Hi fellow fishy fanatics. I have a cycling 20 gal freshwater tank and was looking for any pointers on where my cycle is at and what could help it along. Here's some info:
Tank has been full of water, heated, filter running + old filter media from my 10 gal since August 9th. Added a whole bottle of Dr Tim's One and Only same day.
I am doing fishless cycling, ghost feeding x2 a day, and the tank has a lot of plants. Also, to test I use the good ol liquid Freshwater Master Kit by API.
I started tracking parameters on the 11th and they were:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
August 12th:
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 1(?) ppm
Did 25% water change.
August 13th:
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm – 0.50 ppm (kind of in between)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
Did 50% water change.
August 14th:
Ammonia: 0.25 – 0.50 ppm (same as before)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
Did not do a water change, added 1 bottle of Safe Start.
August 15th:
Ammonia: 0.50 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm
~ No water change atm, but will do asap if recommended ~
So here's where I'm at right now! How am I doing? I almost cheered when I got nitrates tonight!
hopefully that's a sign the cycle is starting to do it's thing.
I have a couple questions –
Should I be doing water changes every time when I get a reading of more than 0 ammonia or not do water changes so I can see if it's converting?
Should I keep on with ghost feeding or cut back? (Ghost feed x2 daily currently)
My tank will be cycled once ammonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrate is stable, correct? How many days of stable nitrate indicate a cycled tank?
And am I doing anything incorrectly?
I really welcome and appreciate any advice or insight you might have for me. Just want to make this the best home for our future corydoras 🙂
Posted by nervouslibra