Something Ive Been Wondering About

[benniebru]

a buddy of mine brought this question up to me that i was unsure about, he asked me when going through a cycle does doing water changes prolong the cycle process? i thought that it might but was unsure about it. does it make it take longer? and would it just be better to wait the process out?

 

[n3ont3tra]

For fishless cycles, water changes are pointless.
If you have fish, it is beneficial to the fish to keep ammonia below 0.25 ppm, so do water changes to keep it at or below this, but not zero - that would only prolong the cycle.

 

[benniebru]

ya i told him as long as his fish look like they are fine, (not gasping for air etc...) just to stick it out thanks tho just wanted to make sure

 

[mark.w.jones]

ya i told him as long as his fish look like they are fine, (not gasping for air etc...) just to stick it out thanks tho just wanted to make sure

Hardier fish do no always appear to be suffering though when infact they may well be getting damaged by the poor water quality in the tank. Don't take it as wrote that because all you fish are swimming about and feeding well with no other symptoms that they are perfectly happy. The only way to tell if your water parameters are poor is a decent test with a liquid test kit. Ammonia and nitrite should be at a minimum of 0.25ppm to prevent long term damage to your fish, anything above this and you need to do a 25% water change.

 

[Little-Fizz]

When I did my fish less cycle I did one water change... I was sick of waiting so about three weeks into the cycle I just did one water change and it made a huge difference. The tank was ready for fish a week later. The only time you should be concerned is when you have fish in the tank. In that case, daily water changes of 10-15%

 

[shang hi]

Ammonia and nitrite should be at a minimum of 0.25ppm

just like to point this out, dont you mean maximum not minimum, i know haveing 0ppm wont do a cycle but anymore then 0.25 will dammage the fish. lol im good at pointing out silly mistakes like that .anyway the other information is all good with no "blupers"

anywho doing a fishless cycle is better for the fish (as none have to live in bad water) and also better for the future fish and filtere bacteria. with a fishless cycle more bacteria is made as the ammonia is alost higher and more bacteria can feed, resultion in more bacteria in the filter which can sustain more fish instantly.

 

[Hollymolly4]

When I cycled m 28 gallon I did it with fish so I did several water changes and it still cycled quickly. Took less than a month! I think in general it will slow the process down a bit but if you have the tank because you love fish, then do change the water when needed. It will cycle.