# do you think my cycle is finished?



## mikelbjr (May 9, 2014)

It has been 8 days since I started the cycle...for th last 4 I had ammonia readings of .25 to .3 I then got a cartridge from an established tank and put it in my hang on back filter...now about 2 days later I have 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and .5 nitrate...do you think my cycle has been complete? The cartridge came from a 55 gallon tank and mine is 37 gallons.


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## Buerkletucson (Apr 8, 2014)

If you have 0ppm of ammonia and 0ppm nitrite and show nitrate your cycled. 

Are you cycling with fish or artificially cycling?
Your values are very low....


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## mikelbjr (May 9, 2014)

I used fish 6 puppies and a pleco


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## mikelbjr (May 9, 2014)

Guppies**


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## Buerkletucson (Apr 8, 2014)

Yea it's cycled but you need to add fish slowly as not to overwhelm the bacteria and get Ammonia and Nitrite spikes.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

It may possibly be cycled, but you have a very delicate system. Adding fish slowly would mean like no more than maybe 1 per week. If you do not do this you will have sustained levels of ammonia until the bacteria have produced enough of their own to be able to process the new demand. You have the makings of a permanent mini-cycle going until the population builds.


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## AuntyFe (Mar 25, 2014)

mikelbjr said:


> I used fish 6 puppies and a pleco


*r2


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## Buerkletucson (Apr 8, 2014)

AuntyFe said:


> *r2


Yea that is quite funny......PETA will be knocking on your door shortly. *pc


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## mikelbjr (May 9, 2014)

The fish were moreso borrowed from a friend for my cycle and to keep the colony alive until I buy the fish I want... I think I have decided how I want to stock it which is 1 Angel fish, 6 rummy nose tetras, 3 oto catfish, 2 electric blue rams, and a dwarf gourami..I was thinking that swapping the 6 Guppies and the pleco out for the 6 rummys and either the 3 top catfish or the dwarf gourami would be roughly the same bio-load so that was my first objective. And yea...auto correct probably got me some hard years with that one! Lol


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