A couple of cycling questions

[Bettafanatic]

After reading all the articles on cycling, I have a couple of questions I'm hoping to get answered.

Do I keep the levels over 5 ppm all the time? And if I do keep them over 5 ppm by adding more ammonia, how do I know when to stop adding it so that the tank can fully cycle? It's a 10gal tank I'll be cycling.

And anyone know how to speed up cycling? I heard that you can add gravel from another tank. Is that right?

How long should it take? One person said their 10g tank took a week but others say it takes 4-6 weeks. Would it be in the middle of that?

My biggest question really is when to stop adding ammonia and if I'll have to add anymore after the cycling has started. Thanks!

 

[jetajockey]

The best method to speed up cycling is to add filter media from an established tank.

I don't really advocate fishless cycling but I do know enough about it to say that you basically want to keep your target amount of ammonia in the tank until the tank is processing it in a 24hr period.

 

[OasisKeeper]

Its likely to take 4 to 6 weeks seeded or no. Four weeks if seeded and no troubles, six weeks if not seeded and/or ph stalls or whatever.

The only really quick way is the bacteria products, which are kinda controversial and like most quick fixes, you'll get what you get and it might not be what you want.

You can do fish in if you can't stand to look at an empty tank for a month or more as with a light fish load and a commitment to keep up with the water changes as required, which could possibly be daily or more often, depending on how it rolls out.

 

[jlk]

After reading all the articles on cycling, I have a couple of questions I'm hoping to get answered.

Do I keep the levels over 5 ppm all the time? And if I do keep them over 5 ppm by adding more ammonia, how do I know when to stop adding it so that the tank can fully cycle? It's a 10gal tank I'll be cycling.

And anyone know how to speed up cycling? I heard that you can add gravel from another tank. Is that right?

How long should it take? One person said their 10g tank took a week but others say it takes 4-6 weeks. Would it be in the middle of that?

My biggest question really is when to stop adding ammonia and if I'll have to add anymore after the cycling has started. Thanks!

Ok-if your going to do a fishless cycle, you will need pure ammonia to start. You will need to dose it daily to 4ppm-much higher & you may stall your cycle. Yes, you will need to continue to add amm to 4ppm as cycling progresses to keep your bacteria fed & happy. The average time it takes is 4-6wks but you can speed this up with seeded filter media & gravel in piece of pantyhose from an established tank. How much it will speed up varies. Please keep asking questions if you are unsure about anything!

 

[severum mama]

You don't NEED to dose ammonia to 4PPM. If you're in a hurry to stock heavily as soon as the cycle completes, then you can dose up to 4PPM... but beware of cycle stalls, pH crashes, etc. If you don't mind taking it slow once the tank cycles, you can dose less ammonia and just add a couple of fish at a time after it cycles.

If you can get filter media from an established tank (gravel should work too), you can add a SMALL fish load at the same time that you add the media and monitor water quality. I've cycled in as little as a few days using this method. Then just take the stocking slowly from there.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Ok I already know how to cycle. I'm just wondering how long I have to keel adding ammonia throughout the whole cycle

 

[jlk]

Ok I already know how to cycle. I'm just wondering how long I have to keel adding ammonia throughout the whole cycle

I did a fishless cycle on my last tank & made sure it was at 4ppm daily. Its important to keep it dosed to this level esp when your bacteria start dropping the amm levels daily-it keeps them fed & happy!

 

[librarygirl]

Ok I already know how to cycle. I'm just wondering how long I have to keel adding ammonia throughout the whole cycle

You just keep adding it. The ammonia is what helps the cycle start and finish as it feeds the bacteria. In the beginning, ammonia may not drop much at all. In that case you don't have to dose until it starts getting below 2, then you can redose. Some people keep it at 3-4 ppm all the time. I've let mine drop a bit lower just to see how low I could get ammonia to drop, but you don't want to let it get to 0 without adding more. After 2-3 weeks on average ammonia should start dropping faster; in this case you still keep dosing once every 24 hours. So if you dose to 4 ppm at 8 PM and the next night at 8 PM ammonia is 0 you want to redose. After a few weeks of this nitrites should start to show. They'll spike and stay that way for 2-3 weeks or so (again this is all "on average;" everyone's cycle is different). You'll keep dosing ammonia and wait for nitrite to fall to 0 on their own. When ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and stay that way 24 hours after adding ammonia for at least a few consecutive days you'll have a cycled tank.

Things like adding seeded media from an established tank can help speed up the process. I hope this answered your question.

 

[Bettafanatic]

You just keep adding it. The ammonia is what helps the cycle start and finish as it feeds the bacteria. In the beginning, ammonia may not drop much at all. In that case you don't have to dose until it starts getting below 2, then you can redose. Some people keep it at 3-4 ppm all the time. I've let mine drop a bit lower just to see how low I could get ammonia to drop, but you don't want to let it get to 0 without adding more. After 2-3 weeks on average ammonia should start dropping faster; in this case you still keep dosing once every 24 hours. So if you dose to 4 ppm at 8 PM and the next night at 8 PM ammonia is 0 you want to redose. After a few weeks of this nitrites should start to show. They'll spike and stay that way for 2-3 weeks or so (again this is all "on average;" everyone's cycle is different). You'll keep dosing ammonia and wait for nitrite to fall to 0 on their own. When ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and stay that way 24 hours after adding ammonia for at least a few consecutive days you'll have a cycled tank.

Things like adding seeded media from an established tank can help speed up the process. I hope this answered your question.

Ok that helps a lot thank you. So I stop dosing as soon as both ammonia and nitrites hit 0

 

[jlk]

Once your amm & nitrites zero out, keep dosing to 4ppm to keep your bacteria alive until you are ready for fish. You should do this for a few days to be sure your amm & nitrite are returning to zero in 24hrs. Then, on the day you are bringing home fish, skip the amm & do water changes to get your nitrates as close to zero as possible. Adjust the temp for your fish if needed & your ready for fish!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Ok now I get it. Thank you so much!