when to do the pwc's

[dieanna]

I'm working on getting my 3rd tank started. It's a 20 gal and it's been 3 days. My ammonia is now at .25 ppm. I started doing a fishless cycle, but had to put my mollies in it. I can't remember when I'm supposed to do the first pwc. I search through some posts and saw people saying when it gets to .5 ppm, do a pwc, but I just wanted to make sure this was right. Should I do one today, or wait until tomorrow? I just want to do everything right with this tank.

(My first tank, I totally screwed up on, but got everything under control after several massive pwc's. The 55 gal, which I had no ammonia prob at all, cycled in a week because I had transfered everything to it from the first tank.)

 

[Jchillin]

You could wait until you get 2ppm. Anything lower and/or higher and you could stall it.

 

[dieanna]

Thanks Jchillin... that's what I was thinking about. I didn't want to stall it. Should I do the same thing with the nitrites when they start showing up?

 

[greenmaji]

If you have a tank already cycled (it sounds like you have 2) why dont you borrow some bio-media from one of the cycled tanks to jumpstart the cycle?

 

[dieanna]

I actually did transfer a plastic plant and a fake rock decoration to the 20 gal in hopes that that would help out. I need to get a new filter for the tank, so I borrowed the filter from the 10 gal, too. I just don't want the levels to get out of whack and have another mess like I had with my 10 gal. That was really bad.

 

[Jchillin]

Thanks Jchillin... that's what I was thinking about. I didn't want to stall it. Should I do the same thing with the nitrites when they start showing up?

Nitrites can go to the 2ppm level as well.