Is My Cycle Done?

[madjoker14]

hi all, i have a 20 gallon tank that i set up about 2 weeks ago and about a week into it i pured like dead shrimp, fish food etc. then the ammonia spiked up to 8.0 then i had a nice build up of nitrite of about .50

Today i checked it out and i have 0 for amm 0 for nitrite and about 5.0 for nitrate, does this mean that the tank is cycled? and will it be safe to add fishes to it ?, also just for the record the 20 gallon tank is planted and it doesnt have a heater but its temp is at 76 and its for tropical fishs

so far so good ???

thanks for any input as always

 

[pirate monkey]

Have you tested the water everyday? I know that the nitrite spike can drop really quickly and if you don't test on one day you can miss it!

All sounds good, although very quick (lucky!) did you start with some mature media? I suppose the plants have helped you out.

Just to make sure it is definitely cycled, I would carry on adding ammonia source for a couple of days, and if you continue to get 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, and your nitrates increase then yes it is cycled.

If you add fish now, and there is the possibility your tank hasn't cycled then that will be a problem for the fish!

My only concern is that (I believe) 8 ppm ammonia should give you 8ppm of nitrite in turn giving you 8ppm of nitrate. Saying that, practice is often different to theory lol!

HTH

 

[madjoker14]

yea i think it might also be ready but will give it a couple more days b4 adding fish,but live bearing fish can handle ammo/nitrite spike easer then non live bearing fish is that correct or did i get that all wrong lol,

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Mad Joker,

The problem with using food is that you don't know how much ammonia is being produced. It sounds like you definitely have both of the required sets of bacteria, but the question is do you have enough.

You could add fish now, but the danger is that your bacteria colonies aren't properly established and you'll get ammonia and nitrite spikes. Most livebearers will tolerate these better than other fish, that is true, but ammonia harms all fish and really there is no safe level for any fish. If you do add fish now, i would suggest tthat you should only add 1 or 2 small fish at the moment. That will minimise the damage, should the worst happen.

That said, you'd really be much better to get a bottle of ammonia and fishless cycle that way. At least then you can know you are definitely cycled.

Cheers

BTT

P.S. For your info, Pirate Monkey, 1ppm ammonia yeilds 2.7ppm nitrite and in turn 3.7ppm nitrate.

 

[mark.w.jones]

I would take your time stocking if I were you. The method you have used is not the most reliable. Without a constant ammonia supply every day you won't maintain a bacterial colony. You have done one bid addition of ammonia with your dead fish which has encouraged an initial surge of growth. However, without any further additions the bacteria you grew will quickly die off. If it was me I would continue, using the add & wait method from fishless cycling from the link in my sig. with ammonia solution. Or you can add your first 3 fish. Leave them for 2 weeks whilst keeping a contant eye on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Then add your next 3. Leave for 2 weeks and so on. This is a fish cycle which is not ideal but may be OK as you have obviously got some bacteria in your filter. The choice is yours.

Livebearers in general are hardier but not all. Platies are probably the hardiest IMO. Other choices that are not livebearer include Harlequin Rasboras and Glowlight tetras.

 

[emmsy]

Call me old fashioned, but I use a couple of fresh prawns to cycle a tank. A very old method for sure, but works for me

Emma

 

[mark.w.jones]

Ammonia solution is far more clinical and its very easy to control exactly how much ammonia you are adding. You also don't end up with loads of crappy shrimp mess in your tank.

 

[pirate monkey]

P.S. For your info, Pirate Monkey, 1ppm ammonia yeilds 2.7ppm nitrite and in turn 3.7ppm nitrate.

oh cheers BTT!

 

[madjoker14]

nice i didnt even know that