Fish-In Cycle

[chigwellhammer]

My diary of my cycle

Day 1 - 19/6/10
- Fish added to tank at 12
- Water change 50% at 6pm
-Midnight Ammonia 0.25ppm
- Notrite 0ppm

Day 2 - 20/6/10
- Tank tested at 12
- Ammonia 0.25ppm
- Notrite 0ppm
- 25% water change
-25% water change at 7pm

Day 3 - 21/6/10
- All tests at 12
-PH 7.6
- Ammonia 0.25ppm
-Nitrite 0.25ppm ( but slightly not that colour so i would say 0.23ppm)
- Nitrate 0.20ppm
- 50% water change

Day 4 - 22/6/10
-All tests at 10:40Am
- PH 7.6
-Ammonia 0.25ppm
- Nitrite 0.50 ppm
- Nitrate 0.20 ppm
50% Water change
-7pm another 50% water change
9:45pm Nitrite and ammonia test
- Ammonia 0.50ppm
- Nitrite 0ppm

day 5 - 23/6/10
-Tests at 6:30
-Ammonia 0.25ppm
-Nitrite 0ppm
-50% water change

Day 6 - 24/6/10
-Tests at 5:20pm
-Ammonia 0.25ppm
-Notrite 0.25ppm
-50% water change

Day 7 - 25/6/10
50% water change
- Ammonia 0ppm
- Nitrite 0ppm

Day 8 - 26/6/10
- Ammonia 0.25ppm
- Nitrite 0.25ppm
- 50% water change

Day 9 - 27/6/10
- Ammonia 0.25ppm
-Nitrite 0ppm
-50% Water change

Day 10 - 28/6/10
- ammonia 0.25ppm
- Nitrite 0.25ppm
50% water change

Day 11 - 29/6/10
- Ammonia 0.25ppm
- Nitrite 0ppm
- 50% water change

day 12 - 30/6/10
- Ammonia 0ppm
- Nitrite 0ppm
- 50% water change

 

[Matt1180]

Hello,
How large is your tank? How many fish have you added to it? And what types of fish have you added? Just remember that any amount of ammonia is not good for your fish, it burns their skin and gills. In my experience, cycling the tank with fish requires at least two 25-50% water changes a day, depending on how large the tank is and how many fish you have in it. Just keep on the water checks/water changes. It is a great feeling to have the ammonia level finally read 0. Good luck, and I'm sure other advice will follow to help point you in the right direction.

 

[chigwellhammer]

Its 60L and ive added 4 guppies and 1 betta, I did read somewhere else doing a 25-50% water change twice a day to. So at 12 today i will do 50% water change and at 6 i will test.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

In tanks of this size, its so important to do twice daily toxin checks, as I've found with my QT since adding 3 Panda Garra (~6cm) and 6 Redline Torpedo Barbs (~4cm). I've had to do 50-75% water changes 7 times in the last 8 days, even though the tank had been 0 toxins while housing my pre-cautionary single pimple on mouth outbreak for my Pearl Danios for 3 weeks previous. Its the nitrites that have been borderline most days, giving a pinky-purple reading of somewhere between 0.1 and 0.3 mg/l.

I've since discovered that the 280 l/hr pump that comes with the Juwel Korrall 60 is regarded as a serious bottleneck for the tank, limiting the stocking levels to ~75% of the theorical ballpark maximum for a 54l aquarium. I'm going to be still monitoring things daily, but I'm hoping that the much improved turnover rate of the Juwel 1000 l/hr pump will get the bacteria "breeding like rabbits" and thereby getting stability to the tank water within the next few days (although the Garras and Redlines are behaving and looking great, cannot wait to move them to the Rio240 next weekend after a 2-week post-buying quarantine).

 

[chigwellhammer]

Im going to do another 25% water change at 6pm today.

 

[chigwellhammer]

I have done all tests today and result's will be up shortly.

 

[chigwellhammer]

Results are up now doing a 50% water change.

 

[chigwellhammer]

Day 4 is now up, and im just about to start a 50% water change.

 

[PDSimon]

Thats a lot of nitrite, I would do a bigger w/c to get it back to 0.

 

[chigwellhammer]

I am going to do another change in about 3hrs time , and ill retest and see if it has gone down.

 

[waterdrop]

Your tank size and tap water stats are not edited into the first post above the log start chig, that would help. Also, don't you think your water change percentages may be a bit too small since each time you test it's showing the limit for ammonia (0.25) and now has gone above the limit for nitrite(NO2)? The aim is to have the water change be large enough and/or come soon enough that you clear the toxins before they fully reach the 0.25 or 0.30 level (depending on what first level your test can show.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[chigwellhammer]

Okay thanks for the help there, Ill post up my tap water stats later on today

 

[chigwellhammer]

My nitrite was a bit high earlier today so ive done two 50% water changes today and my Nitrite is back down to 0ppm.

 

[chigwellhammer]

And a lil tip to other beginners who might be reading my thread.. DONT buy your gravel cleaner from ebay they take fricking forever to arrive

 

[chigwellhammer]

Tested this evening and the nitrite is still 0ppm ive done a 50% water change.