Has My Tank Cycled?

[LineDropper]

Hello all,

I've been cycling a few tanks for over 2 months now. Ammonia and Nitrate are down (< .25 and 0 for both tanks). But Nitrates are only around 7.5. Is that considered cycled or should the nitrate be higher before adding additional fish?

Thanks

 

[Angel_Queen]

Is the 0.25 reading for the ammonia?

 

[SJ2K]

If its fully cycled then any ammonia and/or nitrite you notice should be gone within 12 hours. Im not quite sure how you monitor this when doing a fish-in cycle but it should be similar Only problem is, as soon as you add adition fish you will have to start all over again as the newly increased bio-load will be too much for the current levels of bacteria so it'll be a while before they multiply good luck!

 

[littlest]

In a cycled tank with fish, ammonia and nitrite should always be zero. And definately don't add more fish unti this is the case.

Bacteria can multiply pretty quick I thought. I think they can double in a day. I'm not sure exactly, but something like that. You should never more than double the amount of fish in one go though.

 

[LineDropper]

Thanks for the feedback.The ammonia is registering but barely registering... that's why I say < .25. It's hard for me to tell the exact readings. I have the liquid API test kit for Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. It's just when I go to read the levels ----- I can't tell exactly where they are! I'm going to take the water into a local LFS tomorrow.The Ammonia could very well be 0. It's yellow, just not a bright yellow.

Thanks for the feedback.The ammonia is registering but barely registering... that's why I say < .25. It's hard for me to tell the exact readings. I have the liquid API test kit for Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. It's just when I go to read the levels ----- I can't tell exactly where they are! I'm going to take the water into a local LFS tomorrow.The Ammonia could very well be 0. It's yellow, just not a bright yellow.

One more small thing to add, I definitely went through a Nitrite spike on both tanks. Not sure if that means much, but just for the record... it happened like a little over a week ago. At least that went back to 0! (Nitrite readings are a little easier to interpret).

 

[rdd1952]

Until you go a full 7 days with ammonia and nitrite at 0 all the time, you aren't cycled. Also, keep in mind that your filter (not the tank actually) is only cycled for the current fish. Once you add more, you will need to start testing again as the bacteria will have to multiply to handle the added load. Don't even add more fish (or bio-load) than you already have. If you more than double the load, it could take too long for the bateria to catch up and you could have ammonia and nitrite problems again.

 

[Tobigara]

i was told that when doing a fish in cycle wait til the ammonia and nitrite are 0 for a week then you can add 1-2 fish. after the small yet inevitable ammonia and nitrite spikes are under control for a week add another 1-2 fish. continue til you have your desired stock.

 

[Leitch]

What if you are adding something like neon tetras, which like groups of 6. Is it ok to have them in a group of 2 for a week>?

 

[SJ2K]

What if you are adding something like neon tetras, which like groups of 6. Is it ok to have them in a group of 2 for a week>?

Dont have alot of choice im sure they'll get by for a week feeling a little uncomfortable.