Fishless cycling almost complete!

[Scott F]

So...about a month ago I started a 40-45 gallon setup and am doing the fishless cycling and yesterday my nitrites took a nice little nose dive to around .25 PPM I think (it is on test scale) so I figure it will probably be another two or three days before it's complete.

I've read you should do a 40-50% water change in some places and in others there is no mention of it.

Since I've invested quite a bit of time to do it correctly I don't want to mess it up and would like to know my next move.


Thanks in advance for your advice !!

 

[phoenixkiller]

So...about a month ago I started a 40-45 gallon setup and am doing the fishless cycling and yesterday my nitrites took a nice little nose dive to around .25 PPM I think (it is on test scale) so I figure it will probably be another two or three days before it's complete.

I've read you should do a 40-50% water change in some places and in others there is no mention of it.

Since I've invested quite a bit of time to do it correctly I don't want to mess it up and would like to know my next move.


Thanks in advance for your advice !!

I vote that you should do a good water change when the cycle is complete to get rid of that extra ammonia/nitrItes. So before you add fish, a 50% water change is a good thing to do.

Hope I helped!

 

[Scott F]

ok. I've spent far too long to mess this up, so yes it's a HUGE help !

 

[jlk]

Hi! When your ammonia & nitrites have been steadily zeroing out a daily dose of ammonia for a couple of days, its safe to say your cycled! Do you have your temp turned up? If so, start gradually dropping the temp 2-3 degrees a day until you reach the temp you plan on keeping fish. Once you reach this temp, dose for another day to be sure your bb are still steadily converting ammonia at a lower temp.

When your tank is ready, the day before or the morning of a planned fish purchase, you will need to skip the ammonia & do as close to a 100% water change as possible. Make sure you temperature match & properly condition the new water. You want to drop your nitrates down to the level of nitrates in your tap- this may take more than one big water change. Check out U-Tube for how-to videos on drip acclimation if your not familiar with the process. Thats about it! Enjoy your tank!!

 

[jlk]

I vote that you should do a good water change when the cycle is complete to get rid of that extra ammonia/nitrItes. So before you add fish, a 50% water change is a good thing to do.

Hope I helped!

If a tank is fully cycled, there should be zero ammonia & zero nitrites. If ammonia & nitrites are not zeroing daily, the tank is not cycled & there isnt much sense in doing a water change to 'get rid of extra ammonia/nitrites'.

 

[Scott F]

I didn't even turn the heat up past a normal setting to do it. I actually kept it constant, there's no ammonia anymore, low nitrites, and nitrates are where you'd expect.

 

[jlk]

Your close to being done but not quite there yet! Once your ammonia/nitrites have been steadily zeroing for a couple of days, just follow the instructions I posted & you will be good to go! Also, make sure once you do add fish, continue to monitor your tank daily for atleast 2wks after (or anytime thereafter new fish are added) to make sure your numbers are staying where they should be. Newly cycled tanks can be a bit finicky until they have time to better establish themselves. It will also give you an idea of how much & how quickly your nitrates are rising to determine a good water change schedule to keep them under control.