When Will The Cycle End?

[newfishy]

I got fish and jammed them all in the tank. Many died. Then I learned about the nitrate and ammonia cycle. Could not return the fish so I have been doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia down and some mature filter media. It's been at least 2 weeks now and I do twice daily checks on levels. Today the levels were:

Ammonia: .25
Nitrate: 20 (ammount in our well water)
Nitrite: 0
PH: 8.2 (our well water ph is 7.6)

When will I be able to stop doing daily water changes and levels go to 0?

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons or litres is the tank.
How many fish and which type.
What type of filter do you use, how many gallons does it turn over an hour.

 

[pauly]

When your Ammonia levels get to zero and stay at zero. What test kit are you using?

 

[newfishy]

api master test kit
10 gallon
4 adult platies
3 adult guppys
6 infant platies-id like to move them to my empty five gallon but I am not sure how or when to do so
the filter that came with the tank, aqua tech 5-15 power filter

fish had ich for several days and I used ich cure for about 6 days...I had kept using it for 3 days after the last symptions were visiable (I had also added salt and upped the temp)

 

[scotslasszoe]

It takes as long as it takes really, as my fish in cycle took nearly 3 months and i was doing 2-3 water changes ever single day to keep ammonia and Nitrite at a reasonable level. so yours could take 2 weeks or it could take 2 months.

I never lost a fish during my cycle.

Zoe

 

[pauly]

It takes as long as it takes really, as my fish in cycle took nearly 3 months and i was doing 2-3 water changes ever single day to keep ammonia and Nitrite at a reasonable level. so yours could take 2 weeks or it could take 2 months.

I never lost a fish during my cycle.

Zoe

3 months doing 2-3 water changes a day!?!?!? Wow, you're committed. Did you not use a cycling kick-start product? I used Nutrafin Cycle and cycled (with fish) in about 6 weeks.

 

[scotslasszoe]

It takes as long as it takes really, as my fish in cycle took nearly 3 months and i was doing 2-3 water changes ever single day to keep ammonia and Nitrite at a reasonable level. so yours could take 2 weeks or it could take 2 months.

I never lost a fish during my cycle.

Zoe

3 months doing 2-3 water changes a day!?!?!? Wow, you're committed. Did you not use a cycling kick-start product? I used Nutrafin Cycle and cycled (with fish) in about 6 weeks.

Yup used it. If i had done less water changes it would have prob cycled quicker though i prob would have lost fish.

Zoe

 

[Bobdole10]

It takes as long as it takes really, as my fish in cycle took nearly 3 months and i was doing 2-3 water changes ever single day to keep ammonia and Nitrite at a reasonable level. so yours could take 2 weeks or it could take 2 months.

I never lost a fish during my cycle.

Zoe

3 months doing 2-3 water changes a day!?!?!? Wow, you're committed. Did you not use a cycling kick-start product? I used Nutrafin Cycle and cycled (with fish) in about 6 weeks.

Yup used it. If i had done less water changes it would have prob cycled quicker though i prob would have lost fish.

Zoe

I have uesd that also and works great took me alittle longer but I think it was 2 months but still no fish loss and levels were great.