changing water in tank

[eugene]

hi, how do you know if the tank has been cycled properly? wat are the acceptable levels of amonia and nitrate in the tank? and once the tank has been cycled. that means i cannot wash the gravel in the tank? if a suction tube was used to draw the water and any visibly seen fish poo on the gravel, what about those then got trapped in the gravel? if i cannot wash the gravel thoroughly, won't the fish poo accumulate over time?

 

[andyt_uk]

hi there, as i understand it levels should be like this
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate = you can have a little mine is around 10 mg/l (or whatever the unit of measurement was on my test kit)
hardness can vary and there are 2 types but both should read somewhere less than 10 i think
pH also will vary and can affect different fish, mine is just sligthly acidic/neutral at 6-7

as for cleaning yes you can continue to clean with a suction vac to remove large debris from the bottom - wouldnt disturb your gravel too much though any poo trapped down there will eventually be broken down by the nice bacteria you have just grown

 

[mrV]

and once the tank has been cycled.

If bacteria don't get anything to eat, they die and you need to cycle the tank again.

that means i cannot wash the gravel in the tank?

Why would you like to wash it?

If you have gravel on bottom, you need to vacuum it at times - otherwise bottom may become blocked.

 

[Moe]

Just vacuum the gravel about one half inch down. A lot of your good bacteria live in the gravel if you vacuum too often or go too deep you will disturb the bacteria and create a bacteria boom. Don't worry about the stuff you don't get up.