Is my tank cycled?

[PizzaIan339]

I just tested my water on my 12 day old tank and I was wondering if it has cycled enough to get a pair of clowns in 2 days?
Nirite: .9
Nitrate 20
Ammonia 0

 

[D3DPrintedThingz]

I just tested my water on my 12 day old tank and I was wondering if it has cycled enough to get a pair of clowns in 2 days?
Nirite: .9
Nitrate 20
Ammonia 0

yepper getcha a lil water changey in there first and clown fish it up welcome to the hobby it only gets crazier from here

 

[littlefoxx]

I just tested my water on my 12 day old tank and I was wondering if it has cycled enough to get a pair of clowns in 2 days?
Nirite: .9
Nitrate 20
Ammonia 0

I was always told to wait for the nitrite to level out to 0 by my FLS so if it were me I would play it safe and give it another week. What ammonia source did you use??

 

[D3DPrintedThingz]

I was always told to wait for the nitrite to level out to 0 by my FLS so if it were me I would play it safe and give it another week. What ammonia source did you use??

idk any reasoning behind it but i have read on multiple places from intelligent sounding people , so a = b = c sort of thing, the nitrite values in saltwater are negligible and incorrect and the goal is to hit the 0 ammonia mark and water change . 2 clowns shouldnt be a huge bio load also , so wont be throwing a huge amount of poop at the bacteria right off the bat, and you have 2 days to make sure you get your new water at the right temp and salinity for good husbandry practice

 

[dangles]

I have also heard nitrite is not an issue for marine fish. But I’m pretty new too. So don’t take my word for it

 

[littlefoxx]

idk any reasoning behind it but i have read on multiple places from intelligent sounding people , so a = b = c sort of thing, the nitrite values in saltwater are negligible and incorrect and the goal is to hit the 0 ammonia mark and water change . 2 clowns shouldnt be a huge bio load also , so wont be throwing a huge amount of poop at the bacteria right off the bat, and you have 2 days to make sure you get your new water at the right temp and salinity for good husbandry practice

Thats good to know! LFS advice not always the best lol. That makes more sense to me honestly but they were very insistent on the nitrite being 0 and even then advised me to wait a week after that to add fish!

 

[PizzaIan339]

I was always told to wait for the nitrite to level out to 0 by my FLS so if it were me I would play it safe and give it another week. What ammonia source did you use??

Ghost feeding

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The nitrite level is unimportant, but what did you do to cycle it?

The ability to convert ammonia is key.

 

[PizzaIan339]

The nitrite level is unimportant, but what did you do to cycle it?

The ability to convert ammonia is key.

I used live sand and ghost fed.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I used live sand and ghost fed.

Did you ever see ammonia rise? To what level?

 

[PizzaIan339]

Did you ever see ammonia rise? To what level?

Yes but I forget to what level.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes but I forget to what level.

If it was 1 ppm or more, you are likely cycled.

 

[jda]

Cycled, as in done. No. Ready to SLOWLY and SMARTLY add fish and enjoy your tank as it continues to progress, sure. Make no mistake that while you likley have some bacteria that can handle some ammonia and other fish waste, they will not be dynamic enough to handle a lot - this can take months, if not longer. The first part of the cycle is happening, so just be smart and patient while you work through the rest.

 

[Cell]

For our intents and purposes, the term "cycled" is equivalent to "safe to add fish".

 

[exnisstech]

I normally call it cycled when nitrates rise. I haven't owned a nitrite or ammonia test kit in years. Follow the advise @jda offered and you should be good.

 

[jda]

My intent and purpose is to teach people the right way to do things so that their experience in the hobby can be as good as possible, we can show the world that we are intelligent, responsible and do not redefine terms and, also, that we fully understand the process that we are undertaking with other living things. These words matter and cycling and cycled are not the same thing.

Also, since the OP typed "cycled enough" in the first post, I thought that it was likely that they understood that this was a longer process and wanted to make sure that term mixing did not give the wrong idea that it was done-done.

There is a post somewhere not too far down in the Noobie forum where somebody added like 12-15 fish when he heard the word cycled from a well-known glory seeking member who likes to declare absolutes. Ammonia rose, some fish died and some likely have permanent gill damage. You can probably find it in the first few pages. As a community, we HAVE TO STOP this from happening if we want this hobby to survive for long. These are the types of things that get discussed when the no-wild-things people lobby for the hobby to be limited - I have heard it with my own ears.

BTW - I am not getting off of this soapbox... so no /soapbox from me.

 

[Cell]

12-15 fish in like 250G iirc. Equivalent to a fish in a 10G.

 

[jda]

...enough to cause an ammonia spike, so good advice was needed. There is no excuse for not educating the person that the cycle was still in progress and not done. We, as a hobby, need to do better. It does not take long and can do so much good.

 

[Cell]

I dont believe ammonia poisoning was 100% confirmed in that thread. It could also have been disease. They lost just 3 fish out if the 15 the very next morning. I doubt the ammonia built up that fast overnight in that large of a tank and then only affected 3 of the fish. But let's get back to this thread.

 

[PizzaIan339]

Cycled, as in done. No. Ready to SLOWLY and SMARTLY add fish and enjoy your tank as it continues to progress, sure. Make no mistake that while you likley have some bacteria that can handle some ammonia and other fish waste, they will not be dynamic enough to handle a lot - this can take months, if not longer. The first part of the cycle is happening, so just be smart and patient while you work through the rest.

I am planning on just taking it slow. Maybe at the first coral in a few weeks but no more fish for at least 6 months.