How Do I Tell If My Tank Is Cycled

[II Samwise II]

Hi All

before you read on let me first apologize as I'm sure there has been a lot of very similar questions asked here!

I am new to fish keeping and I have had a 240L tank for heading on a month now. Stupidly I jumped in at the deep end it seems and set my tank up and left it a week with the filter running before I added any fish.I also added some tetra safe start (which the fish store said was a good option when starting a tank) I tested my water levels before adding fish and obviously I had no ammonia or nitrates or nitrite.

I added 4x Black Neon Tetras and 4x Silver Tip Tetras (after being given advice from the local fish store) after which I tested the water every few days for Ammonia and Nitrites and Nitrates. I never got a reading other than 0 For any of them. I had those in there for 2 weeks and the entire time I never had any readings above 0 for any tests still.

I have since then added 5 platy's to the tank. and now readings still show 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and about 3 nitrate.

Since doing this I have read up on cycling the tank in which finding it is cycling while I have fish in the tank.

My question is how can I tell if the filter has cycled? given that so far I have not noticed any of the tests rise above 0 accept now the nitrate levels have risen? So far this is over a period of about a month so I thought I would see some change by now? or is possibly using the tetra safe start distorting these readings? or even did it speed up the cycle process?

and if it is not likely that the cycle process is complete what am I likely to be needing to look out for?

any help would be appreciated!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

What are you using the test the water?

 

[II Samwise II]

I have liquid test kits (I also have a 6 in 1 test strip but stopped using this as it seemed too inaccurate)

 

[Dieses Madchen]

It looks like it might be cycled then...

 

[II Samwise II]

thanks for your help

this is what I was thinking but it seemed like there was not enough change in the levels. Maybe this "Tetra Safe Start" is quite a good thing to use? In the early stages when there was no fish in my tank when I added the safe start my water became very cloudy. Which became clear after about 3 days or so is this a sign of the cycling process? Sorry if I am asking very simple silly questions!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

If you add more fish though, add 2-3 at a time AT THE MOST or you will end up with ammonia or nitrite spikes.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'd like to see the nitrates number a little higher before declaring it cycled.


You have a large volume of water and you added very few fish (which is the way to go with a fish-in cycle). The Safe Start MAY have played a role, but if it were really processing ammonia, you'd see more in the nitrates category. The nitrate test is a bit tricky though, assuming it is the API test kit. If it is, you can get false zeros. The second bottle is actually two reagents in one solution. Bottle two has a liquid and solid reagent. The solid reagent won't always mix in, so you need to REALLY shake it. Bang the bottle a few times and shake it as hard as you can for twice as long as it says. Then shake the tube like crazy as well! This might get you a higher reading than "3".


if the nitrate levels rise during the week while still holding double zeros for ammonia and nitrite, then you truly are cycled for that level of stocking. DM is correct that you want to stock slowly and keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite. You can stock a LITTLE heavier than she suggests. You can usually add 50% of your current level (17 fish right now, so you could in theory add another 8 fish) without too much risk. Obviously you want to monitor closely and feed sparingly early on.


The first thing I would do though is raise the Neon and White Tip numbers to 6 apiece. If you happen to have male and female platies, make sure you have at least 2 females for every male. If you have 4 females and 1 male that will work, but even 3 females and 2 males is not a good mix. The male livebearers will harass the females and it can stress them to death, believe it or not. If they are all males you are also fine, actually you are even better off because you won't have to worry about fry. If they are all female, fry is still possible as they may have been brought to your tank already pregnant. Livebearers can store sperm and have up to 4 or 5 batches of fry from one "pregnancy", each separated by about 4 weeks.

 

[II Samwise II]

What sort of Nitrate levels would you be expecting with double 0 readings to show signs of a fully cycled tank? I am using the liquid tests that has 2 bottles. I do shake the second bottle well before adding but if what you are saying is true then it is possible for false readings.

I think I do have a mix of male and female platys when looking at them. From what I can see I have 1 male and 4 female platys. They all seem to get on all OK. Not seen any aggressive behavior or any distress which is a good thing

Why would you suggest building up the Neons and silver tips? When adding fish to the tank you say stock slowly. How long should I leave between each each set of new fish? I'm guessing this is to allow time for the filter to adjust to the new stock levels?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

1 ppm ammonia processes to 3.6 ppm nitrate. So, you should have nitrate showing up on the test by now, if you are consistently getting 0 for ammonia and nitrite. Ultimately, you will see the nitrates increasing day by day while the ammonia and nitrite stay at zero. That is the sign of a cycled filter. Anything else, I'm afraid, just isn't a fully cycled filter.


1M and 4F is a great ratio, ultimately the male will bother the females, but with this type of ratio, they have safety in numbers. Unfortunately, having this ratio means you will have 4 pregnant platies dropping fry every 4 weeks. Which means that on average you will be seeing fry every week. (Just warning you...)


Neons and silver tips are shoaling fish. In a tank, the standard recommendation is generally 6 or more. Having only 4 means you are not at the recommended level yet. That's why I would up those numbers first.


You are correct that the reason to do it slowly is to allow the filter bacteria a chance to adjust to an increased bioload. These bacteria can double in 24 hours when everything is perfect. But, things are never really perfect, so you don't want to over stress that delicate balance. The bigger issue with stocking too quickly is that you are adding stressed fish whenever you increase your stocking level. Stressed fish will produce more ammonia, and more fish will produce more ammonia. Finally, if the ammonia builds up too fast for the bacteria, then you add more stress to the situation. That's when bad things happen, etc.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Also take into consideration that those liquid nitrate tests are not the most accurate. You have to really beat the dickens out of the bottle to adequately mix the reagent. I have gotten negative readings on my cycled tanks, and a repeat would then show a reading of 20-40. I rarely use the nitrate test honestly.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Also take into consideration that those liquid nitrate tests are not the most accurate. You have to really beat the dickens out of the bottle to adequately mix the reagent. I have gotten negative readings on my cycled tanks, and a repeat would then show a reading of 20-40. I rarely use the nitrate test honestly.

I use mine monthyl... just to see where things are. Generally, you can assume that the result is the absolute MINIMUM value for where the true nitrate level is. (This has never happened to me, but if it did this is how I would deal with it.) If it comes out dark, dark red (like 160) then I know I have been a little light in my maintenance (and probably overfeeding a bit) so I cut my feeding back, do a few larger water changes in the next week and things go back as they should have been all along. Life gets in the way of things sometimes, especially at this time of year. Just make sure that you stay on top of it as best you can, and don't stress the fish out too much by giving them wild swings in temp, pH, nitrate difference, hardness, etc. Just increase the frequency of your regular water changes, or do very slow refills to allow the fish to acclimate to the new conditions, just as you would when you are adding them to your tank in the first place. They can adapt to a variety of conditions, they just need a chance to do it slowly.


Really, a nitrate level of 160 isn't a big deal for most of the fish we keep. BUT, that doesn't mean that it is ok. I would just bring it down slowly. The real reason is not so much because of the nitrate, but because of the many other variables that are also changing during this process that I am not testing.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I try to keep mine lower than 40ppm at all times....i just got used to having very low nitrates when I had the severums. Severums can be sensitive to high nitrates.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I try to keep mine 20-40 ppm after a water change. It usually goes up to about 60ppm or so between water changes. Every month I do a large one to bring it back down to 20ppm or lower. So far, this method has kept my fish very happy, algae to a minimum and my plants happy. I don't want my nitrates too low, because of the plants. I want to make sure that they do have access to nitrates, but not have too many. It is a delicate balance. Ultimately, I don't have to worry too much about my plants not having enough, but I still do a little.

 

[II Samwise II]

cheers for the tips guys. I Tested my levels today the nitrates have risen as you said still double 0's on Ammonia and Nitrite. but I'm round about the 6ppm in Nitrite but as you say its an inaccurate test. Nice to know about the platys possibly giving birth every week haha but that's ok half the fun. Do they become noticeably fatter when pregnant? just so I know to be ready

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Oh yeah! Check out the thread about livebearers from drop to drop in the livebearer's section. You won't believe how big the female will get before she drops the fry!!!

The nitrates won't go up too fast (or at least you don't want them to) so you are right on schedule and fully cycled for your bioload.