Cycling Question

[t..j]

hi everybody,
i have a 35 gal tank which has been up and running for about 2 weeks now.i'm doing a fishy cycle with my 5 zebra danios.i keep a check on my ammonia and nitrite levels as i have a test kit.last week my levels on both of these were very high so i have been doing 25% water changes,were as over the past 2 days they are now down to 0.from what i have read and been told a fishy cycle can take up to about 3 months.is this normal

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
p.h 7.5

my fish seem very happy and playful
thanks for any advice given

 

[dwarfgourami]

Seems like the tank is now cycled, at least for these 5 fish. Well done for keeping it all under control! If this level stays stable, you will then be able to add a few more fish- and so on.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Id leave it another week just to make sure your bacteria levels have stablised. You can then be sure you have enough of all the different bacteria types to deal comfortably with 5 fish. Obviously once you add another 4 - 5 you increase the waste produced and you'll go through raised ammonia and nitrite levels again. When this happens just do what you have been doing. 25% ish water changes every other day until the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria have increased enough to deal with the waste. It is a slow process as youve found and does expose fish to ammonia and nitrite fairly frequently which is not great for the weaker ones or for their long term health. Id highly recommend fishless cycling with ammonia and media from an existing tank next time.

 

[sussexgirl]

Jonesy - sorry to but in on someone else's post but you seem to be the cycling 'know how' on here and I have a question. If I was to set up a 28L tank for my platy fry (that are 2 days old and currently in a breeder net in my main tank) then do I need to cycle it first or can I just use gravel from my existing tank and water and just transfer them in? Thanks and sorry again for butting in on this post!

 

[t..j]

thanks your comments and views are greatly appreciated.thought it might of cycled but then again i wasn't sure with me being new at this.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Jonesy - sorry to but in on someone else's post but you seem to be the cycling 'know how' on here and I have a question. If I was to set up a 28L tank for my platy fry (that are 2 days old and currently in a breeder net in my main tank) then do I need to cycle it first or can I just use gravel from my existing tank and water and just transfer them in? Thanks and sorry again for butting in on this post!

Fry are gonna be very sensitive to water conditions and gravel / water contain hardly any beneficial bacteria unless the gravel is from an under gravel filter where the bacteria are encouraged to grow in the gravel itself rather than in filter media and sponges. Saying that, adding the gravel will help to a certain extent and mature water will do little harm either (unless you suspect some sort of infection in your main tank). I presume you are planning on running some sort of small filtration system in your fry tank. As long as you can prevent fry from being sucked up, tights stretched over filter intake may work, havnt done this myself though. Really this filter needs to be run alongside your filter from your main tank for a few days. You also need to add some sponge (or media if appropriate) to your fry tank filter from your main tank filter whilst you do this. This will really help to establish bacterial growth.

Then it'll be ready for use in your fry tank.

Good Luck

 

[zodiac]

hi everybody,
i have a 35 gal tank which has been up and running for about 2 weeks now.i'm doing a fishy cycle with my 5 zebra danios.i keep a check on my ammonia and nitrite levels as i have a test kit.last week my levels on both of these were very high so i have been doing 25% water changes,were as over the past 2 days they are now down to 0.from what i have read and been told a fishy cycle can take up to about 3 months.is this normal

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
p.h 7.5

my fish seem very happy and playful
thanks for any advice given

Just wondering IF this tank has cycled does that mean its quicker with fish than without? i have been fishless cycling my 20g tank for over 4 weeks using amonia it now drops from 4ppm to nothing in twelve to twenty four hours and has been doing so for well over a week i have nitrIte over 5ppm(the highest on the API test card) and no nitrAte so maybe another week or two or three to go sorry to go off the point but is fishy cycling the quicker route

 

[mark.w.jones]

I reckon youre about a week or so from finishing. Cycling without fish feels like it takes forever because you end up looking at an empty tank for a month. HOWEVER. After you finish fishless cycling you can fully stock your tank 100% from day 1. Cycling with fish means you have fish in your tank from the beginning but you can only add about 4 - 5 at a time and have to leave them a few weeks (until enough bacteria grow) before you can add any more. You also have to water change more often as you are more likely to get ammonia and nitrite spikes. It can take months to reach a fully stocked tank and your fish have almost certainly been exposed to ammonia and nitrite which is really not good for them.