# The cycling process



## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

I just got a 20 gallon tank up and running. Last week I went to the fish store and bought 9 small tropical fish. I know I shouldn't have started with that many but the Petco attendand convinced me to.

I started the tank a week ago and two have died. and I think another is suffering from Ammonia poisoning...labored breathing ect.......

I have been detecting ammonia in the tank for days now and have been doing partial water changes every other day to keep it down....I haven't detected any nitrite at all which I expected once I got ammonia.

Is there anything I can do?

20 gallon high tank
aqueon 20 filter
20 pounds of gravel
i rock in the tank - my other decorations haven't arrived yet.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

what fish did you buy? you just got to wait and keep testing and doing water changes. can take up to a month to a month and a half to fully cycle a tank.

what are you using to test the water? and when you do water changes how low are you keeping the ammonia? you should not let it go over 1ppm. also are you using de chlorinator?


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

i bought 2 red velvet swordtails - they both died
2 platy-wag-sunset
3 tetra serpae
2 play rainbow

to test I am using an API ammonia nh3/nh4 test kit. Its a test where you draw some water and add the proper drips

to test for everything else, nitrites, nitrates, chlorine, ph and hardness I am using Tetra Easystrips.

I am using aqueon water conditioner to remove chlorine. 

I also tested my tap water and it contains no ammonia.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

you wana get rid of the strips. there very inaccurate.

what are the results your getting with the liquid test? your not going to get any nitrites just because youve jsut got ammonia. you need to wait for the nitrifying bacteria to build up first.

also you should really get 3 more tetras as there schooling fish. but not yet!


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

recommend some tests and I'll go get them ASAP!.....Do you think the fact that I don't have decorations is relevant? I have 20 pounds of gravel and just one rock.

Thanks a lot for your help.....


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

the API master freshwater test kit is the best one to have. they also do seperate Kh and gH test kits too. they may be expensive at first but will do over 800 tests so well worth the money. 

the lack of decor is prob stressing the fish out but it wont have any effect on the cycle really.


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

I just purchased the API test kits...it should be here in 2 days....in the meantime, I'll continue with what I'm doing

2 times a day light feeding
40 to 50% water change every 2 days
daily ammonia tests 
I'll keep using the test strips until they are done but I'll be highly skeptical of the results

and I record everything that I do, every observation.....


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

you might want to cut the feeding down to just once a day. theres a lot of fish so you dont want the filter bombarded with ammonia! ive got 12 little fish in my 100litre and 
its amazing how quick the place can be covered with poo! ive started feeding jsut once a day and starving for 2 days and its a lot cleaner.

every thing else sounds good. keep posting your progress


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

I got the nitrite test today and it tested 0 for nitrite which is what the strips were showing....The strips tests are now showing that the ph is close to 6.2...if i'm not mistaken that is acidic...

Since I'm doing the 25% daily water changes, the fish look happier and more active, I've also added more decoration and places to hide.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

Test strips are really inaccurate. Best get yourself a liquid test kit or see if your lfs will do the tests for free (most do) ti get a proper idea of what's happening in your tank


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

You could probably even do one feeding every other day while you are cycling, but if that makes you nervous, one small feeding a day will work.

Glad you got the liquid tests - they are great! It will take a while for the Nitrites to build up since you have to do all the water changes to keep the fish from dying. 

I wanna' smack that Petco associate! Who "convinces" a new person to the hobby to get so many fish?? Grrr. Anyway, Zero is right, and when you finish the cycle, you may want to get a few more Serpae's because they are a schooling fish and are known fin nippers. They are less likely to nip if they are kept in high enough numbers.

Keep us posted.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

One thing you could do is to add all the anacharis you can. that will consume the ammonia directly while the bacteria builds up.

Anacharis is a fast growing aquatic plant. with live thriving plants, the plants will consume ammonia and carbon dioxide while returning oxygen to help balance out and stabilize operation.

my .02


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

@holly12
Today I finally detected levels of nitrite....I guess I moved on to the second phase of the cycling process.....

@beasibob
I'll look for the Anacharis the next time I'm at the pet store..., Do i need anything to keep the plant alive, CO2 tablets?

You all were right, the test strips are garbage, they are still showing zero nitrites...


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

oseymour said:


> @holly12
> Today I finally detected levels of nitrite....I guess I moved on to the second phase of the cycling process.....
> 
> @beasibob
> ...


In time you may want to do co2 for better plant growth but for now just get them in there they will be fine. Hornwort is another great ammonia eating plant and very easy to grow. The biggest mistake is to try doing everything at once get your tank stabilized then move on, to more fish or co2 or whatever makes you happy, great hobby if you don't overload yourself IMHO.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You do need the right light or bulb for plants. Otherwise, they will start to melt. Anacharis is very tolerant of low light conditions, but it does have to be in the right frequency. Look for a plant grow bulb or any bulb that list a spectrum in the 5500-10000k range. As long as you are within there you are fine and one is not any better than the other for the health of the plant.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

oseymour said:


> @holly12
> 
> ...
> @beasibob
> ...


No need for anything other then light and the nutrients your tank provides.

I recommend 1.5-2 Watts of 6500k floursecent lights per gallon. 

On my old 20g I just used three 15w 6500k spiral pig tail screw in flourescent bulbs in round clip on reflectors. And just set those on a 1/4" square grid plastic lighting diffuser (egg crate) which I used for a cover.

The nutrients will come from the water and fish in the tank.

So just don't make it too hard. *old dude

Still just my .02


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

I already have 2 UltraSun 6500k Fluorescent 10 watt bulbs....thanks for the advice just confirming everything the lfs (petco) told me



beaslbob said:


> No need for anything other then light and the nutrients your tank provides.
> 
> I recommend 1.5-2 Watts of 6500k floursecent lights per gallon.
> 
> ...


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Anacharis will grow like no tomorrow! I had no luck keeping it planted, it kept coming up and floating, but it does work as a floating plant as well.


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## oseymour (Jul 12, 2012)

I think my tank is now fully cycled. How often do you do a water change for a 20 gallon tank?


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## Sherry (Nov 22, 2011)

I do my water changes once a week, usually on the weekends. I usually do about a 30% change. That works for me.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

oseymour said:


> I think my tank is now fully cycled. How often do you do a water change for a 20 gallon tank?


With the plants fully balancing out the tank, whenever it feels right. *old dude

which in my case is a very long time. 


my .02


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I do 25% every week.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

I do 50% a week as I have a lot of fish and the minerals need replacing


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## SueD (Aug 4, 2012)

I would do 50% wc's each week. If you plan on increasing your stock levels, I would also think about upgrading that filter to a AC50. Should have filtering capacity at twice the tank size.


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