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Ok, just when I thought I had the whole idea of cycling down, I read some posts here and end up more confused than when I started.

I hear people go on about how it takes weeks or even months for their tank to cycle. However, some people seem to have great success with products like "Cycle".

I bought "Cycle" for my 20g tank. I filled the tank and added the "Cycle" yesterday, so my tank is still very new. According to the "Cycle" instructions I should see the nitrate spike somewhere between day 4 and day 5. Also according to the instructions apparently I will not see much of a spike in the ammonia, but it will drop off with the nitrate. So, only time will tell if I am one of the lucky ones who "Cycle" works perfectly for.

Right now here are my numbers (if it makes any difference right now to know):
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

However, let me see if I have this correct... Once the ammonia and nitrate spike and drop, and once my nitrite starts to increase, it is safe to start adding fish?

It just seems very odd to me that some people on here have been waiting weeks and weeks for their tank to cycle so that they can get fish, yet some people say that using "Cycle" allows them to have fish in their tank within the same week. It's just very confusing to me as to how that works. :%)

So, after reading that some people are still waiting after weeks, it makes me feel somewhat scared to add fish after only a week. (However, I don't want to be waiting weeks and weeks to get my fish either.)

I thought about waiting until my numbers looked alright and then adding my pair of Cherry Barbs to start things out. How long should I wait before adding any of my other fish? (Am I going to be watching my ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels to answer that question for me?)

Basically, I feel like I am making this cycling process more complicated than it really is. Perhaps I am thinking about everything and worrying about everything too much.

So, any information anyone could share with me about my above questions or to help calm my nerves about the cycling process, please share. Thanks!


Last edited by neurotica1983 at 10-Feb-2005 05:15

New and Improved Cycle (NIC) is supposedly the beneficial bacteria that you need for your tank to be cycled. Therefore, adding it to a tank should instantly cycle your tank. However, NIC really isn't as effective as something like Bio-Spira. For both, all you are adding is the bacteria. They still need something to feed on. Basically, you need an ammonia source. You can add hardy fish to do that, or something like pure ammonia, or just throw in some fish food to decay and produce ammonia. Just adding NIC to a tank won't make it cycled.


"Once the ammonia and nitrate spike and drop, and once my nitrite starts to increase, it is safe to start adding fish?"

No, once ammonia is gone, nitrite is gone, and nitrates are showing, it is safe to add fish.

"How long should I wait before adding any of my other fish?"

I'd wait a week or so. It depends on the tank. What size tank, and what are you planning on putting in there?

Good luck!

---

They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

*Long Post Alert*

I'm not sure if I understand you right. Has the Cycle (NIC) been added to an empty tank? If so, unless there is food in the tank or other organic matter, such as plants, the tank will not go through a cycle. In act, the bacteria from the NIC will starve.

The cycle starts with the introduction of ammonia (fish pee, poop, rotting food, plant matter, etc.). A good bacteria develops in response to that and it eats the ammonia. The object is to build a colony that will consume ammonia as fast as it is produced so that our readers see "zero". Products like NIC and BioSpira contain some of that live bacteria and can provide a boost with a low fish load.

When this good bacteria begins to eat the ammonia, it has a by-product called nitrite. Then a good bacteria develops that eats that. Once again, the object is to build a colony or biofilter strong enough to eat the nitrite as fast at it is consummed so that the tester reads "zero". Bacterial starters also contain some of these.

"Cycle" is best aimed at nitrite, imho, moreso than ammonia. Whereas, BioSpira does well to boost both colonies.

All biocolonies grow slowly, therefor stocking them should be slow. This has to be balanced with a fish's need to have a school, if it is that type of fish. Some fish are tolerant of being in less numbers than the ideal 6, at least for a few weeks during initial stocking.

With New and IMproved Cycle, less so than with BioSpira, there will be some low levels of ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia may get to 1 or 2ppm as my nitrite. This is enough to stress or kill sensitive fish, if it lasts for days. Therefore, "cycle-hardy" fish are recommended as the first set to go into a new tank.

Popular choices among egglayers and livebearers are as follows:

Egglayers
- White Cloud Mountain Minnows
- Danios (zebra, pearl, etc.)

Livebearers
- Guppies (common - usually in feeder tanks, or fancy).
- Mollies
- Platy's
- Swordtails (requires larger tanks as they get big)

There are probably others, but these are some of the silver bullets of cycle-hardiness.

I have a preference for egglayers, especially for someone setting up their first tank. Livebearers are equivalent to rabbits with regards to breeding. They don't call guppies "millionsfish" for nothing. They will produce fry every 3-4 weeks. Sometimes fish stores will take the fry, but you need to accept the fact that they may get dumped into a filthy, disgusting feeder tank to be sold for food. Sometimes they can be controlled naturally by allowing mom and dad and others in the tank to feed on them early on as they are born. If you have a special strain such as green cobras or some of the other fancy strains, fish stores may be more interested in taking the fry for store credit.

Egglayers will lay eggs and my white clouds laid them in the height of cycling - and they hatched. But large tanks are not fit for larvae and often other inhabitants clean up the eggs before they can hatch.

If you use Cycle, make sure you have a good sized bottle so you can dose it repeatedly during cycling. If you have only a 10 gallon tank, consider a small school of white clouds, like 3. You can add 3 more when ammonia and nitrite are zero and you see nitrates - the by-product of the nitrite-consuming bacteria.

Unlike danios, white clouds are more laid back and less dizzying, meaning you will have more choices for other fish such as harlequin rasboras, which could be spooked easily by the dizzying danios. Or, a gourami, or other tetras.

I'm partial to white clouds because I've enjoyed mine so much. They are coldwater fish, but are tolerant of 75/76F - a good temp for many trops.

Cory_Di attached this image:


I should add, that if you are interested in more sensitive species and don't want any of the fish I mentioned, you can always do a process called fishless cycling. You use ordinary household ammonia (with no dyes, perfumes, detergents, nor extra strength). A few drops in the water and you can check your ammonia level after it runs through the filter for an hour or two. If you have something that registers, even at 2 or 3ppm, you can then add your Cycle and wait a few days. I'd continue adding a drop of ammonia every few days and checking the ammonia and nitrite and adding the Cycle. This means you stare at an empty tank for a couple weeks, but it beats watching fish die or having fish that you aren't necessarily interested in. Once you have zero ammonia and nitrites and a fair amount of nitrates (10ppm), you can begin adding small numbers of fish and monitoring the ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple weeks to make sure it is stable. Then, add a few more and so on.

Hope this helps and isn't too much

Diane


Last edited by Cory_Di at 11-Feb-2005 08:13[/font]