Is my cycle finished?

[paige]

I know I've posted a lot of cycle questions lately...but better safe that sorry I guess!

My question is...how long do I wait after dosing the ammonia to test the tank? If I wait 24 hours I have zero ammonia and nitrite...but if I only wait 8 hours then I have about 1ppm of nitrites and no ammonia. The fact that I'm getting a zero reading overnight makes me think the cycle is done...but I want to be sure.

Thanks for your help.

 

[GeraldTheMouse]

I'm confuzed..... what are your parameters?

 

[bala_aquarium]

i think its done but id wait for someone else to post becuase i always screw up my fishless cycle somehow.ive read your other posts and it seems your doing better than me at it,good luck

 

[bala_aquarium]

I'm confuzed..... what are your parameters?

i think that they mean that ammonia and nitrite are at zero ppm currently

 

[paige]

pH is 7.9
Ammonia is always zero
Nitrites are zero 24 hours after dosing, but around 1ppm 8 hours after dosing
Nitrates are up there - maybe 40 or 60 ppm...hard to tell, bright red (AP test kit)

I was just wondering how fast the nitrites need to be disappearing after dosing.

 

[GeraldTheMouse]

I'd wait another day or two until the nitrates go down a to around 20ppm, then you can slowly add a few fish per week.

 

[JWright]

How much ammonia are you dosing? If it's in the 5ppm range, then your fine. Do a 90% water change to get those nitrates gone, then head to the LFS for some new pets.

BTW Gerald, unless it's a planted tank, nitrates don't get metabolized in a FW tank. They won't go down on their own, you have to remove them with water changes. If she waits until her nitrates drop to 20 on their own, she'll never all fish.

 

[paige]

I initially brought the ammonia up to 4ppm and once I had nitrites on the test I started dosing half of what I initially used. I'm using powdered ammonium chloride, not the liquid stuff...so I do 2 dashes every day...I think a dash is like 0.013 of a tablespoon or something like that...I have litty tiny measuring spoons I'm using.

The tank is unplanted so I will have to change the water. I was wondering about that nitrates decreasing on their own business...that would be nice...maybe next time I'll get plants.

 

[Submariner]

As long as you don't overstock or overfeed you should be fine with water changed every other week or so. It's really not that big a deal.

 

[paige]

I know about water changes. This isn't my first tank...just my first fishless cycle. We've been moving around so I haven't had a tank in a couple years...this fishless stuff is all new to me...I've always used fish...even when I had a saltwater tank.

I guess majority says my cycle is finished -- which is definitely fine by me. I can't go get fish until Friday so I guess I'll change the water then and get some fishies!! I'll stick stock slowly because I'm not sure of everything I want yet.

 

[FroggyFox]

Yep I agree...I'd do a water change as big as you can and then add your fish. If you can't add fish pretty quick (within a day or so) be sure to dose some ammonia.