When Will A Tank Become Cycled?

[krista522]

I have had one of my tanks for atleast two months, im not sure the exact date. When should it be cycled. I have been doing a fish-in cycle to the T as said in a thread on this forum (I had no idea about cycling the tanks and had no other choice) I have no way to buy a test because I know no one with a credit card for ebay, and can't find one at walmart. What should be the time frame for a tank to by cycled?

 

[DuMScOuSe]

Could take alot longer,fish in takes 6 weeks may be more to finish

 

[lilfishie]

it is impossible to say without test kits im afraid as all cycles take different amounts of time

 

[LilyRose Tank]

a fishless cycle takes anything from 2 months to 4/5 m,onths. so a fish in will take much longer. maybe even 6 months. i hope you are carying out small water changes every day (25%) to ensure your fish health. my fish in was shortened by using mature media from my other tank, do you know anyone you could have some mature media from?
you are in for a long wait to cycle it. If the fish is still alive ( sorry) in a year I'd consider it cycled but only for the number of fish you have in there. If you add more the cycling will begin again as the filter learns to copoe with a higher bioload. hope that helps

 

[BethK]

You can use paypal and link it up to your debit card or a bank account, or just simply do a bank transfer to your paypal.

You would need a test kit to monitor a cycle, there is no real estimated times.

 

[Assaye]

I'm pretty sure a carefully controlled fish-un cycle will not necessarily take longer than a fishless cycle. That said, without water tests you won't know when it is cycled. There is no strict time limit on cycles - it takes as long as it takes.

You've been doing water changes, right? Daily?

Get your water tested at a local aquatics store at least 12 hours since your last water change. If the ammonia and nitrites are zero and the nitrates are present, your tank will be cycled (or very close). Keep up with the daily water changes for another week and then leave it about 3 days without a water change and test again. If you have zero ammonia and nitrites, you're done.