# Am i done cycling?



## Brice|F4llen (Jul 12, 2010)

my readings are 

0.0 ppm ammonia
0.0 ppm nitrite
7.5 ppm nitrate (somewhere between 5 and 10)

i heard when i was done cycling i would have pretty high nitrates, is that high enough? i dont have any plants and have few fish for a 55 gallon (10 zebra danio's and 2 otto's)

im still having problems with diatoms and my ph is higher than i want it to be

my ph is a little higher than it should be for the group of fish i plan on having. im at about 8.5 and im looking to get about 7. any recommendations for lowering my ph a little without destroying my bio filter with chemical treatment?

i guess i'll spend a few days getting my ph where i would like it and wiping away some of the diatoms if everything with cycling is good. then i guess i will start slowly adding fish.

but now that i think im done cycling and about to start building my aquarium do you guys have any reccomendations for other things to do to keep happy fish? i heard keeping a little aquarium salt and treating it with stresszyme is good.

but yeah, any info on my cycling being finished, other things i should do, and tips are welcome!

thanks


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

One way to tell is to add some ammonia to the tank,and wait 24 hours but you can't do that with fish in there already. 

It does look like it might be finished. Do a 50% waterchange, wait 24 hours and if the readings are still the same with 0 ammonia and nitrite its done. Slowly add just a few fish at a time waiting a week to 2 weeks before adding more. 

The only safe way to lower your ph from what it is, is to use RO water. You can add so much at each water change, keeping track of how much your using and check the ph in a couple of hours. With fish in the tank you don't want to change it to fast or they will go into shock.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

You're done cycling. Once everything but nitrates are reading zero, you should be all set. Adding RO water will indeed help bring down your pH, but it's only a bandaid, to be honest. You should probably find out why your pH is so high in the first place. Have you had your source water tested to see if that's the culprit? Do you have anything in the aquarium that could drive the pH up, like shells, rocks, etc.?


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## Brice|F4llen (Jul 12, 2010)

Scuff said:


> You're done cycling. Once everything but nitrates are reading zero, you should be all set. Adding RO water will indeed help bring down your pH, but it's only a bandaid, to be honest. You should probably find out why your pH is so high in the first place. Have you had your source water tested to see if that's the culprit? Do you have anything in the aquarium that could drive the pH up, like shells, rocks, etc.?


i have a couple pieces of coral, and just your normal aquarium gravel other than a few decorations, a filter, and an aerator.

im gonna re-check it. maybe something was off. that is kinda high, and the source is tap. i'll check that too


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

The coral will definitely drive your pH up. I'd remove it, check your source water's pH, and do a few water changes to bring it back down if your source water checks out.


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## brimac40 (Jan 11, 2010)

A cycled aquarium that is not overstocked along with regular PWCs' and proper feeding (do not over feed) will be all you need to do so you do not need to use Stresszyme . 

The only time I would use salt is if you get a case of Ich . 

My pH is close to yours (over 8.0 out of the tap) and I do not bother trying to lower it even though the books say that my fish like a neutral pH . A steady pH is better than lowering/raising it constanly . Most fish are a resilient bunch and can get used to and thrive in a higher/lower pH that is called for as long as you are not toying with it constantly and/or if the fish are not extremely sensitive . But I would get rid of the coral , as stated above , it will drive your pH up . What kind of fish are looking to get ?


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## Brice|F4llen (Jul 12, 2010)

brimac40 said:


> A cycled aquarium that is not overstocked along with regular PWCs' and proper feeding (do not over feed) will be all you need to do so you do not need to use Stresszyme .
> 
> The only time I would use salt is if you get a case of Ich .
> 
> My pH is close to yours (over 8.0 out of the tap) and I do not bother trying to lower it even though the books say that my fish like a neutral pH . A steady pH is better than lowering/raising it constanly . Most fish are a resilient bunch and can get used to and thrive in a higher/lower pH that is called for as long as you are not toying with it constantly and/or if the fish are not extremely sensitive . But I would get rid of the coral , as stated above , it will drive your pH up . What kind of fish are looking to get ?


neon tetra's are the big thing. i plan on having somewhere around 30 of them. 6 angle fish, a pleco, and then just assorted tropical fish to which idk yet. looking for more active fish that flash bright colors though.

also, a tip i heard that might help you. if you use distilled water from the store the ph will most likely be exactly 7. you can mix that in with tap when you do water changes every week and get that ph down without causing unstable jumps of ph. im not sure though, just something i read


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## Brice|F4llen (Jul 12, 2010)

Scuff said:


> The coral will definitely drive your pH up. I'd remove it, check your source water's pH, and do a few water changes to bring it back down if your source water checks out.


source of water is tap, its high too. its in the high 7's. so yeah, i will remove the coral.


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## brimac40 (Jan 11, 2010)

Brice|F4llen said:


> neon tetra's are the big thing. i plan on having somewhere around 30 of them. 6 angle fish, a pleco, and then just assorted tropical fish to which idk yet. looking for more active fish that flash bright colors though.
> 
> also, a tip i heard that might help you. if you use distilled water from the store the ph will most likely be exactly 7. you can mix that in with tap when you do water changes every week and get that ph down without causing unstable jumps of ph. im not sure though, just something i read




I wouldn't waste my money buying distilled water I have been keeping fish for 20 years with this pH . Like I said I am not going to fiddle with what is working for me and my fish they are happy and thriving , but thanks for the tip anyways .

You must have a large tank for those numbers you want to put in there . What size aquarium do you have ? Angels like a tall aquarium and a common pleco needs a huge aquarium as the can grow to well over 12 inches . I would look into getting a bushy-nose plec. or some ottos .


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## Brice|F4llen (Jul 12, 2010)

brimac40 said:


> I wouldn't waste my money buying distilled water I have been keeping fish for 20 years with this pH . Like I said I am not going to fiddle with what is working for me and my fish they are happy and thriving , but thanks for the tip anyways .
> 
> You must have a large tank for those numbers you want to put in there . What size aquarium do you have ? Angels like a tall aquarium and a common pleco needs a huge aquarium as the can grow to well over 12 inches . I would look into getting a bushy-nose plec. or some ottos .


i do plan on a bushy nose now that you mention it, i have a 55 gal.
i heard with tropical community fish the small ones need 1 gal per fish and the big ones need 2 gal per fish.

so if my math is correct 30 neon's and 6 angle's should take up 42 gallons worth of space?

aswell i dont want any gigantor fish in my aquarium, i did talk to the owner at the pet store i go to and they said if i bought a pleco from them and he got too big i could bring him in and switch him out for a small one. they can sell him for more so its good for them and i get a nice compact pleco :]


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Angels actually need 10 gals per fish more to thrive really well. 6 angels in a 55 will end up fighting when they get older as each of them will try to claim territory especially if they pair up.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

You need to be very careful with distilled water. If it's been properly distilled (and there's really no way for a layman to know for sure whether it's been properly distilled or not), it can do quite a bit of invisible damage to your animals. Distilled water has had a lot of the mineral and chemical niceties stripped from it, things that are essential to the well-being of your fish. You can use it, but you'll have to treat it beforehand to restore these essential minerals and create a balance.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Brice|F4llen said:


> aswell i dont want any gigantor fish in my aquarium, i did talk to the owner at the pet store i go to and they said if i bought a pleco from them and he got too big i could bring him in and switch him out for a small one. they can sell him for more so its good for them and i get a nice compact pleco :]


If you want a pleco for your aquarium, go with a bristlenose. They eat just about every type of algae out there, they max out at around 6", are non-aggressive, and are very interesting fish.


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## brimac40 (Jan 11, 2010)

My apologies , I missed were you stated you had a 55 Gal . in your OP . I dislike the use of the "one inch per gallon" rule as it gets many new to the hobby in trouble . As stated above Angels will need at least 10 gallons per fish . You can not use the one (or two ) inch rule for fish with a lot of body mass such as Angels . This rule only works well for very small fish .


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