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How long should my fishtank "cycle" for?
I just got a new 125 litre tank, and treated the water with water conditioner and biological aquarium supplement from Nutrafin. How long should I allow the tank to cycle before introducing the first few fish? It is fresh water and I am looking at introducing Mollies first.
Nutrafin Cycle won't actually do that much. The bacteria have to start growing in the filter media - and that's going to take weeks. What you need to do is add a source of ammonia to the tank, get a test kit, and test daily.
First of all, you'll notice that ammonia will rise over the course of a few days, peak (level off) and then start to fall. Once it gets below 2ppm, you need to start topping up the ammonia, because if the tank goes too long without a source of ammonia, the bacteria developing in the filter will start to die off.
Once ammonia starts to fall, you need to start testing for nitrites. Nitrite is almost as deadly to fish as ammonia, so even a trace is harmful. This will follow the sam process as ammonia - rise, peak, fall, as it gets converted into nitrAte. This is much safer to fish, and as long as you keep it between 20 and 40ppm (below 40ppm for most fish, but sensitive fish like some cichlids need it to be kept under 20ppm)
The tank is cycled when you can add ammonia in the morning, and ammonia and nitrite BOTH show 0 by nighttime. Once you reach that stage, carry out a large water change of up to 70% and you can add fish. That is the ONLY time you carry out such a large water change at any one time. Once you have fish, you'll be looking at changing between 10 and 25% per week depending on nitrate reading. Obviously the lower the nitrate, the less water you have to change.
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO USE DECHLORONATOR when carrying out water changes.
The cycling process will take between 3 and 8 weeks. If you're in the UK, see if you can get Bactinettes. They cost around £5, go in the filter, and are basically live bacteria. They won't cycle the tank instantly, but they will cut some of the time off.
KimmayTube's Magic Potion (Actually it's a leave in conditioner lol)
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