# Cycling my new 8 gallon tank



## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

Hey guys. I'm into my third day of cycling my new 8 gallon. I'm doing a fishless cycle and I'm using fish food as a source of ammonia. I've been maintaining the ammonia level at around 1-2mg/l. Yesterday when I came home from work, I noticed the water became very cloudy. Is this normal? Should I change the water?


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

*c/p*


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## Marshall (Jul 8, 2013)

Using the flake method of fishless cycle is one of the messiest ways to go about it, it will leave a huge mess to vacuum out of your substrate when finished, otherwise leaving the mess will cause the food to rot and continue adding extra ammonia after the fish are in the picture. Using pure ammonia is much cleaner and when ready to add fish, you simply stop dosing and acclimate them in. 

That being said, cloudy water is normally caused by a bacterial bloom in the water column, which can be caused by over feeding, since you don't have fish in there anyways, it wont hurt anything.

You can do a PWC as long as you keep your ammonia levels up until you start to see some nitrItes.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

+1, it's a bacteria bloom. You should see a nitrite spike very soon.


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

Day 5 into my cycle, and I'm getting really confused. I haven't changed the water even though its really cloudy. Actually, its even cloudier than before. Anyways, the ammonia level seems to be dropping. I've been adding 1 sinking fish tablet every 12 hours. 

Ammonia level was at 1-2ppm a couple of days ago and when I tested the water just now, it was at 0.25ppm. NitrIte is currently at 0.8ppm, nitrAte is 20ppm. I know it usually takes about a month or so to fully cycle a tank, but is it normal to see nitrAte this early? Should I change out the water and start from scratch?


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## Marshall (Jul 8, 2013)

don't start over for nothing, nitrates are a good thing, dose the ammonia back up and wait for it to fall again, once it starts to fall to zero after 24 hours as well as the nitrites to zero, do a large water change and vacuum the heck out of the gravel, the bacteria colony will have set itself up in the filter and will be ready to support fish.

sometimes things just work out faster than others. there is no set rule for how long it should take to cycle, if you can dose ammonia and have it fall to 0 in a day, the tank is cycled.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've started a cycle in as little as 10 days, did you start out with used/dirty gravel and such?

Congrats, I would continue the cycle and see if things stabilize any. You can do a PWC to clear the water and maybe hoover up some of the moldy fish food - the bacteria are mostly concentrated in your filter, not suspended in the water column.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

What kind of water testing supplies are you using?

Doing a fishless cycle with flakes is just that - flaky. The problem and I understand you may have not have had another choice but to do it this way, is that you cannot control what occurs with the food you put in. You have to wait until it starts to rot to even get any ammonia and once that starts the part that is rotting may not be enough to keep levels at any higher rate to speed things along. The flakes you add today may not have any impact to the ammonia levels until 2-3 days from now. Using flakes is a method to use but from what I have seen on here it does not speed thing along like "most" fishless cycles can.

Nitrate readings can be just from the high level of food you're putting in and not necessarily from the processing of ammonia or nitrites. I would not worry about testing for them as it will just likely fool you into believing things are getting close. They may be, but they may just as easily not be. With the flaky method you never can tell.

I would not do any water change because of the cloudy water. One great thing about a completely "cycled" tank, cloudiness from bacterial blooms usually don't happen. So an awesome indicator that things are over or nearly over will be when your water is crystal clear. Keep adding flakes. Worry about the water changes and cleaning the tank when its all over - you're committed now. Just my opinion.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

+1 With Jrman the food is probably causing the nitrate reading, but having nitrites is a good sign!! your ammonia levels may never show as high again now that you have some bacteria established keep an eye on nitrites as they will soon be your indicator.


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

Day 6

The water has become remarkably clearer. But the test readings are confusing me.

Ammonia- 1.5ppm
NitrIte- 1.2ppm
NitrAte- 25ppm

Seems like everything is increasing all at once, especially the ammonia. I was expecting the ammonia to drop, not increase. Maybe the tablets I put into the tank yesterday are only just starting to produce ammonia. Anyway, I cleared out the old tablets which had fungus growing all over them and put in a new one. Any idea where I'm at with the cycle right now?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

as jrman said the food will take possibly days to "generate" ammonia,as it must start to dissolve and such first.I have cycled with food before and although it is safer than cycling with fish in, it is not always quicker.
It does appear you are moving in the right direction but how much longer it will take is very diffacult to say,as all tanks are different.I would just continue on the course you have chosen(it is working) and just test for ammonia and nitrites.When you no longer see ammonia,then you could check for nitrates.Having nitrates now is good ,but with ammonia still showing it isn't worth much(tank is still "toxic for fish").Once levels stabilize you should stock very lightly and slowly(not going to get a lot in an 8g anyways),and monitor levels.
No need to change water at all until you start stocking,then you will need to monitor and change water for the fishes safety.
Good luck,it looks like the tank/filter are cycling.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You are where you are, that is all anyone can say. Good that you have nitrites already. That doesn't mean that you only have days left, it could be weeks. This is the problem with flakes, irregular signs of what is going on.


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

Hi guys! Just thought I'd do an update on my cycle. The Ammonia dropped to 0ppm 10 days ago and the NitrIte has been at 3.3-33ppm since 1st October(I'm using the liquid test kit). Nitrate is >100ppm. 

My tank is currently empty, no substrate, no plants, no decorations. Reason is because I figured it'll be a lot more troublesome cleaning the substrate, etc, after the cycle is complete than if the tank were completely empty.

Is there anything I can do to speed up the cycle?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Just hang in there. This phase of the cycle can take the longest.


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## Jet (Oct 14, 2013)

I would have used API's Quick Start. It contains live bacteria and limits ammonia and nitrate. I picked some up at the local pet store for my 55 gallon tank. After one week I added cichlids because my ammonia and nitrate levels were at 0. They have been doing great and I didn't have to wait long.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Jet said:


> I would have used API's Quick Start. It contains live bacteria and limits ammonia and nitrate. I picked some up at the local pet store for my 55 gallon tank. After one week I added cichlids because my ammonia and nitrate levels were at 0. They have been doing great and I didn't have to wait long.


Honestly if you know how the cycle works and what it requires to get started even, it is impossible for your tank to have cycled. Ammonia would be at zero because you didn't add any and nitrates would be at zero unless you added or your water from the tap has it. Assuming this was a new tank.


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## Jet (Oct 14, 2013)

OK, I realize that it seemed I was implying that all you need is Quick Start. I can't come to that conclusion because that isn't all I used. I used the bio-filter from a mature tank and some gravel as well. It wasn't a fishless cycle either; I bought 6 mollies to add the ammonia and nitrates. It may seem inhumane but I expected them to die. The levels fluctuated quite a bit the first few days, but they verily did get down to zero after the first week. Luckily I found a good home for the mollies when I realized I had a 100% survival rate (they are pretty hardy). I also believe that the plants helped speed up the process. The cycle for my 16 gallon took me 8 weeks to get the levels right, and as this cycle was considerably shorter (although, admittedly, it probably was rushed and incomplete) I would still recommend the use of API's product in conjunction with traditional cycling.


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

Hey guys! So I finished the cycle about a week ago. I scrubbed the tank clean, added substrate and plants, and transferred my 2 peppered corys and 1 albino cory into the tank. I gotta say, the tank looks great! 

1 problem though, the tank seems to be going through a mini cycle. The ammonia went up to about 0.25ppm, the nitrites are high, 1.6ppm. Nitrates are still manageable, at 20ppm. I've been doing 30% WC everyday, trying to keep the nitrites down. Any advise on how I should move forward would be great.








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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

1 of my peppered cory doesn't seem to be very active, always lying on the substrate unless I prod it with a stick. The other 2 seem to be fine though, digging the substrate, swimming around the tank exploring their new surroundings.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Scrubbing the tank clean caused you to loose some beneficial bacteria so it put you into a mini cycle. Keep testing and do water changes.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

A 30% wc with 1.6ppm nitrites will leave you above 1ppm when done.You want to keep your ammonia and nitrItes below 1ppm so maybe a 50% change would help,although that will leave you with .8 ppm nitrites and having to keep close eye for next days.Go for 2 @ 50% for 2 days in row and limit your feeding to a minimum.The bacteria should bounce back(Although it is very diffacult to predict).


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

What were your readings when you thought the cycle was completed? Sort of looks like it didn't finish. Mini-cycles can occur when you do heavy cleanings, but generally go away after 1-2 days. 

Did you do anything to the filter?


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

The readings were:

Ammonia 0ppm
NitrIte 0.2ppm
NitrAte 15ppm

The nitrIte was at 0.2ppm for quite a few days. Maybe I kinda got a little impatient?

Currently the readings are:

Ammonia 0ppm
NitrIte 1.6ppm
NitrAte 25ppm

And no, I didn't do anything to the filter(I'm using a HOB filter). I made sure it remained wet while I was cleaning the tank.


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## snowghost45 (May 13, 2013)

Scrubbed clean? Wow I must say that is a sparkling clean tank. Too clean. As Susankat stated you need the benefits of bacteria.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I meant changing the filter sponge or something like that. Cleaning any part of the filter with anything other than untreated water or old tank water can cause your tank to spin into a mini-cycle. The tank is too small for fish...period. It is a very delicate system you have. I'd recommend re-homing the fish and getting some shrimp. Death will be a common occurrence I believe.


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## khalidkang (Sep 4, 2013)

No, i didnt change the filter sponge or anything. This tank is the biggest I can afford to keep right now because I dont have the space for a larger one.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I understand...I guess. If you have any fish die I would not buy any to replace them. This may be the msg that you have too many or your tank doesn't work for that breed.


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