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Cycling WP's


Dead Can Dance

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My new tank has been cycing for a couple of weeks with a small filter. I replaced the filter yesterday with a large sponge filter.

I checked the water today.

Ammonia is 0.25ppm

Nitrites are 0

Nitrates are around 5ppm

What can I expect to happen since I changed the filter ?

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Cycle will be slow going... If you have the small filter around and running, put it back in, it'll speed it up.

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Is there anything in the tank feeding the bacteria and helping the cycle to progress?

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It's been out of the tank for a day.. it was still slightly wet. I put it back in.

Cycle will be slow going... If you have the small filter around and running, put it back in, it'll speed it up.
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I wouldn't be confident that the filter will have any live bacteria after a day out of the tank, you'll have to do a full cycle but you will meet to get some more ammonia in the tank to start the cycle :encouragement:

image-74_zps5ce9e69e.jpg

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Give it ago, put the filter back in, but to be on the safe side, put in a prawn or a bit of fish food and wait it out all over again.

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... :crushed:

I just threw in some hikari crab cuisine. Hopefully that'll get it started again. :(

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Perfect, sorry to hear you have to start over mate.

Do you have any other tanks? A good handful of substrate from a mature tank never hurt.

EDIT: Unless the tank has MTS or planaria, then it could hurt.

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If my WP's are;

Ammonia: 0.25ppm

Nitrites: 0

Nitrates 10ppm

It's still cycling ?

Can't I just do a large water change and it'll remove all the nitrates ? :)

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Still cycling for sure. Any ammonia means its still cycling. Wouldn't bother removing the nitrates, thats a low concentration anyway and there is nothing in the tank right? Wait til the ammonia is 0 then you can do whatever water changes you'd like.

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I wouldn't be worried about the nitrates, it's the ammonia you have to worry about. You have to be patient with the cycling of a tank.

I have been cycling a new tank since 15/1. It has finished cycling but I can't get the nitrates down, they are over 40ppm. I put a kamikaze berried crystal in there and she has dropped her babies and they survived, but I still won't put in anything really good in there yet. I used small koi to feed the bacteria.

Please don't hurry the process if you plan on putting sensitive shrimp in there!

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To be clear, when cycling you should never water change ?

The fish food I've already added and is getting quite gooey, leave it there and add more ?

I plan on putting chocolate cherries in, if Gbang ever delivers them. ;)

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Gonna send it next week after Easter but dude you definately should not put the chocolates in there if it isn't cycled yet. Try getting some seachem stability at the lfs it will help heaps. And better to suck out the fungused gunk food

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Removed the gunk. Went to a few places today and couldn't find Seachem Stability but I added some substrate from the established tank.

I moved a bit of substrate from the established, does that mean I could now get some ammonia in the established tank ?

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unlikely to get ammonia in established tank unless you moved >50% of the substrate. Yep, not even cherries until cycle is finished, tell Glenn to wait, if hes happy to :P

Shouldn't be much longer. Do a test tomorrow and tell us what it sends back and ill tell you how the cycle is going.

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Once Ammonia is O, Nitrites is 0, and Nitrate is >20..... you're good to go. Just be patient, let the tank naturally cycle.

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Once Ammonia is O' date=' Nitrites is 0, and Nitrate is >20..... you're good to go. Just be patient, let the tank naturally cycle.[/quote']

100%, except the patience bit, put in as many filters and as much substrate and plants from other tanks as possible! But no shrimp til its cycled, patience is acceptable there :P .

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  • HOF Member
Once Ammonia is O' date=' Nitrites is 0, and Nitrate is >20..... you're good to go. Just be patient, let the tank naturally cycle.[/quote']

BB is that right nitrates >20 I thought it should be <20?

Cheers

Ineke:encouragement:

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I remember somewhere else, someone asked if ammonia is 0, nitrites 0 is it cycled, and everyone answered yes, turns out the tank was a day old and the cycle hadn't started because there was nothing in it.

Once you have nitrates that are higher than the starting and no NO2 or NH3 left, its cycled, but you want to do a WC before shrimp go in if they are >20.

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  • HOF Member

Thanks for that. I thought ideal nitrates should be less than 20 preferably lower but I did realise you had to have them before you were cycled. The thread just read as if you HAD to have nitrates>20 to put the shrimp in and wanted it clarified.

Cheers

Ineke:encouragement:

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  • 2 weeks later...

My shrimp salt has arrived and my RO unit.

If I want to start getting the tank ready for CRS/CBS once it's cycled, what should I be doing ?

Can I do a large (50%+) water change with RO + shrimp salt in it ?

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Sure, but really depends on your tanks TDS ATM....is the tank fully cycled yet ?

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No TDS meter, it's in transit atm.

It's not cycled yet either but I thought I might be able to add something to it now to get it ready (salts).

Ammonia is between 0 and .25 :(

Nitrates 0

Nitrates are over 40ppm.

Using Stability but it's not having too much effect. :(

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