Is My Tank Actually Cycled

[mr arnj]

right well i no people will probably be like oh here we go agen another person who knows nuthing at all but anyway ive had my tank for like a year now and have in it one platy and one cory there was more but they died however havent had a death in a good while but i have never actually tested my water and admittadly havent paid enuf attention lately due to other things on my mind but want to get on track now, my first question, surely my tank is cycled by now? it must be after all this time (i started with a fish in ccle with my 2 platy but was distracted and never ended up continuing with testing but just repeatedly changing water n the usual but how do i actually know if my tank is cycled now?

any help would be appreciated a lot need to know if i can add some fish to my tank

 

[Curiosity101]

'Being cycled' is a relative term. Yes your tank is cycled. But if you dropped another 5 corys in there then your tank really wouldn't be cycled.

Your tank is 'cycled' in that it is able to cope with the bio-load that is currently in it (1 platy and 1 cory)

So do start adding more fish. But add them very slowly at first.
I wouldn't add more than and equivalent sized/number of fish.
Ie. if the fish you have now are roughly...2-3" long if you added their lengths together? Then I wouldn't add anymore than that at first.
So...two more corys, or 2 platys, or 3/4 guppys
They're just some examples to hopefully make what I'm trying to say clear.

Then once you've added more fish, I'd suggest waiting for a full week before adding anymore.

Also one big tip, do a few water changes over the next few days to get your water quality up to scratch. 3 x 30% changes would probably be a good plan.
The fish you buy from the fish shop will probably be accustomed to really clean water, if you put them in your tank as it is you may find a large mortality rate.

Finally...if you want any advice on stocking you could either post your tank stats here or start a new thread.

 

[mr arnj]

'Being cycled' is a relative term. Yes your tank is cycled. But if you dropped another 5 corys in there then your tank really wouldn't be cycled.

Your tank is 'cycled' in that it is able to cope with the bio-load that is currently in it (1 platy and 1 cory)

So do start adding more fish. But add them very slowly at first.
I wouldn't add more than and equivalent sized/number of fish.
Ie. if the fish you have now are roughly...2-3" long if you added their lengths together? Then I wouldn't add anymore than that at first.
So...two more corys, or 2 platys, or 3/4 guppys
They're just some examples to hopefully make what I'm trying to say clear.

Then once you've added more fish, I'd suggest waiting for a full week before adding anymore.

Also one big tip, do a few water changes over the next few days to get your water quality up to scratch. 3 x 30% changes would probably be a good plan.
The fish you buy from the fish shop will probably be accustomed to really clean water, if you put them in your tank as it is you may find a large mortality rate.

Finally...if you want any advice on stocking you could either post your tank stats here or start a new thread.

ok so... my tank is only cycled to exactly whats in it now, but i can get a couple more say tommorrow and then do extra water changes and start regularly testing my water? but how do i get it so it stays clean with only a weekly water change

btw thanks very much for the help

 

[Curiosity101]

The bacteria in your tank should make up any small increases in bioload relatively quickly ie. within 24-48 hours.
But to be on the safe side it's a good plan to allow a week imbetween additions of new fish.

You don't need to do anything to 'keep it clean' imbetween water changes. That's what the filter bacteria grows for.

If you're unsure on exactly what cycling is then I'd definitely suggest the cycling topics in the 'new to the hobby' --> 'beginners resource centre'.

 

[mr arnj]

The bacteria in your tank should make up any small increases in bioload relatively quickly ie. within 24-48 hours.
But to be on the safe side it's a good plan to allow a week imbetween additions of new fish.

You don't need to do anything to 'keep it clean' imbetween water changes. That's what the filter bacteria grows for.

If you're unsure on exactly what cycling is then I'd definitely suggest the cycling topics in the 'new to the hobby' --> 'beginners resource centre'.

okay but do i definately know that i have cycled my tank to the fish that are in it at the moment (cos i wasnt really amazingly aware of it jus kept changing watrer as though it wasnt important to check water stats) and if i wanna add a group of black widow tetra i will add them for example add 2 a week?

thanks so much for this help

 

[Curiosity101]

Beginners Resource Centre with cycling topics

^^ I really think you should read through there so that you can properly get your head around what cycling is.

But I can assure you that if you have had a filter on the tank (with the same sponge) for more than two months then the tank is cycled.

Which reminds me, never replace all your filter media in one go. Only ever replace half at a time, and don't replace it until it's falling apart.
The bacteria lives on the filter pads/media/noodles/floss (whatever you have in the filter). And so replacing it all with new stuff in one go means you've removed it all.

 

[mr arnj]

Beginners Resource Centre with cycling topics

^^ I really think you should read through there so that you can properly get your head around what cycling is.

But I can assure you that if you have had a filter on the tank (with the same sponge) for more than two months then the tank is cycled.

Which reminds me, never replace all your filter media in one go. Only ever replace half at a time, and don't replace it until it's falling apart.
The bacteria lives on the filter pads/media/noodles/floss (whatever you have in the filter). And so replacing it all with new stuff in one go means you've removed it all.

yeah will do now i mean ive read through all the stuff bout drops n rises of ammonia and nitrats n stuff etc etc but this dusnt mean anything to me as i havent tested my water, but once agen ur help is very much appreciated

 

[fatheadminnow]

Your tank should in deed be cycled, like stated above, for the current bio-load in your tank. Your current bio-load is how much ammonia your two fish produce along with other rotting debris in the tank.

To know for sure you are cycled though, you would need to get a LIQUID test kit and test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If your ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm, and your nitrate is higher than 0 ppm, then you are most likely cycled.

If you go ahead and add more fish, add only like 1 or 2 a week. In the mean time, your bacteria will colonize in larger quantities to cope with the larger bio-load your new population of fish are producing. Like stated above again, it takes like 24-48 hours for the bacteria to do so.
So in a week after adding the new fish, your tank should be ready for more fish.

-FHM

 

[mr arnj]

Your tank should in deed be cycled, like stated above, for the current bio-load in your tank. Your current bio-load is how much ammonia your two fish produce along with other rotting debris in the tank.

To know for sure you are cycled though, you would need to get a LIQUID test kit and test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If your ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm, and your nitrate is higher than 0 ppm, then you are most likely cycled.

If you go ahead and add more fish, add only like 1 or 2 a week. In the mean time, your bacteria will colonize in larger quantities to cope with the larger bio-load your new population of fish are producing. Like stated above again, it takes like 24-48 hours for the bacteria to do so.
So in a week after adding the new fish, your tank should be ready for more fish.

-FHM

ok thank u so much for the help i'm gonna go out for some test kits today and start sorting this tank out thanks u

 

[waterdrop]

Its also important when you change water to deep-clean the gravel. Normally the water that you take out of the tank for the weekly water change is taken out with a "gravel siphon" which is a hose device with a wider clear cylinder on the end that helps you clean the gravel, while the plain hose end goes to the bucket or sink you are moving the tank water to. Do you have a gravel siphon and know how to use it?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[mr arnj]

Its also important when you change water to deep-clean the gravel. Normally the water that you take out of the tank for the weekly water change is taken out with a "gravel siphon" which is a hose device with a wider clear cylinder on the end that helps you clean the gravel, while the plain hose end goes to the bucket or sink you are moving the tank water to. Do you have a gravel siphon and know how to use it?

~~waterdrop~~

yeah i syphon the gravel every water change which i do weekly or fortnightly and every other water change i rinse the filter sponges etc in tank water

 

[fatheadminnow]

You should really try to make a maintenance schedule and stick to it. Also, you should do weekly water changes.

-FHM

 

[mr arnj]

You should really try to make a maintenance schedule and stick to it. Also, you should do weekly water changes.

-FHM

okay thank you im really gonna try hard this time