Cycling With Fish.... Water Changes
- Thread starter jellybean
- Start date
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
Hi jellybean (great id!) and welcome to TFF,
Water changes are indeed critical in a fish-in cycle. You have to base the amount and frequency of water changes on the results of accurate water tests. Often the most important tool, almost more important than any of the other equipment a beginner gets, is a liquid-reagent based test kit. Many of us here use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit, which has tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and two ranges of pH. The Nutrafin Mini-Master Test Kit is another good one. Kits based on test strips are not worth the paper the strips are printed on.
Once you have your kit, your goal will be to find a water change regimen that gets ammonia and nitrite as close to zero as possible, letting it only creep up to 0.25ppm at the most before the next water change.
Of course the members will want to know the size tank and the fish stocking so they can analyze whether its likely you will be able to pull off the fish-in cycling or whether it will drive you crazy!
~~waterdrop~~
Water changes are indeed critical in a fish-in cycle. You have to base the amount and frequency of water changes on the results of accurate water tests. Often the most important tool, almost more important than any of the other equipment a beginner gets, is a liquid-reagent based test kit. Many of us here use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit, which has tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and two ranges of pH. The Nutrafin Mini-Master Test Kit is another good one. Kits based on test strips are not worth the paper the strips are printed on.
Once you have your kit, your goal will be to find a water change regimen that gets ammonia and nitrite as close to zero as possible, letting it only creep up to 0.25ppm at the most before the next water change.
Of course the members will want to know the size tank and the fish stocking so they can analyze whether its likely you will be able to pull off the fish-in cycling or whether it will drive you crazy!
~~waterdrop~~
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
yup wd is right, if you can give us a few more specifics on your tank then we can tailor advice to your situation so please answer the following questions
how big is the tank?
what fish do you have and how many of each?
what equipment are you running?
how long has it been set up?
are you using any chemical additives?
what is your current maintenance routine?
and most importantly what are your water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Speaking in general terms the aim through a cycle is to keep ammonia and nitrite as close to 0 as possible, you do this by testing the water at least once a day (more if possible) and then anytime you get a reading for ammonia or nitrite which is 0.25ppm or above then you do as many large water changes as needs be to get them down to 0. This may be daily, every other day or every couple fo days. It will start out very regularly but the routine should slow up after a few weeks (maybe a month or so) and after that you'll eventually reach the point where you can just do a regular weekly water changes as per a normal routine, as this poiunt the tank is cycled.
how big is the tank?
what fish do you have and how many of each?
what equipment are you running?
how long has it been set up?
are you using any chemical additives?
what is your current maintenance routine?
and most importantly what are your water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Speaking in general terms the aim through a cycle is to keep ammonia and nitrite as close to 0 as possible, you do this by testing the water at least once a day (more if possible) and then anytime you get a reading for ammonia or nitrite which is 0.25ppm or above then you do as many large water changes as needs be to get them down to 0. This may be daily, every other day or every couple fo days. It will start out very regularly but the routine should slow up after a few weeks (maybe a month or so) and after that you'll eventually reach the point where you can just do a regular weekly water changes as per a normal routine, as this poiunt the tank is cycled.
how big is the tank?
46 gallons bowfront
what fish do you have and how many of each?
4 small comets
what equipment are you running?
undergravel filter and power filter
how long has it been set up?
4 days
are you using any chemical additives?
i put in "cycle" which is supposed to speed up the cycle somehow
what is your current maintenance routine?
dont have yet as I dont exactly know what I am doing.
and most importantly what are your water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Ammonia- .50
Nitrite - 0 (shouldnt i get a reading)
PH - 8 I am planning on housing chiclids
Nitrate - 5
Anything else? Should do a water change to get the ammonia down?
46 gallons bowfront
what fish do you have and how many of each?
4 small comets
what equipment are you running?
undergravel filter and power filter
how long has it been set up?
4 days
are you using any chemical additives?
i put in "cycle" which is supposed to speed up the cycle somehow
what is your current maintenance routine?
dont have yet as I dont exactly know what I am doing.
and most importantly what are your water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Ammonia- .50
Nitrite - 0 (shouldnt i get a reading)
PH - 8 I am planning on housing chiclids
Nitrate - 5
Anything else? Should do a water change to get the ammonia down?
since there are fish in there i would keep up with the once a week water changes. It might slow the cycling process down but it'll keep the fish alive. If you want to cycle it quickly though, just do a water change when ammonia and nitrite are zero and you get nitrate readings. Tanks finish cycling (please correct me if i'm wrong) when nitrites and ammonia are 0 and you have a pretty high nitrate level (which you would have to kick down with water changes). In the beginning ammonia kicks up, then goes down, then nitrite kicks up, then goes down, finally ending with nitrate. since you're not getting a nitrite reading i would wait a little longer to see. It's only been four days, just wait to see if the nitrite levels go down as ammonia decrease. Also i would use whatever "cycle" you have left if you want, but i wouldn't buy anymore. That stuff is pretty worthless in my opinion, the only thing that really helps in terms of adding beneficial bacteria in a liquid form is "bio-spira" but i don't think they make that stuff anymore. hope this helps
Corleone
Fish Herder
Agree on the cycle. Bio-spira is still on the market, but it's leftover stuff, so it's a bigger crapshoot than usual. On the offchance you're in the UK, Bactinettes is a similar product to Bio-Spira, and is still available.
More than just weekly water changes, though - .50 is quite high, and at a pH of 8, prolonged exposure to anything past .25 is going to be bad. Comets can take a beating, but you still want to keep the ammonia down.
More than just weekly water changes, though - .50 is quite high, and at a pH of 8, prolonged exposure to anything past .25 is going to be bad. Comets can take a beating, but you still want to keep the ammonia down.
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
was agree with corleone, what you need to focus on is getting the levels good for the fish, not getting them good for the bacteria. people think sometimes that you need to leave some ammonia in the tank for the bacteria to eat or they won't grow, what you need to remember is the level of ammonia that we see is the excess ammonia that the bacteria can't consume, so it's fine to remove it.
your goal over the next few weeks is to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm, preferably both of them at 0. So you do as many large water changes as it takes to achieve this. I'd suggest start out with a 50% water change ASAP, one hour after the change measure the levels again, if they aren't below 0.25ppm then do another water change and so on until they get down to a manageable level.
You'll need to monitor the levels every single day and do a water change whenever the levels indicate you need to, it'll probably start out being a couple of changes a day then drop down to one a day then eventually one every couple of days, when the levels hold steady at 0 ammonia and nitrite for a good few days in a row then you know you're cycled and can go to a steady once a week 30% change routine.
your goal over the next few weeks is to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm, preferably both of them at 0. So you do as many large water changes as it takes to achieve this. I'd suggest start out with a 50% water change ASAP, one hour after the change measure the levels again, if they aren't below 0.25ppm then do another water change and so on until they get down to a manageable level.
You'll need to monitor the levels every single day and do a water change whenever the levels indicate you need to, it'll probably start out being a couple of changes a day then drop down to one a day then eventually one every couple of days, when the levels hold steady at 0 ammonia and nitrite for a good few days in a row then you know you're cycled and can go to a steady once a week 30% change routine.
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