cycling a 20 gallon tank

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pasp475

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
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I am starting to cycle my 20 gallon aquarium, and I am going to use stability to start the cycle. And I am doing a fish less cycle.
How do I get started with my cycle?
 
I have a API water test kit already. How much ammonia do I need to put in aquarium? I tried the cap of the ammonia bottle before, and that didn't work to well. So, I bought a eye dropper, and it goes to 1ml.
 
At the bottom of this page is a calculator that you can use if you know the % of the ammonia you are using http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm
If not you will just have to add a little, test, add a little more, test etc until you get the right amount (usually 3ppm-4ppm). This is what most people do. Make sure you keep track of how much you have to add, which will make figuring out how much to add to keep the levels up throughout the cycle easier.
 
My last question hopefully for now. When I add my stability when do I start adding the ammonia?
 
I have not used Stability personally but I assume you would need to add the ammonia first and then Stability, because the bacteria will need ammonia to feed on to stay alive in your tank. Stability I think is one capful a day.
 
My last question hopefully for now. When I add my stability when do I start adding the ammonia?



As long as you have ammonia for your bacteria to consume your good to use stability anytime. I am using stability as well but not the ammonia. For ammonia I just use pinches of fish food every two days to create ammonia. I heard keeping your tank at 85 degrees helps your bacteria thrive. Good luck with your 20 gallon. I myself have a 20 gallon and going through the same thing you are at the moment. If stability doesn't work tho, I am going to switch to Tetra safe start for my bacteria alternative.
 
I've used Stability, and it definitely sped up my cycle. Follow the instructions on the back of the bottle and add one cap-full per 10 gallons every day for a week. Instead of adding fish during this, however, add one drop of pure ammonia per gallon on the first day. This should give you 1-2 PPM of ammonia on the test reading. Test every day until the ammonia reads zero, then add another drop-per-gallon of ammonia. The next day, test ammonia again and now start testing for nitrites and nitrates. (Nitrite-eating bacteria are slower to develop.)

Your goal is to see ammonia and nitrite converted to nitrate in 24 hours -- in other words, 24 hours after adding ammonia, you should have zero ammonia and zero nitrates. When that happens, you're ready for fish. Do a 90% water change and then have fun shopping. :dance:

I'm pretty sure that using Stability will speed all this up for you. My tank was 2-3 weeks from start to cycled.
 
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