# Tank Cycling



## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

well ive started cycling my new 30 gallon and i dont no alot about the whole cycling thing but how will i know when its finished,, should i be looking for a change in ph or something?? *c/p*


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How are you conducting the cycle? What is the source of ammonia? Fish? Other?

You'll need a test kit. Testing your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate is how you'll track what is going on and when you'll know it is over. I'd recommend an API master test kit.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Read up on this article - it's my old stand-by for education on what a cycle is:

The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

If you are doing fish less cycling.
Put ONE or TWO drops of household ammonia in to your tank.
Mix the water a little, measure your ammonia level (should be something like 4-5ppm, and measure again overnight, if drops to 0ppm, it means you are almost there.
Nitrosomonas (good bacteria) splits ammonia in to two different components and so on and so forth...

Please read Aquarium Cycling (it's all over the internet)

Good Luck!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You just add drops until you reach 4-5ppm. It may be more than 4-5 drops. You then add that amount everyday until you start reading nitrites, and then you dose half that amount.


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

ive read that i can do it with a fish though and thats what im doing is this ok??


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

plecosrawesome said:


> ive read that i can do it with a fish though and thats what im doing is this ok??


It is, but you have to be careful not to poison your fish to death. I don't like cycling with fish because I don't like exposing them to toxic environments (imagine being locked in a garage with a running car - carbon monixide poisoning anyone?). Keep a hawk's eye on your water parameters or rising ammonia and/or nitrite levels will kill your fish or seriously mess them up.


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

ok i will and i read that you can do it by putting in fish food if so thats what im gonna do next time


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

If the tank has no plants you should see ammonia then nitrIte then nitrates spikes. In planted tank the ammonia and nitrIte spikes are not there.

I would not add any food for a week with the first fish.


my .02


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

yeah i have fake plants not real ones and ive already fed the fish that are in there D:


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