Cheesejawa Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 My tank is a 110 litre that has been set up for 1 week. I has 2 zebra danios, 5 lemon tetras and lot of dwarf sag, hygro and ludwiga repens. It has some filter media form my old tank to help cycle and has had 2 40% or so waterchanges in that time. I have been testing the the nitrite and ammonia daily and from the start it never had any ammonia and the nitrite has never got above 0.5. What does this mean and how long do you think it will take to cycle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 how long is a piece of string? i think doing regular large waterchanges will prolong the cycle a bit, but also lessen the levels of ammonia/ nitrite in the water, and causing less harm to your fish. please correct me if im wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 As you started out with some cycled media, have done water changes and only have small fish in the tank, the nitrite and ammonia spikes may be barely detectable. Make sure the levels stay at zero, and it should be fine to add a few more fish. The filter will only be cycled to match the number of fish you have in the tank, so build them up gradually. What you have noticed is the advantage of cycling with established media or pre-cycling the filter. You have some working biomedia in the tank right away, and may only notices some minor bumps in levels as the tank settles down. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 so then 3 more weeks or so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 It is cycled when there is no amonia or nitrite detected. As stated, you need to add more fish gradually so the bacteria multiply to the balance leval with the fish numbers you intend to keep. Just add fish slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I am thinking I might add 2 angels or should I wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 personally i would leave it a few more days with no water change. test water and if theres no nitrite/ ammonia and nitrate is present, then add your fish. just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 personally i would leave it a few more days with no water change. test water and if theres no nitrite/ ammonia and nitrate is present, then add your fish. just my opinion Agreed. Once you have zero ammonia and nitrite for a couple of days, then add a couple more fish. Do that each week untill you have a full population of fish and a fully cycled tank to match. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 would like 4 or 5 more lemons be ok or would that be too many? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 would like 4 or 5 more lemons be ok or would that be too many? That sounds like a sensible next step. It not an exact science, just dont drop all your new fish in at once, spread it out over a month or so and you will be fine. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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