20 gallon tank end of fishless cycle ? Can I now add the fish ??

[Aquaaura]

This morning I decided to end my fishless cycle. Before huge wc, I did a test

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 4
Nitrates were at 70

Since nitrites have been hanging in range 3-5 ppm, I decided to end the cycle.
Did 90% wc then did another test
Nitrites 1 ppm
Nitrates less than 10

Since nitrites were at 1ppm, again took my bucket out and did 70% wc. Will wait and check if nitrites dropped to 0.

Assuming nitrites went down to 0,


Planning to add 6-7 total fish of small size between 1 inch to 2 inch in size.
I have to visit lfs to pick my stock.

Can I now add the fish stock ?

 

[NicoC16]

If this is a freshwater tank, you should be alright. You can in reality add fish at the beginning of the cycle as long as they are hardy fish. For example I cycled my saltwater tank with a pair of clown fish, and cycled my freshwater tank with a beta. I would select a good hardy fish or two and add it to the tank for a week or so and see if it does alright. You don't want to overstock the tank at first because your biological filter most likely can not take that load. Just do it slowly over the course of a few weeks and you will notice more success. If you can seem to wait, you can always be risky and go for it, but you can't get upset if you lose a fish.

 

[Aquaaura]

Thanks for your advice appreciate it!

 

[threnjen]

I am not totally clear on your question. Are you just saying that you are going to move to a fish-in cycle rather than finishing your fishless cycle?

I wouldn't add 6-7 fish to an uncycled tank, I would go with only 1 or 2 as the previous reply suggested.

 

[Delapool]

Still sounds like it is still cycling to build up bb to get nitrites to 0. How long have you had the tank up as I would of thought the end not far off.

 

[Aquaaura]

It's been cycling since dec 10th, both nitrites and nitrates had shoot up beyond there scale. Did 3wc to bring then under there scale and monitor the cycling.

 

[Coyne]

It takes me an average of 4-5 weeks to cycle a tank and the Nitrite phase always takes the longest.
If you're going to switch to a Fish-In cycle, then I would like to make a couple suggestions:

Get the Nitrites below .25ppm before adding any fish.

Be prepared to check the water parameters more often (2-3 times a day) and be prepared to do PWCs more frequently. Since there are now living creatures in there, you'll need to manually remove the ammonia and nitrites before they become hazardous.

Be patient and best if luck

 

[Aquaaura]

Thanks, I did add the fish after doing 2 wc to ensure nitrites where at 0.
It's been more than 12 hrs. Did test
Ammonia is at 0
Nitrites are at 0
Nitrates are at 3-4 too low to distinguish on test strip scale

Will do another test tomorrow.