Hey everyone :)

[DjFizz]

Novice aquarist here. Been hanging out on Fishlore mostly, figured I'd join up here too just because.

Set up my 20L freshwater tank about 2 months ago (other parameters can be found in my profile). Been having cycling issues, was trying to do fishless, but went ahead and put in 2 White cloud minnows yesterday on the advice of the LFS employee. Ideally looking to keep 4 GloFish tetras, a couple cory's, and I guess now a small shoal of WCMM (assuming they survive the cycle).


Looking forward to getting to know everyone. See you around the boards!

 

[54seaweed]

Welcome to AA ,
Sorry to here your having issues , we have a great freshwater section they can help you get through it , I also added a link about cycling who knows maybe you just may have missed something.

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

but remember utilize the freshwater section they know there stuff.

 

[DjFizz]

Thanks! I actually found that article earlier today by doing some Google research. Good stuff. ::

 

[Italian Mike]

I am also a newbee on here. Folks are great and very helpful. This is my first tank since I was a kid 45 years ago. I don't think cycling was discovered back then!

I followed The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling. You can find it on this site. I followed it to the letter. My biggest problem was patience. I wanted it cycled NOW! But it worked perfectly. FYI. I have a planted 10 gallon tank with some driftwood. I have a Finnex canister filter. I cycled at 85 degrees. I didn't touch anything once I started the process. I used Ace Hardware Ammonia. It took 5 weeks give or take a few days.

Good luck but you really need to be patient and consistent with the process. I did not worry about testing for PH after I established my tap (well) water quality. I tested in the AM and PM, 12 hours apart for ammonia and nitrites and every now and then for ammonia 10 minutes after adding to make sure I added the proper amount every 12 hours. Once my ammonia went to zero, it never changed, so I switched to testing for nitrites and nitrates every 12 hours. It took forever for nitrites to go to zero. Just today I considered my tank cycled. I did a 70% change to get rid of my nitrates and I turned down my heater.

During cycling, I saved my test results and compared colors every 12 hours. I had a hard time matching test tube colors to the picture from the test kit. But I could easily compare colors from the morning test to the evening test and vice versa. That gave me some "trend" info and I knew which way the process was going.

I hope this helps you.

 

[Delapool]

Hi, welcome to the forum

 

[fishenthusiast]

Welcome to AA ?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[DjFizz]

Thanks!