Tank Done Cycling?

[cichlid.lover]

I've been cycling my 29g tank for a couple months now and FINALLYY my ammonia levels are back down they were off the charts last week so I know my nitrite and nitrate levels will fall soon...but how soon? And once they all go down again does that mean my tanks done cycling? If not, how do you know? I was hoping to get my fish next week so do you think my tank will be good by then? Thanks!

 

[eco23]

It absolutely seems something is off...2 months is definitely beyond the time that you should have been done. What's your pH level?

Check out this article and see if it has any answers for you-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[cichlid.lover]

Ph: 6.8
Nitrate:40ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm
ammonia: 0-0.25ppm

 

[cichlid.lover]

I read this one article that said tanks take 6-8 weeks to cycle? how long should it normally take?

 

[eco23]

I read this one article that said tanks take 6-8 weeks to cycle? how long should it normally take?

Around a month is normally average if you've got some little tricks up your sleeve like raising the temperature to the ideal range for the beneficial bacteria, providing lots of oxygen, doing a couple water changes, making sure pH isn't at extremes, providing nutrients to the bacteria, etc... The guide I linked covers pretty much all the little hints you can do to make things go the fastest. Usually if you've hit the 2 month mark that signifies there's an issue which needs to be corrected...especially if it took that long for the ammonia to drop. I'd start at the beginning of the guide, read over and make sure nothing basic is missing. It might also be a good idea to do a large water change and dose the ammonia back up. That will refresh the water and hopefully get things moving.

 

[cichlid.lover]

okay thanks so much!!..so will it be ok to add some tiger barbs once the nitrites and nitrates get to appropriate levels?

 

[cichlid.lover]

oh and I'm reading your guide (nicely done, btw) and I actually was cycling with some zebra danios that i recently got rid of. so would that be the cause of the extended cycling period? sorry i keep doing double posts lol i randomly remember stuff! Dx

 

[eco23]

Hang on.....I might be mixed up. You said that you wanted to go get fish...so I thought you were doing a fishless cycle. Do you currently have fish in the tank? (*I just saw you did)

If so (my mistake) here's the best guide to follow-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

Once the tank is stable and appears cycled, give it some time to make sure everything is balanced, then you can slowly add fish over time. You don't want to add too many at once because it will throw you back into a mini-cycle.

*Out of curiosity, what did you do with the Danios?

 

[cichlid.lover]

sorry no that was my bad i didnt go into detail i had 6 zebra danios and now i have about 15-20 of their fry not to worried about keeping them alive..ohh and the danios? haha..stuck them in my moms pond..i know probably cruel but no one would take them..! okay so maybe 4 tiger barbs at first? i plan on getting 8 and a firemouth and maybe a rtbs. your so helpful!! thank you!!!

 

[eco23]

Follow the guide I linked before and do water changes as needed to they and keep your fish alive. Try to keep toxin levels as low as possible so your fish don't suffer...I suggest at or below .25 at all times.

I honestly mean no disrespect because you probably got bad advice from another source...but if you don't care about the wellbeing of the fish that are in your care (no matter what species they are)...you should probably pick a new hobby where you're not directly responsible for the health of fish or other animals.

Many people still advise using "hardy" fish like Zebra Danios to sacrifice for the sake of cycling a tank....but the truth is they suffer if you don't keep toxin levels down. That's an old school practice, which in my opinion and many others on the site, believe is inhumane and should not be condoned.

Cycling with fish in your tank is fine, but look out for their health, and make sure you give them plenty of fresh dechlorinated water to keep toxins down so they don't suffer during the process.

Hopefully this is something you can learn from, and show you how to give your fish a safe home in the future. You're also going to need to revise your stocking plan, because some of those fish won't work in a 29 gallon.

Here's the guide to take care of the fish you have again, make sure you check it out. Good luck
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

 

[cichlid.lover]

i do water changes every other day about 25% and i test the water right after nitrate and nitrites still sky high. did 50% yesterday and they wouldnt come down. (so how do i get them down?) and ive read through that. the tiger barbs will eat the fry anyways. and the firemouth would eat them when theyre older (i say that because i wont get him for awhile) i cant get another tank for them im saving up for a 60-75g. so what would i do? i really have no choice i know one person with a 10g fully stocked already..would i sell them online? trust me i love animals but im stuck here.

 

[chrisinmontreal]

my ammonia levels are back down they were off the charts last week

Can you clarify what was happening here?

 

[librarygirl]

So you have fry in the tank, is that right? And you're doing a fish-in cycle with the fry basically? With nitrites very high it could take a number of large back-to-back changes to get them down. I'd highly advise doing it with fry in the tank; they're basically swimming in toxins now and I'm surprised they're still alive. As for your stocking, it needs work. The shark won't go into the 29 at all; the barbs could go in as a school but then your fry is toast which I think is rather cruel. The barbs and firemouth might be able to go together in a much larger tank but I wouldn't try it in a 29.

 

[cichlid.lover]

i change my water about 25% every other day and my nitrate and nitrite are still high. I just did a 50% water change yesterday and they were STILL sky high. i dont understand why they wont go down..and i dont know what to do with the fry i mean i know one person with a fish tank but its fully stocked and no one else i know keeps fish. so i dont know where to put them i cant get another tank just for them im trying to save up for a 75g. i dont want to sound naive but i have no choice! i guess will they survive in a bowl or a bucket? thats about all i can offer..I know its cruel i really do love animals but theres not much i can do..so to recap what are some other ways to get my nitrates/nitrites lower? since water changes arent doing anything..

 

[cichlid.lover]

sorry i forgot i already posted that.

okay chris i had a bad bacterial bloom and then my ammonia went off the charts. later that week nitrates and nitrites skyrocketed and no matter how many water changes i did they wouldnt go down until now! my ammonias down to 0.25 and just waiting for nitrites and nitrates to go down to. what else can i do to lower them because water changes arent working?

library girl: okay well as i said i plan on upgrading to a 60-75g and also what other bottom feeder/catfish (no algae eater please) would work in my tank if rtbs wont? and i know my fry will be goners i dont know what to do with them!!! no one will take them! should i sell them online or something idk what to do!!

 

[chrisinmontreal]

Hi, i know you feel that pwc have not cut it so far but i really think its the solution. If levels got very high you will need to do a few as big as possible while still leaving sufficient water for your fry.

Thinking about it, for each 50% pwc, theoretically you are cutting ammo, nitrite and nitrate levels in half (assuming your tap water has zero) by diluting the water in your tank with fresh 50:50. So say you do one and reduce levels by 50%, the second pwc will now dilute this 50% level by 50% i.e levels will now be at 25% the original levels before the first pwc. Doing it again will bring levels to 12.5% of the start and so on.

So you can see that if your start levels were really really high it could be possible that after a few pwc even though you reduced levels they could still register off the scale.. Even more so if you were doing 25%.

Hope this makes sense....,

 

[cichlid.lover]

yeah it does. so should i change the water everyday? and how much if so?

 

[librarygirl]

yeah it does. so should i change the water everyday? and how much if so?

What test kit are you using?

Yep, water changes every day. If your nitrites are that high then it could take a few very large water changes to get them down. Take out 70-80% of the water, just leave enough for the fry to swim in and then refill. Test the water and if they are still high, repeat it again. You may have to do this several times to get the nitrites and nitrates down but the fish will thank you. Once you get them down to as close to 0 as possible, test the water every day and any time nitrite or ammonia is over .25 do a water change; same with nitrates over 20. If your ammonia is staying at 0 by itself then you're halfway there; we're just waiting for nitrites to stay at 0 too; until then, water changes.

 

[cichlid.lover]

API master test kit. and okay thanks!! library girl what catfish/bottom feeder would be a good size for my tank? i would get a cory but they shoal..

 

[cichlid.lover]

also what do i do with my fry?? i just talked to my friend and she might take them..if not what do i need to do? i was just looking at catfish and saw the ghost catfish..do you think itll be okay with the firemouth and the barbs? i dont want it getting eaten!! thank you all!