# How often should I be changing the water during Nitrogen cycle?



## MeganMarie

I'm finding so many different opinions on this. I was under the impression to only do it one time per week, because if I do it too often it's going to disrupt the nitrogen cycle.
But then I read other forums and there's people saying to do 25% water changes 1-3 times a day (wtf) until the cycle is complete. 

My ammonia seems to be spiking finally (the first reading I've actually had) and it's around .25ppm with no nitrites or nitrates yet.

I also found that tetra that was missing inside my castle ornament so I'm assuming that's the cause of the ammonia spike. 

But isn't this good? Isn't this the first leg of the Nitrogen cycle???

Also for the record, my water has gone from cloudy to almost crystal clear in 36 hours.


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## Summer

fish in or fishless?

if fish in, any time the ammonia/nitrite goes over 1ppm do a water change otherwise you are risking killing the fish.

if fishless try to let it ride out.


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## hanky

Well test your ammonia and see where its at, also keep an eye on the fish you have. For the most part dont let the ammonia get to 1 ppm, anything under is ok (.50ppm would be ideal to maintain for now) unless it looks like your fish are stressed or having trouble breathing. then do water change

Dead fish will decay quickly and cause ammonia. but should be removed asap in the future. Yes you seem to be in the first stage of cycle, soon you should get nitrite readings.

Dont worry about cloudy water, as long as you have a good filter going it will clear up in notime, as you have already learned. usually cloudy water is a bacterial outbreak and is good sign when cycling, that means the bacteria you want in the filter/ substarate is now at least in the water.


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## NeonShark666

I am one of the few that believes no water changes should take place during cycling. High Ammonia and Nitrites levels are needed to build up the required bacteria populations to start and maintain the Nitrate cycle. Once the cycle is complete, water changes should be made to remove the built up Nitrates. Built-up Ammonia and Nitrites are eventually removed by bacteria, Nitrates are not. The fish to use during cycling depends on your ph. For high ph use Guppies, for low ph use White Mountain Clouds. A very tough fish (breaths air) to use in High Temperate (>78) cycling is the Female Betta. All of the above are very tough and hard to kill in cycling situations.


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## jrman83

If you have fish in the tank that is cycling and you wish to keep them beyond the cycle, then you do water changes based off saving the fish and not some other action that is saving any processes the cycle is going through. So it is water changes for sake of the fish, not lack of water changes for sake of the cycle. Keeping fish in a tank during a cycle and doing water changes is hard enough on them, not doing anything about it (ammonia, nitrite) is just cruel. Doing water changes during a cycle may delay its completion a week maybe...small price to me if you still have all your fish in the end.


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## snail

A fishless cycle doesn't need water changes.

Many people who choose to cycle with fish see the fish they use to cycle as somewhat disposable, if they don't survive it doesn't matter that much, as long as the tank get's cycled quickly. Ammonia burns skin and gills so can cause damage even if it doesn't kill the fish. Keeping Ammonia bellow 1ppm will give the fish the best chance of surviving with as little damage as possible. Letting ammonia get higher will speed up the cycle.

After the cycle is done about 25% water change a week is standard.


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## dante322

I saw your thread on new tank syndrome. The danios are a pretty tough fish and are a species that get used for cycling because of it. The gouramis and tetras however are a bit more delicate. I would do as stated above and keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite levels and do water changes accordingly. The cycle might take a little longer but thats the price to pay. 



> My ammonia seems to be spiking finally (the first reading I've actually had) and it's around .25ppm with no nitrites or nitrates yet.


The amonia will get much higher with that many fish in there and it could happen pretty quickly. When the ammonia starts to come down nitrites will rise rapidly. They seem to hang on longer than the ammonia, but when they come down they come down fast.


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## beaslbob

It this is your tank with the goldie and plants that ammonia is normal.

That and with the cloudiness clearing up would inticate the plants are consuming the ammonia preventing deep spikes which is expected with a planted cycle.

I would not add food for a week to help prevent the nitrIte spike.

And you can get an initial nitrate spike until the aerobic bacteria build up and start consuming the ammonia. At that point the plants will consume nitrates for nitrogen and nitrates will drop down.

Not the same as the bacteria only cycle. Which can make a planted cycle confusing.

To answer the water change question I would just replace the water that evaporates. 
that way you are providing max nutrients to the plants which in turn are preventing cycle spikes.


my .02


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## snail

lol Bob, I think you've had too many today, maybe you're talking about someone else's tank?


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## jrman83

snail said:


> lol Bob, I think you've had too many today, maybe you're talking about someone else's tank?


Sounds like his usual nonsense to me.


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## hanky

*question What the heck is he talking about?
I think we are confusing this poor lady, shes new at this and is trying to cycle her tank with fish in, (not sure about plants).

At this point her main focus is to keep her fish alive while cycling, she must do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites to lower levels even if it extends the time of cycling a bit.
She doesnt want to prevent a nitrite spike during cycling, thats actually part of the cycle, is it not?

just keep checking your levels daily and change water as needed to keep levels below 1ppm


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## snail

Actually the process for a planted tank is quite different because plants are able to consume ammonia, nitrites and nitrates directly so with a heavily planted tank it is possible to do a 'silent cycle', a cycle that doesn't have spikes, or at least large ones in ammonia or nitrites. For this to work well the tank has to be set up that way from day one, usually with a nutrient rich substrate and good lighting as well as lots of plants, including fast growing ones. 

I don't think we are talking about a planted tank in this post though. Adding some plants later can help but is unlikely to give you a silent cycle.


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## beaslbob

Sorry I guess I got my threads confused.

Still if you have plants then etc etc etc

lol


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## hanky

beaslbob said:


> Sorry I guess I got my threads confused.
> 
> Still if you have plants then etc etc etc
> 
> lol


*r2*r2 You are very entertaining at times, we all need a good laugh.


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## mrm2826

beaslbob said:


> It this is your tank with the goldie and plants that ammonia is normal. That and with the cloudiness clearing up would inticate the plants are consuming the ammonia preventing deep spikes which is expected with a planted cycle. I would not add food for a week to help prevent the nitrIte spike. And you can get an initial nitrate spike until the aerobic bacteria build up and start consuming the ammonia. At that point the plants will consume nitrates for nitrogen and nitrates will drop down. Not the same as the bacteria only cycle. Which can make a planted cycle confusing. To answer the water change question I would just replace the water that evaporates. that way you are providing max nutrients to the plants which in turn are preventing cycle spikes. my .02


 Awesome information.. I'm in the middle of planted fish in cycle with 4 juvenile Molly's. Also pulled media from two established tanks.


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