Well I have just reached the near end of my minnow tank cycling, this has taken around 60 days to reach 0 ammonia and nitrite.
cheers, 5 weeks to go for me then.....
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Well I have just reached the near end of my minnow tank cycling, this has taken around 60 days to reach 0 ammonia and nitrite.
I'm only a novice,but i went through a fish in cycle,and my ammonia/nitrite kept rising slightly ,and i had to find a happy medium between not taking out to much water and not feeding too much,(a slight pinch) i had 6 harlequins whilst cycling,if i am right the nitrite feeds off the ammonia and the nitrates eat the nitrites,so my reckoning was when i was doing mine,if i take out too much water i therefore was taking away the nitrates that eat the nitrites,i think i was lucky in one sense has my ammonia spike never went any higher than 0.4(i do have 2 filters running,whether this makes a difference?!)
I have now had solid zero ammonia/nitrites for 2 weeks,nitrate on average around 20,before weekly water change thats with my now 10 harlequins and 4 platies.
Good luck on yours
The amount of ammonia / nitrite needed for beneficial bacteria to colonize is just trace amounts, amounts so small that standard test kits dont even pick it up. You should always aim to get your ammonia / nitrite levels down to 0 if possible during a fish-in cycle and keep them as close to 0 as possible.
You will never get a tank with absolutely zero ammonia whatsoever, even in a cycled tank because your fish are constantly creating waste and breathing causing ammonia, the amounts are just so small that they dont get picked up by test kits which still deliver a reading of 0ppm.
Andy
I'm still happy i'm getting zero readings the past few weeks,it's better that anything above zero ,which i did have during fish in cycle,and i was constantly changing the water to bring it down.I still check the water every day just to make sure and i am aware that ammonia is always present and not detected by test kits
Oh no!
I am so sorry to hear that!
Don't throw in the towel though! You are nearly there! one more obstacle and I'm sure you will be fine!
Well no you are certainly not the worst fish keeper ever!
You're doing everything you can to keep your fish living in excellent conditions... You just having having great luck... yet!
You will be fine soon I'm sure!
As for the chocolate... send some this way... we will share a box and sob over our experiences with our tanks so far... haha
haha
If only it was that easy...
Time for another Nitrite test I think...
<0.25ppm
it will come, wish I could feel sorry for you but I can't, coming form the girl who had zero ammonia and now has it back again fin rot flicking minnows hrmphhhhhstill no zero though!