3 days into a cycle

[rodeo-clown]

I'm currently 3 days into a cycle with a 90 litre (23 gallon) tank.

Day 1: No plants yet. PH was at 8. Ammonia was high. Didn't have a nitrate and nitrite tester. I did however add two types of water conditioners provided by the LFS and also added JBL FilterStart to the filter

Day 2: Added 5 drops of ammonia. Didn't do any checks

Day 3: Ammonia is 0.5-1.0. Nitrite is 0. Nitrate is 0. Added two plants to the tank.

Now, is there something wrong here, or does it seem like the water is in fairly good condition to accommodate fish. *confused*

 

[breezer40]

You have a long way to go yet before that tank will be cycled. It takes around a month and during that time you will see ammonia and nitrite spikes and eventually nitrates will apear which will never be 0 ..not even in a cycled tank.

 

[StarOrbs]

If you are doing a fishless cycling it can take anywhere from 2-5 weeks depending on the ammonia concentration you have. Here is some more information... http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=73365 Personally it took me 19 days but I ended it a few days early so I would guess around 25 days would be a good average time that it takes.