I Think I'm Cycled! Erm. Now What?

[NewFeesh]

So I got my new nitrite testing kit; been testing for a week with consistent 12 hour drops to 0 ppm in nitrite. Ammonia's good. Nitrite's good.

So now I'm cycled, right? And I can have fish? Before I add them, I guess I'm supposed to do a water change. Is that right? I kinda feel like there are good things in the water now that I don't want to get rid of. What if a water change makes my nitrites do bad things?

Current water stats:
pH- 8.5
alkalinity-300
nitrite- 0ppm
nitrate- 160 ppm
ammonia- 0 ppm

How large of a water change should I do? And is there anything else I need to do before I add my feesh?

Thank you!

 

[SensesFail]

If you add 4-5ppm of ammonia and it's processed completely in 12 hrs along with nitrite your there if this does it constantly for a week brilliant!! I'd do a massive water change 50-75% and test to make sure the nitrate is very very low. If your tap water has a 0 nitrate value from the tap I would try and aim for a 0 reading on the nitrate.

Then you need to either add ammoia or fish very soon so that the bacteria still survive and don't die off If your not adding the fish straight away add a slight amount of ammonia to keep the bacs alive. Obviously then you may need to carry out a water change to get shot of nitrate before the fish go in. If I was getting them say tomorrow I'd add enough ammonia to last till 2moro, do a water change in the morning and get fish once the tank is all set to go the same day.

I would hang around and wait for some experienced person to either confirm what iv said or give their opinion as I'm extremely new and this is what I understand so far regarding this situation.

 

[KittyKat]

You need a 7 day "test" period of ammonia and nitrite dropping to 0ppm from 5ppm in 12 hours. Once you get this result for 7 days in a row, you can get fish. Before adding fish, drain the tank and fill with fresh, dechlorinated water.

 

[Curiosity101]

SensesFail is correct.

You have finished your qualifying week and you now need to do a massive water change to get your nitrates down, and you are then ready for fish. You really want to be aiming to get your nitrates around 10-15ppm above your tap water at the very max before you introduce fish.
So you will probably need to do an 80% + water change.

Make sure you remember to turn your filter and heater off before you start.
Empty the water.
Refill, remembering to dechlor the water before it goes in the tank.
Switch all equipment back on.
Then do another test reading (around an hour later) to check nitrates are low enough.
Double check all equipment is working and that the tank is at the correct temp.
Then go out and get your first fish.

I presume you've already planned your stocking(ish)?

If you haven't then make sure you keep dosing like SensesFail said, cause you don't want the bacteria to die off, not when you spent so long growing them.

And don't worry about taking 'good stuff' out of the water with a water change. The bacteria live in the filter, so long as you dechlor the water before putting it in the tank you will be fine.

 

[NewFeesh]

Fabulous. You guys are terrific; I especially appreciate the steps from Curiosity101. I *hope* I would have remembered to turn everything off beforehand, but . . . it's good to be sure.

I'm planning on getting my first few fish this week. Do ya'll think guppies will be alright in a newly cycled tank? Eventually I'm planning on having cories, guppies, and neon tetras. (It's a 10 gallon tank).

 

[Skins]

Congrats!!!!!!!

If i was at the same stage i would be doing a down to gravel water change+a good vac, then off to my local lfs. If your worried about your n-bacs being effected by the water change then dose up 4-5ppm ammonia and check your parameters on the 12hr mark, but as you know you will have to do another water change prior to stocking.

Skins.

 

[Curiosity101]

I *hope* I would have remembered to turn everything off beforehand, but . . . it's good to be sure.

It took me 2 (almost 3) heaters before I finally got it engrained in my brain to turn everything off! lol . It seems so silly to me now cause I wouldn't even have to think about it to switch everything off.

As for first fish, yeah the guppys should be fine, most species of corys will be fine too. It's only neons (out of your list) that tend to not do well in new tanks.

 

[SensesFail]

Fabulous. You guys are terrific; I especially appreciate the steps from Curiosity101. I *hope* I would have remembered to turn everything off beforehand, but . . . it's good to be sure.

I'm planning on getting my first few fish this week. Do ya'll think guppies will be alright in a newly cycled tank? Eventually I'm planning on having cories, guppies, and neon tetras. (It's a 10 gallon tank).

Guppies should be fine you have cycled the tank to 5ppm and that is a lot more than the fully loaded tank with fish will produce. Now can someone clarify if you don't stock the tank fully straight away will some of the bacs die as the tank is not getting its 5 or near 5ppm fix. I.e if you add one guppy for 3 weeks the filter will then adjust for that dosing? I'd say you could dose the tank with quite a few fish but I'd need this confirming also lol

Congrats!!!!!!!

If i was at the same stage i would be doing a down to gravel water change+a good vac, then off to my local lfs. If your worried about your n-bacs being effected by the water change then dose up 4-5ppm ammonia and check your parameters on the 12hr mark, but as you know you will have to do another water change prior to stocking.

Skins.

Can't wait until mine is done I currently have everything needed to re vamp the tank with new decoration changing the gravel for sand and so forth.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree, better to let your tank mature more with the guppies and cories and introduce the neons quite a few months later. C101 is right that it just seems so easy to forget the "turning off" bit. I thought I had it all covered because I have an external cannister filter and an inline heater that heats the water outside the tank, so both can be left running during water changes (which is nice) but then of course I decided I liked my powerhead positioned high in the tank and I've begun forgetting to unplug it before the gravel clean starts. Then, as soon as I hear the first sucking noise I end up getting some water on the floor as I quickly contort to unplug it .

~~waterdrop~~

 

[NewFeesh]

Yeah, those neons sound like trouble in a new tank. They're so pretty, though, so I'm willing to wait 'til it's safe to add 'em. I've heard that cardinals are a little more hardy, but I haven't had this confirmed. What do ya'll think?

 

[james_fish]

Now for the fun part!

Congratz.

James.