Cycling thoughts

[sde1500]

Meh. When you zero ammonia and nitrite any more is just a waste and just serves to drive nitrates up. Do whatever you want though

 

[Zachary S.]

Meh. When you zero ammonia and nitrite any more is just a waste and just serves to drive nitrates up. Do whatever you want though

So is it for sure cycled? The nitrites didn’t go down to zero in a day so I figured it wasn’t.

Two days ago my nitrites and ammonia were at 0 after a couple of days so I added 1ppm ammonia just to be sure if it’s ready. The next day my ammonia was at 0 but nitrites were at 2ppm. Didn’t put anything in it and awaiting another day. The nitrites were at .25ppm yesterday and then 0 today. So it took two days to get it from 2ppm to 0ppm for the nitrites. Sooo is that still considered cycled?

 

[Zachary S.]

Also do you guys recommended me to put another thing of Dr. Tim’s one and only after a water change and when I put the fish in. Says I can use after WC or before adding fish, just want your guys thoughts on that.

 

[MERKEY]

AS LONG AS I AM FOLLOWIMG THIS CORRECTLY

You are done cycling!

Nitrites dont matter at this point. IGNORE THEM IF YOU HAVE 0 AMMONIA. As Brandon429 said they are ignored and only ammonia is watched. You dont need to bring your nitrites down to 0.

Only ammonia has to go to 0 over night.

You have done that.

So you are CYCLED!!

CONGRATS!!!

Now add another bottle or dont. You already have enough bacteria in your tank because ITS CYCLED! ))

 

[Zachary S.]

AS LONG AS I AM FOLLOWIMG THIS CORRECTLY

You are done cycling!

Nitrites dont matter at this point. IGNORE THEM IF YOU HAVE 0 AMMONIA. As Brandon429 said they are ignored and only ammonia is watched. You dont need to bring your nitrites down to 0.

Oh wow I guess I just never completely understood that when he mentioned it. Well at least now there is more bacteria for the nitrites to come down because they are going down relatively fast too!

 

[Zachary S.]

AS LONG AS I AM FOLLOWIMG THIS CORRECTLY

You are done cycling!

Nitrites dont matter at this point. IGNORE THEM IF YOU HAVE 0 AMMONIA. As Brandon429 said they are ignored and only ammonia is watched. You dont need to bring your nitrites down to 0.

Only ammonia has to go to 0 over night.

You have done that.

So you are CYCLED!!

CONGRATS!!!

Now add another bottle or dont. You already have enough bacteria in your tank because ITS CYCLED! ))

So it should be safe for fish after I do a WC correct?

 

[Dj City]

You are NOT cycled.

Here's how it's supposed to go....
Bacteria turns ammonia to nitrite. Areobic bacteria turn nitrite to nitrate. Anaerobic bacteria turn nitrate to nitrogen gas that bubbles out the tank.
That's the complete cycle.

Ammonia is poisonous to aquatic life
Nitrite is poisonous to aquatic life
Nitrate is less harmful but you want it in LOW amounts.

Your tank is not cycled if you have nitrite.
If you add fish to water with nitrite, they will suffer and die.

Slooooow down and do it right. You wil save yourself money and heartache not to mention you will have a better chance of not killing fish.

 

[Zachary S.]

You are NOT cycled.

Here's how it's supposed to go....
Bacteria turns ammonia to nitrite. Areobic bacteria turn nitrite to nitrate. Anaerobic bacteria turn nitrate to nitrogen gas that bubbles out the tank.
That's the complete cycle.

Ammonia is poisonous to aquatic life
Nitrite is poisonous to aquatic life
Nitrate is less harmful but you want it in LOW amounts.

Your tank is not cycled if you have nitrite.
If you add fish to water with nitrite, they will suffer and die.

Slooooow down and do it right. You wil save yourself money and heartache not to mention you will have a better chance of not killing fish.

That’s what I thought as well, so that’s why I was adding more ammonia to see if it would go down in a 24 hours because the levels were at 0.

 

[Dj City]

Its gonna take time for the bacteria to develop and grow.
You can't really stop the cycling process but you can slow it down.
Just let your tank do it's thing.

 

[Zachary S.]

Update after dosing ammonia:

PH: 8
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 80ppm

Thoughts??

 

[Dj City]

Stop dosing ammonia.

 

[Dj City]

As of right now, you have about 4 months of cycling left to do.
Make sure you have media that can support anaerobic bacteria and let it develop.
Leave lights off for the next 4 months.
When you have 0 nitrites, add 1 fish. A clownfish will do.
Do Not Overfeed!
NO lights.
Let the bacteria build.

 

[sde1500]

As of right now, you have about 4 months of cycling left to do.
Make sure you have media that can support anaerobic bacteria and let it develop.
Leave lights off for the next 4 months.
When you have 0 nitrites, add 1 fish. A clownfish will do.
Do Not Overfeed!
NO lights.
Let the bacteria build.

When we talk cycle we mean the conversion of ammonia to nitrate. A tank that does it is cycled. Saying some arbitrary “4 more months” is ridiculous. The tank is cycled. Will it see different blooms and die offs still? Sure, but the nitrogen cycle is complete.

 

[Zachary S.]

Stop dosing ammonia.

I did, that was the last time to see if the everything converted over within 24 hours. It went from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate in 24 hours. Ammonia and nitrite are both at 0.

 

[Dj City]

When we talk cycle we mean the conversion of ammonia to nitrate. A tank that does it is cycled. Saying some arbitrary “4 more months” is ridiculous. The tank is cycled. Will it see different blooms and die offs still? Sure, but the nitrogen cycle is complete.

I'm talking about a COMPLETE cycle. Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate to nitrogen gas that bubbles OUT the tank.
Cycling to nitrate is 3/4 of the nitrogen cycle.
We are conditioned to think the cycle is complete at nitrate and try to export nitrate through water changes, chaeto or whatever means of nitrate removal. Fish "can live" with nitrate but that is not the end of the nitrogen cycle.
Having the correct media in the correct amount to develop anaerobic bacteria that TURNS NITRATE TO NITROGEN GAS THAT BUBBLES OUT THE TANK is a COMPLETE cycle.

At nitrate, the tank is safe for fish depending on the amount of nitrate. Too much nitrate can still kill fish and coral.
We can get out tanks to handle nitrate on their own and COMPLETE the nitrogen cycle.

 

[sde1500]

I'm talking about a COMPLETE cycle. Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate to nitrogen gas that bubbles OUT the tank.
Cycling to nitrate is 3/4 of the nitrogen cycle.
We are conditioned to think the cycle is complete at nitrate and try to export nitrate through water changes, chaeto or whatever means of nitrate removal. Fish "can live" with nitrate but that is not the end of the nitrogen cycle.
Having the correct media in the correct amount to develop anaerobic bacteria that TURNS NITRATE TO NITROGEN GAS THAT BUBBLES OUT THE TANK is a COMPLETE cycle.

At nitrate, the tank is safe for fish depending on the amount of nitrate. Too much nitrate can still kill fish and coral.
We can get out tanks to handle nitrate on their own and COMPLETE the nitrogen cycle.

Correct. Except that not every tank can support the anaerobic bacteria to a degree to have noticeable nitrate reductions. It’s why most every tank uses other means of nutrient export. Simply stating that in 4 months it will start is completely wrong and baseless. It also has nothing to do with lights. So pointless to keep them off for that long.

Zachary, for all intents and purposes your tank is cycled. You may begin to look into adding life to your tank.

 

[Dj City]

@Zachary
Sde 1500 is correct.

You can add life to your tank SLOWLY. 1 fish. Let the bacterial filter grow to handle the addition of the fish and the cycle will continue.

 

[Zachary S.]

I'm talking about a COMPLETE cycle. Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate to nitrogen gas that bubbles OUT the tank.
Cycling to nitrate is 3/4 of the nitrogen cycle.
We are conditioned to think the cycle is complete at nitrate and try to export nitrate through water changes, chaeto or whatever means of nitrate removal. Fish "can live" with nitrate but that is not the end of the nitrogen cycle.
Having the correct media in the correct amount to develop anaerobic bacteria that TURNS NITRATE TO NITROGEN GAS THAT BUBBLES OUT THE TANK is a COMPLETE cycle.

At nitrate, the tank is safe for fish depending on the amount of nitrate. Too much nitrate can still kill fish and coral.
We can get out tanks to handle nitrate on their own and COMPLETE the nitrogen cycle.

Ohhh now I see where you’re coming from, I honestly was confused on what you were saying but now I understand. Yeah I’m not doing a complete cycle and just doing WC instead. I was just simply asking if it was ready for fish if kept up with reducing the nitrate levels. Anyways thank you for your import, I appreciate it.

 

[Zachary S.]

Correct. Except that not every tank can support the anaerobic bacteria to a degree to have noticeable nitrate reductions. It’s why most every tank uses other means of nutrient export. Simply stating that in 4 months it will start is completely wrong and baseless. It also has nothing to do with lights. So pointless to keep them off for that long.

Zachary, for all intents and purposes your tank is cycled. You may begin to look into adding life to your tank.

Thank you for providing me with your knowledge about this process, I appreciate it!

 

[Dj City]

As far as the lights...
I would suggest you.i leave them off as much as possible.
Lights will fuel algae growth. Your tank is trying to balance itself. You.i have a lot going on right now on a microscopic level.
Different microbes fighting for dominance. Algae is in this fight as well as diatoms and others.
Fish don't care about lights. Algae loves extra light.

I'm Just trying to be helpful and you will understand all this much better as your tank matures and you gain more experience.