# Is my tank ready?



## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Hey guys and gal's  , In the process of cycling and im pretty sure my tanks there minus the ph level which should come down within a day or two 

PH -> 7.6

Nitrite-> 0

Ammonia->.5-1ppm

Chlorine-> 0 

Anything eles I'm missing  

Thanks


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Tanked said:


> Hey guys and gal's  , In the process of cycling and im pretty sure my tanks there minus the ph level which should come down within a day or two
> 
> PH -> 7.6
> 
> ...


Um, I don't think it's ready. At best it should read, NH3/4 0, NO2 0, and NO3 0 or a bit more. I don't think it's cycled. Did you ever get a nitrite or nitrate reading? If not then no way is it cycled. Sorry.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

I dont get it tho.. The fish Book im reading says that most new tanks will shoot up too 10ppm but slowly fall to zero as the biological filter becomes established, and even the slighest bit of nitrite can cause stress.

So having 0ppm would be good from what I under stand.. just did another test zero again


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

You are making the assumption that there was ammonia in the tank that got converted to nitrite that got converted to nitrate that just ... disappeared but left the ammonia.

I don't think so. Not in a week.

And where did the bacteria come from? Ya, it comes from various sources but not in a week. 
Get a friend to give you some bacteria juice from a cycled filter and save yourself several of weeks. Or, add your fish and do frequent water changes when required, or add the fish and do no water changes and pray, or sit back and wait.

Or, you can say "Screw it, I'm gonna sell all this crap to Cory_Dad for cheap and use the money to buy a case of beer.".

Your call.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Cory_Dad said:


> You are making the assumption that there was ammonia in the tank that got converted to nitrite that got converted to nitrate that just ... disappeared but left the ammonia.
> 
> I don't think so. Not in a week.
> 
> ...


lmao!!

Unfortunately, I personally don't know anyone other than myself with a fish tank.. If i wanted a scoop of dog shit this wouldn't be so hard  This tank isnt brand new so idk if that has somthing todo with it.. it was in use 3days before I bought it 
I'd still buy yah that case of beer if needed


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

It never hurts to try.

Where in the GTA are you? If you're near Markham I'll give you a squeeze, err, of filter bacteria.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Tanked said:


> PH -> 7.6
> Nitrite-> 0
> Ammonia->.5-1ppm


IMO, don't bother with chlorine. If you have enough of it in your tank to read, everything is as good as dead.

Like cory-dad said, if your cycle is complete/on it's way, you'd see nitrites and nitrates. It's not bad to see nitrates or nitrites. It means that the bacteria to produce it are there, so your tank is almost there. However, if you see only ammonia, it means no bacteria there yet to break it down.

Give it a week or so. You should have nitrates by then, and the cycle is well on it's way by then.

IMO, you always want 0 ammonia and nitrites. Nitrates can go as high as 75 ppm, but then it starts to affect fish. upto 40 ppm, and they might not breed for you, but they won't die on you either. Try to keep nitrates under 20 ppm and you're good.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> IMO, don't bother with chlorine. If you have enough of it in your tank to read, everything is as good as dead.
> 
> Like cory-dad said, if your cycle is complete/on it's way, you'd see nitrites and nitrates. It's not bad to see nitrates or nitrites. It means that the bacteria to produce it are there, so your tank is almost there. However, if you see only ammonia, it means no bacteria there yet to break it down.
> 
> ...


Keeping plants will help keep the nitrates lower. That's one of the many benifts of plants.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Yep, I concure with the collective. Your tank haven't even started the cycle yet.
As long as there are ammonia, it just means you've got 0 ammonia converting bacteria. And this is just stage 1.
You'll definately need to seed your tank.

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## Kups (Aug 26, 2008)

I just started a new tank about 3 weeks ago now. Mine took over 2 weeks to fully cycle and that was using live plants. If you add some live plants to your tank it would definitely speed the process up and allow you to add fish sooner. I never had a high ammonia, nitrite or nitrate spike. I did have a rise in nitrites and nitrates but after adding some bacteria from an established tank the levels went to 0 in 24 hrs. 

I'm not sure if this will happen to your tank but mine went cloudy at the end of the cycle. This could be something to look for in the coming weeks. I left the tank be and it turned clear overnight!

If you like the look of live plants I would suggest them. Some people from this forum suggested them to me and I'm sure glad they did!


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

I agree with the collective but out of curiosity how are you cycling the tank? Are you adding ammonia?


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

You have to, without ammonia to grow your ammonia eating bacteria, you won't be able to grow your bacteria to a suffictient size to absorb your fish's excretes. So you'll end up doing a fish cycle. That was how I started my first tank.
But from then on, I seed my next tank with a squeze from my first fish tank's filter sponge.
There are still mini-cycles, but they are mostly up and running in 5 days, as long as you add your fish in a few at a time.
Some people would run two filter in an old tank for 2 weeks, and then just move the new filter to the new tank.
I think I remember there was an article writen about the amount of bacteria within the water column, the substrate and the filter. The ratio was something like 1:20:100 (water:substrate:filter spong).
So the filter always offer the most goodies in them.

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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

Yup that's exactly how I've cycled my tanks. I have five filters and three tanks, so I'm ready for the fourth one.

I was asking as I've read of cycling using cooked shrimp shells, vegetable matter etc... So I was curious as to how he was doing it.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Shattered said:


> I agree with the collective but out of curiosity how are you cycling the tank? Are you adding ammonia?


Added 5gallons out of a established tank and about 1/2 tsp of ammonia which brought my ammonia levels up too 2-3ppm but after 3days its down to .5-1ppm i don't get it 

I'm not sure if I should just throw two small fish in and montier them or what


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Yay! you're on your way to cycled. The drop means that you have bacteria that are actively breaking down harmful ammonia into less harmful nitrite and nitrate. Start monitoring their levels. 
Once that ammonia goes to zero, I'd say it's safe to start stocking. slowly.

tread softly young grasshopper.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> Yay! you're on your way to cycled. The drop means that you have bacteria that are actively breaking down harmful ammonia into less harmful nitrite and nitrate. Start monitoring their levels.
> Once that ammonia goes to zero, I'd say it's safe to start stocking. slowly.
> 
> tread softly young grasshopper.


That quickly??.. shit only added the water and ammonia a few days ago, Either way I'm not complaining but I should be good to go by Saturday 

Perfect day for the trip down to Big Al's


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

The cycle is on it's way but not done yet

you need to show 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites and a high level of nitrates to consdier it cycled

Have you tested for nitrites yet?


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

planter said:


> The cycle is on it's way but not done yet
> 
> you need to show 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites and a high level of nitrates to consdier it cycled
> 
> Have you tested for nitrites yet?


 Nope my two test kits don't test for nitrates.. just nitrites

Guess its off to Big Al's


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