Starting the cycle

[Monica hammaker]

Hey! so I have two tanks that I'm starting. 1 20g and 1 like.....2.5 g I think.
they are 6 and 8 days old. I have two bettas in the 20g and I need to separate them until I get more, (starting a sorority) however the 2.5 tank's hardness is up to 60 (this is why they are in the same tank in the first place) and I'm having trouble bringing it down. any tips on how to bring the hardness down, and keep my fish safe while I'm waiting for the conditions to become safe enough to put one fish in the 2.5 tank. or would It be better for me to just separate them now and work on fixing the tank conditions with the fish in the tank.

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

We need to work out the actual issue here, as you titled the post "cycle" but refer to "hardness" in the post. Are you talking about the GH (general or total hardness) of the water?