Cycling help

[weestv]

Hello All,

Very new to the fish game so please bare with my ignorance on some facts. I bought a second hand trigon 190 tank that had been lying empty for a period of time, naively I took the word of someone else telling me that all I needed to do to get started was fill the tank with dechlorinated water and let it run the pump and filter for a month then add fish, how very very very wrong was this advice!

I have since done a lot of reading on cycling the tank and now that I have already bought 6 gouramis I now know that the cycle hasn't even begun. Ive read about fish in cycling and feel really bad (poor fish) that this is my only option now.

The fish have been in a week now and I have been testing for ammonia and nitrites and the ammonia is present 0.25 but nitrites aren't, the ammonia hasn't risen any further than this, am I right in thinking it should be climbing in order to convert into nitrites and in turn nitrates?

Will the tank still cycle if the ammonia doesnt rise? Can anyone point me towards a good guide for what to expect and how to make the fish as comfortable as possible throughout the cycle?

Thanks for any advice
WeeStv

 

[weestv]

Sorry for bumping but I dont think I asked the right questions.

What im struggling with is...

In a fish in cycle is the aim to do a water change every time ammonia is present so as not to harm the fish?

If this is the case how does the filter build up the ammonia fighting bacteria if there is no ammonia present due to pwc?

My way of thinking is (good chance im wrong) the ammonia has to rise in order to get converted to nitrites and in turn converted into nitrates eventually in a 24 hour period in order for the cycle to be complete. Am I wrong here? Am I mixing what ive read on how to do a fishless cycles up with what I should be doing for a fish in cycle?

Again any help is appreciated.

 

[Marinemammalover]

Hi welcome to the hobby,
Since your tank is 50 gallons (190 liters) it might take a while for your ammonia levels to rise. A week with six fish in a 50 gallon tank will take a little longer for ammonia levels to rise; which is good because it can help to keep your fish comfortable. If ammonia levels don't rise after a couple of weeks (2 or even 3) I would start to get concerned. My tips to you would be to be patient: it took almost two months for my tank to cycle. Also, when in doubt do a fifty percent water change it can almost never hurt and almost always help. Keep checking your parameters daily and when thy get too high (over 0.5 ppm ammonia and nitrite) do a water change. Also, I found it helpful since you will be doing so many water changes to purchase an ammonia and nitrite detoxifier when you are in a pinch and don't have time to do a water change. Products like amquell plus are good. You just add the right amount of liquid to the tank and of your levels aren't extremely high then it will give you 24 hours extra time. I would also recommend adding this when doing water changes if you have ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates in your tap water. Doing all of these things should keep your fish pretty comfortable throughout the process. I would also check out this helpful thread:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/fish-in-cycling-step-over-into-the-dark-side-176446.html

 

[weestv]

Thats been a great help, thank you, I wasnt sure if I should be doing water changes everytime it 0.25 or a higher level. Ill get down to the local supplier and get some of that for the cupboard. Thanks for the reply

 

[Mebbid]

Whenever you get an ammonia reading of .5ppm, a nitrite reading of .5ppm or a nitrate reading of 40ppm then do a 50% water change.

 

[weestv]

Thanks for the reply, if any of these traces show up and I do a water change to remove them, does this not stop the good bacteria from developing due to not having anything to feed on and in turn slow down the cycle?

 

[weestv]

Just took a reading and im getting Ammonia 0.5, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5.0. If there are nitrates present should there not be also be nitrites?

 

[Mama Karoti]

The nitrifying bacteria has to build up gradually. If you let the levels get too high, not only is it harmful to your fish, but it can also be harmful to the bacteria and stall your cycle. Your bacteria will gradually build to the level they need to be even with the water changes.

 

[weestv]

50% water change at 1:00AM to lower ammonia levels, if thats not dedication I dont know what is! Lol even took the slow route and syphoned the fresh water back in so the wife doesnt wake up and divorce me! Lol thanks for the advice folks im feeling much more confident in what I need to do now! Time for a well deserved beer! Lol

 

[weestv]

Hello all,

Follow up on the topic, ive had the fish in for 2 weeks now, got some filter media from an established tank last week. Im now getting readings of 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites and 5.0 Nitartes. Does this sound like its cycled? I never seen a Nitrite spike at any stage but I was reading other posts and some where suggesting it could have happened in a 24 hour period and I could have missed it, is this so?

Thanks again
Steve

 

[Mama Karoti]

Sounds cycled to me.