Cycling

[Bix22]

I have a 20 gallon tank which won't cycle, I was thinking, does having the carbon filter in the Aqueon whisper flo 20 inhibit BB growth? Is there another filter I should use? I am using the one that came with it.
I did a fishless cycle initially, thought it was cycled (but I was wrong) now it's basically a fish-in cycle.
I also use nutrafin cycle during water changes is this ok?

 

[BBradbury]

Fish-In Tank Cycling

I have a 20 gallon tank which won't cycle, I was thinking, does having the carbon filter in the Aqueon whisper flo 20 inhibit BB growth? Is there another filter I should use? I am using the one that came with it.
I did a fishless cycle initially, thought it was cycled (but I was wrong) now it's basically a fish-in cycle.
I also use nutrafin cycle during water changes is this ok?

Hello Bix...

Cycling a tank with fish is fine. Hopefully, you have a few hardy fish in the tank that will tolerate unstable water conditions for the next few weeks. The fish waste will start the "nitrogen" cycle. You need a reliable water testing kit, so you can test daily for traces of ammonia and nitrite. When a test shows a trace of either of these toxins, you need to remove about one-quarter of the tank water and replace it with pure, treated tap water. You want to avoid removing too much water, because you want to grow the microscopic bugs that feed on the nitrogen produced by the fish.

When I cycled my tank using fish, I also added a capful of liquid bacteria starter every day. You can add it at any time. The good bacteria will grow on any surface inside the tank.

B