NEW TANK CYCLING QUESTION

[Richmond J.]

Hi Everyone,
So I,m setting up a 60 gallon community tank, its been almost 7 weeks now and the test readings are as follows, PH,8.2, Ammonia,1.0 ppm, Nitrate, 0.ppm, Nitrate,0.ppm, I,ve done 25% weekly water changes and added API Quick Start two weeks ago but nothing seems to be happening,My temperature is quite high around 86 f. (Very hot here at present),Could that be an issue?,my plants seem to be doing reasonably well, I,m using tap water here which is quite hard (adding Aquacare water conditioner),Should I add ammonia, more Quick start,? to try and speed things up? looking forward to any advice , Thank you.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hi there, are you doing a fish-in cycle?

 

[Richmond J.]

Hi there, are you doing a fish-in cycle?

Hi, No, I,m doing a fishless cycle, I forgot to mention.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

OK so there's no need to be doing any water changes until you're cycled ?? because you're removing the ammonia before the bacteria has had a chance to get at it

 

[Richmond J.]

OK thanks.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

No probs, I'd toss a bit more ammonia in and let it do its thing... There's a very informative thread on here somewhere on how to cycle... I'll try and find it for you...

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank

What is Cycling and Why is it Important?

Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable... https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

 

[Richmond J.]

Thanks for the advice ,I,ll certainly give it a try. I,m still a bit confused about this Quick Start stuff, does it actually work? Anyway looks like I,m still a few weeks away from adding fish yet. Cheers.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Quick start can shorten the cycle length if the bacteria in the bottle is still alive