# Tank Cycling



## heathwhite (Feb 9, 2013)

I am a newbie and started a tank at the beginning of January. I pulled the newbie move and put in fish right away before the 60 gallon tank was cycled. I was doing regular water changes to keep the ammonia down. Two weeks ago all four of the fish got cloudy eyes and pop eye. I medicated them but non of them survived. Since they have died I figured I would cycle the tank the appropriate way. The ammonia has jumped up to 8.0 ppm and the nitrites jumped up to some where between 2 and 5 ppm. Since the nitrites have slowly gone back down and are back to zero but the ammonia doesn't seem to have moved down at all. Why is this happening? Do I need to empty the tank and just start all over with a fresh clean tank with new filters and all.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

The spikes of up and down are part of the cycle. The ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates all go up and down. To have a slight Nitrate level when it's all cycled is normal. No, don't empty the tank and restart. Everything is normal for cycling.

When I setup tanks I don't even bother testing. It takes at least a month and a half for the tanks to be completely cycled. Frequent water changes are always important all the time. During cycling the only thing is don't siphon the gravel for the month and half so the bacteria can colonize. When you do the first gravel siphon do it very lightly. It is important to add fish when cycling the tank but you have to choose the right ones and do it very slow and gradual. After the tank has been setup for a week you can add a few fish. I always add Zebra Danios to help cycle my tanks. They are cheap, fun, and in every petshop. Since you have a 60 gal I would imagine 5 Giant Danios would do ok and if so would be a better choice. I usually just add some danios and let it go for the month and a half. Then test it and see where the levels are. If things are ok you can add what you want as long as they are compatible and are size wise appropriate for the tank.

There is a trick when setting up tanks. If you know someone that has a tank or if you have tanks that are setup you can siphon waste/media (By siphoning the gravel) and use the waste water to fill up the tank. It will help the tank cycle faster. By doing this you are adding mature bacteria that will colonize faster. Sure it looks bad but it works! I also add aquarium salt everytime I do a water change which is once a week-two weeks.

Also, when choosing a dechlorinator Prime by Seachem is the best! It's more expensive but you use less and it's more effective. I also use Stress zyme.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Take a look at the fishless cycling article: http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycle.php
I don't recommend adding fish while cycling the tank as mentioned above.


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## eTrain (Oct 15, 2012)

What kind of test kits are you using? If your ammonia level is over 4ppm do a large water change to get it to 4ppm or under. It's possible to stall the cycle with high ammonia levels.

What are you using to seed the bacteria?


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## Yael (Nov 25, 2012)

ammonia levels that are that high inhibit the bacteria that converts it to nitrite - you're basically stalling the cycle. More importantly, if you aren't adding ammonia, why is it still climbing in your tank if your fish are gone? With disease in a tank, I'd take it down, clean it good and start over fresh before risking new fish.


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## heathwhite (Feb 9, 2013)

I think the Ammonia levels were still climbing because of uneaten food. I took everything out and cleaned the gravel really well while I was do a 50% water change. Ammonia is now below 4 ppm. I am using the API master test kit. The ammonia is now disappearing slowly and surely. I don't have any type of seeding material. I don't know anyone around here with a tank and the only pet stores around are the big chains (Petsmart Petco). I have some pure ammonia now to add to help the tank cycle.


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## eTrain (Oct 15, 2012)

Did you use any form of commercial product to help seed it?

If your Nitrites are going down you should be well on your way to a cycled tank. Do you have a Nitrate reading at all? Remember your end goal is Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0 in a 24 hour period. You will have a significant amount of Nitrates once it is cycled. It could be a bit lower since you did a water change but I doubt that.

Nitrogen Cycle

Ammonia > Nitrite > Nitrate > Water Change


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## heathwhite (Feb 9, 2013)

I bought Stress Zyme which says it contains live bacteria, but from everything I have read these products don't seem to work for the most part. With the cycle now going I hope that just keep on feeding it ammonia when it needs it will give me a good starting point. I turned the temperature up and the cycle did seem to stall when the amonia was up to high. Now that I got it below 4 ppm the cycle seems to be starting up pretty good again.


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## eTrain (Oct 15, 2012)

I used whatever the SeaChem brand of bacteria is. I can't remember the exact name but it worked for me. It took me 5 weeks to cycle my 55g with it.


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## NZSIC'S (Apr 30, 2013)

eTrain said:


> I used whatever the SeaChem brand of bacteria is. I can't remember the exact name but it worked for me. It took me 5 weeks to cycle my 55g with it.


It's called Stability.. and requires (stated on label) 5ml per 10 gallons on first day.. and then 5ml per 20 gallons every day.. until bio-filter/tank parameters are at correct level.

So if the OP is not using anything/much to add good bacteria to his tank it's going to take ages to establish it/cycle it...


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## k7gixxerguy (Jan 12, 2012)

E, I dont know that over five weeks that I would say a product worked as far as speeding things up. I did my initial cycle without any "live bacteria" products in less time than that.


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## eTrain (Oct 15, 2012)

k7gixxerguy said:


> E, I dont know that over five weeks that I would say a product worked as far as speeding things up. I did my initial cycle without any "live bacteria" products in less time than that.


Well your a hacker...


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