I'm on day 26 of my fishless cycle and after a little stall in my cycle I finally have my first readings of
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
20 nitrates
I know that I need to make sure that the cycle has really completed so I am going to continue to add the ammonia for the next couple of days and make sure that my ammonia and nitrite readings return to 0. I have to order my fish because my local pet stores do not have them in stock so this will leave my tank fishless for several more days once the cycle is complete. I want to make sure that I am doing this correctly and have a couple of questions
1. I need to continue adding the same amount of ammonia in my tank on a daily basis until I can put my fish in there, correct?
2. When do I do the "big" water change?
a. After I have confirmation that my tank has cycled in a couple of days? Or
b. Right before I add my fish? Which could be up to 7 more days because I have to wait for them to arrive.
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
20 nitrates
I know that I need to make sure that the cycle has really completed so I am going to continue to add the ammonia for the next couple of days and make sure that my ammonia and nitrite readings return to 0. I have to order my fish because my local pet stores do not have them in stock so this will leave my tank fishless for several more days once the cycle is complete. I want to make sure that I am doing this correctly and have a couple of questions
1. I need to continue adding the same amount of ammonia in my tank on a daily basis until I can put my fish in there, correct?
2. When do I do the "big" water change?
a. After I have confirmation that my tank has cycled in a couple of days? Or
b. Right before I add my fish? Which could be up to 7 more days because I have to wait for them to arrive.