i think my tank is starting to cycle

[krap101]

the bio wheel is turning like a brownish uve had my tank for about like 2-3 months i think

 

[grimlock3000]

uhh

 

[William]

Thats not a sign of cycle, its a sign that bacteria has colonised the biowheel.

Bacteria already exist in the tank, it just takes them some time to migrate into the biowheel.


But thats a good sign.

 

[Allivymar]

Have you checked your water parameters krap? Thats the only true way to tell, although a change in biowheel color can be a good sign (as long as it can't be attributed to anything else).

 

[krap101]

my ammonia is at 0.12 or 0.0 cant tell nitrates are at 0 so i guess ive been lucky i dont have "alot" of ammonia

how long does it take for the tank to cycle by itself?? because if my tank started to cycle wouldnt i be seeing some nitrites?

 

[jsoong]

First step of the cycle converts ammonia to nitrite - so with the ammonia at or near zero, you should be measuring nitrite levels. Once you get a nitrite peak, you'll start to see nitrate forming.

This 2nd step is the slower part ... In my case it took about 4 weeks after the ammonia disappeared before I started seeing nitrates (& falling nitrites). My tank was 75 F at the time. If your temp is higher, it may go faster.

 

[krap101]

okay i forgot i had 2 wait 5 mins for nitrate my nitrates at like 0.12 too i think

 

[Endgame319]

What are your nitrates? Have you had a nitrite spike yet? If you have, then there's probably just leftover nitrites/ammonia that can be removes with water changes.

 

[cindywindy]

okay i forgot i had 2 wait 5 mins for nitrate my nitrates at like 0.12 too i think

Are you sure you are not referring to nitrItes instead of nitrAtes ?

I may be coming into this late, but I feel as if I am missing something. What did you use for a source of ammonia ? What do you mean by letting the tank cycle by itself ?

 

[krap101]

okay long story short i didnt find out about cycling tanks until after i got my fish... so ive been trying too get stuff that "makes tank cycle faster" which ive only gotten hold of "cycle" by like hygen or sumtin.... biospira is out till end of march si i cant get that...

yes im sure its nitrites because the nitrate thing didnt come with my test kit

 

[LAGlocker]

I have to ask, what test kit are you using that registers .12ppm?

 

[krap101]

its the freshwater master kit http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...older_id=2534374302026308&bmUID=1079704227432
thats my kit

i just got it like 3 months ago

it may be lighting so i cant see the diff because my yellow is darker then the 0 yello but doesnt have any green in it

 

[Endgame319]

You need a nitrate kit to know if your tank is fully cycled or not, so you should get one.

 

[deli_conker]

Have you checked your water parameters krap?

I'm sorry. That just sounds really funny...

Anyways...

I never saw nitrItes in my tank. It went so fast that I saw ammonia go up, stay up, go down just a little, stay there for a bit and then disappear. I was testing for ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes everyday. One day I had ammonia at 1.0 with 0 readings on the other tests. The next day it was ammonia 0, nitrItes 0 and nitrAtes at <5 ppm. Been like that ever since.

From everything I've heard and read, "cycle" doesn't work. Bio-spira really doesn't work right unless you add it the same time you add your fish. If you've had your fish in the tank for 2-3 months, then it should have cycled naturally by now... Unless you have something else in the tank that eats the ammonia like white chips in your filter carbon. Tank additives that say they neutralize ammonia. Etc.

I have the same test kit. Mine does ammonia at .25, .5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0. NitItes are similar. My only real gripe about the kit is that it doesn't include nitrAte test. You have to buy that seperately. NitrAte test is 5, 10, 20, 30 etc. ppm.