I FINALLY CYCLED!!!!

[Ima Newbie]

Well, after 5 long, agonizing months, my tank finally cycled!!!! I made probably the most common newbie mistake of putting in too many fish before the tank cycled. I was about ready to give up, but I checked it the other day and ammonia is at 0ppm, Nitrites are at 0ppm, and Nitrates are at 20ppm. I was soooo excited! I just wanted to give thanks to those who have helped me out. If it wasnt for you words of encouragment and advice, I prolly would have given up.
So, THANKS!!!
And I wanted to ask a couple more questions. Now that the tank is cycled, can I go down to weekly or biweekly water changes? How often should I use my gravel cleaner? I havnt used it for some time now because I didnt want to disturb any helpful bacteria. So it is pretty nasty.
Also, I have a white fuzz all over everything in the tank. Is it alge or something else?
And, I have 20 fish in my 55 gal. tank. Is that too much, just right, or can I add more?
Again, thanks to everyone!!!

 

[Fishstix]

Well, after 5 long, agonizing months, my tank finally cycled!!!!

Damn!!! I hope i don't have to wait that long!!! I tried to get Bio-Spira at my LFS today but they said the processing plant burned down and that there was none available.

 

[Surfer Dude]

hi I think I might have the answer to how many fish you have in your tankif it is too much or not enough. Well since it is a freshwater, or Im guessing by the types of fish, that 20 fish in a 55 gallon will be ok. Since freshwater fish dont need as much space as saltwater you can probably put 10 or so more in but tou might want to check with other people first because I really dont know as much about freshwater as I do saltwater. I really dont know the answers to the other questions because like I said I know more about saltwater tanks. Good Luck with the tank.

Surfer Dude B)

 

[jams.alaskan]

If they are the fish in your signature then I'd stop stocking for the time being - there are some nice sized (or will be) fish in there and the tank is newly up and running. Let your nitrate level be your guide line for awhile on how often to change some water. When it gets to 40 ppm then do a 20 or so percent water change - now when you are doing your water changes you can use the vac to clean say a 1/4 of the supstrate at a time. Hope that helps and congrats!!!

ALASKA

 

[tstenback]

Yes you can go to maintenance now a weekly/whatever , and as Jams stated use the nitrate level . Also keep track of how long between changes and if the time gets shorter and shorter it means that you are heading for trouble as either the bio load is too much for the environment or you have a cleaning problem. As far as the gravel goes clean only 25% at a time. Your fish load is quite large right now i would leave it where it is and see how things go. One of the biggest mistakes .... The white fuzz could be an algae or a fungus due to to much rotten food on the bottom. Just clean it best you can but only do a section at a time and try not to disturb the gravel too much as your bacterial colony is still young yet and needs time to completely establish it self. Good Luck and have fun

 

[Ima Newbie]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I'll take it easy for awhile before adding more fish. My husband will be a little disappointed, but o well!
Thanks
Ima