitrites will rise. When nitrites get to zero and ammonia is still zero, the cycle is complete.

Don't forget to add more flakes when you get to zero ammonia else the good bacteria you've bred will die of starvation. you should be aiming for them to be able to process 5ppm of ammonia in 12 hours, basically when you add a large dose of flakes in the evening and the next morning you have 0 Ammonia and NitrItes. Your nitrates will get higher and higher, you get rid of these with water changes.

However I'm sure you know this already as you sound like you've read the fishless cycling thread

Because you are using fish food as your ammonia source you're likely to get fluctuations in your readings as you can't be sure how much ammonia you're adding each day.

Good luck