Is My Cycle Finished?

[dthoffsett]

I started a fishless cycle at the end of last month. Nitrite first starting showing 8 days ago. The question I have is how long do you wait before you test your water after adding the ammonia. I never could find a definitave answer. In the artical I read before starting the cycle it said 1 hour after adding ammonia. Based on that time period my readings as of two days ago are: ammonia 0 nitrite 5 nitrate 10.

However, in a couple of the topics on this forum, I found that many people test 24 hours after adding ammonia. If I follow this time period, my readings as of today are: ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10.
So which is the correct amount of time to wait.

And if it is 24 hours, does that mean my tank is cycled even though I've never had a nitrate spike, and I have no plants in my tank. Either way it will be close to a week before I get fish (that is unless the cycle isn't finished), I was just hoping someone could clear up my confusion.

 

[rdd1952]

Actually, once you start your cycleing, you should test ammonia every day until it drops back to near 0. At that point you add more to raise back to 3 or 4 ppm and start checking ammonia and nitrite daily. Since you are not showing any of either, I would suggest adding enough ammonia to raise the level to around 4 ppm and see how long it takes that to process through. Test about 6 hours later to see what you have and then again in 12 hours. If, at 6 hours, you show readings on both ammonia (lower than the 4 ppm you started with) and a nitrite reading. You know that the tank is processing ammonia. If at 12 hours, you show 0 readings for both ammonia and nitrite, then you are cycled.

Due to the fact that you only have 10 ppm on notrate, I'd say that you are not cycled. Nitrate at the conclusion of a successful fishless cycle should be off the chart high (over 100 ppm) unless you have a LOT of live plants to use the nitrate. My 75 gallon was very heavily planted when I cycled it and I still have nitrates off the chart at the end.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, if he did water changes its highly likely that he's fully cycled, regardless of the nitrate levels being relatively low... do what rdd1952 said, test after adding, 6 hours later, and 12 hours later. If you cant do it that way, do it something close to that. If the ammonia and nitrites go up and then come back down to zero you're cycled. Remember not to add too many fish at once since you dont want to push your tank into a mini cycle with the increased bio load

 

[dthoffsett]

Actually I'm a she. And as I said at the beginning, I started my cycle close to a month ago. The version I used was to add x amound of ammonia until a reading of 5ppm. Continue to add that amount daily (in my case 18 drops) until nitrite appears, then add half that amount (9 drops) until both ammonia and nitrite stay at zero. The only question I had was the amount of time to wait before testing. I'll try testing at 6 hours tonight and see what it says.

 

[rdd1952]

I misunderstood. If you are just checking on how long to wait after adding ammonia to test, 10 to 20 minutes should be fine. The filter will circulate it pretty quickly, especially if you put it in near the intake of the filter. If the tank is indeed cycled which it sounds like it might be, you will still need to add ammonia daily up until the day before you add your fish (don't add the day you go to get them). If you don't keep the bacteria fed, it will begin to die off. Since you used the method you did, you should be cycled for a heavy load and be able to add your full stock at once. Just make sure the tank can process 5 or 6 ppm of ammonia back to 0 ammonia and nitrite in 10 to 12 hours and you're good to go.