# cycling a tank



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

ok guys and gals i am new to this, but for some reason i can not figure out or make sense or cyling a tank . i have started up my new tank and it has been running for about 4 days now . i am using my aquaclear from one of my other tanks to start the cycling i have a few plants in the tank .can i tell when my tank is ready thru water tsts . 
when i started my tank these were my readings
amonia .25
nitrate 5.0
p.h 7.6
nitrite .25

todays readings 
amonia .25
nitrate 0-5.0 inbetween on color chart 
ph 7.6
nitrite 0 

ps .what is the purpose of hig range ph and when should i use it 
thanks again 
tom


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

You will likely need a nitrite test kit to more accurately monitor your cycling process.

I assume you are doing a fishless cycle. Be sure that you are adding a source of ammonia on a daily basis for the bacteria to feed on.

Also, do a baseline nitrate test on your aquarium water as well as tap water so that any increases in nitrate are due the accumulation of beneficial bacteria and not simply background levels from the tap.

As for the high range pH test kit, you use it when you think that your pH is higher than the working range on the normal range pH test kit. Most of Toronto's water has quite a high pH. You may want to try using the high range pH test kit to see if it gives you more accurate results.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*cycle*

i thought i was doing a nitrite tst with my tst kit do i need something different , is the nitrite tst that is in the kit not the right kit .confused here .
i noticed today that there is some kind of slime on the wood that i have in the tank, is that something that happens with the cycling or is it jsut the wood that is the prob , it was mentioned that the teranium wood is knownd for moulding but its only been in the water for a week now 
thanks again guys 
tom


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

tom g said:


> i thought i was doing a nitrite tst with my tst kit do i need something different , is the nitrite tst that is in the kit not the right kit .confused here .
> i noticed today that there is some kind of slime on the wood that i have in the tank, is that something that happens with the cycling or is it jsut the wood that is the prob , it was mentioned that the teranium wood is knownd for moulding but its only been in the water for a week now
> thanks again guys
> tom


Is it a slightly white slime? I had the same on my driftwood but after a while the snails and fish took care of that. Why not just buy a single zebra danio and put it in the tank? It's about .79cents for one and is onmivories so it'll eat almost anything you drop ni the tank.

How large is your tank?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

tom g said:


> i thought i was doing a nitrite tst with my tst kit do i need something different , is the nitrite tst that is in the kit not the right kit .confused here .


My mistake, I did not see the nitrite readings there.

However, as your ammonia levels are still the same, your cycle has barely begun. I would write off the first nitrite reading (of 0.25) to be erroneous.



tom g said:


> i noticed today that there is some kind of slime on the wood that i have in the tank, is that something that happens with the cycling or is it jsut the wood that is the prob , it was mentioned that the teranium wood is knownd for moulding but its only been in the water for a week now


The fungus that grows on driftwood is harmless, if not aesthetically displeasing. It will disappear with time; you can scrub your piece of wood to remove it, but it may or may not come back.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

I would say to leave the slime if it's not out of control. It's actually a good sign as it's and indication of live in your tank.
When is it consider completely cycled? Do a three days test. When you are still adding the same about of ammonia and are getting:
1 st day - ammonia xx amount, don't care about nitrite and nitrate
2 nd day - 0 ammonia, xx amount of nitrite, don't care about nitrate
3 rd day - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and xxx amount of nitrate.
After the 3rd day, you'd want to make a 75% water change. And you can slowly add a few fish every week. Don't push it as your system is still fragile.

Call me sensitive, but I wouldn't recomend adding fish to cycle a tank. Just too cruel.

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