Is my tank allready Cycled?

[Nue]

So for X-Mas my Boyfriend Bought me a 55g tank off Craigs list. The lights were burnt out and there was many scratches, but he did get a good price, even for the stand it came with. It came with about 10 juvenile Guppie fry, and one Medium sized Pleco, which i wasnt to happy about. but he was freaking out cause he had them in a bowl, and didnt know what to do, so i got my present early. I setup the tank and used all the same stuff, including the gravel which was still wet and in a bucket. I changed the filter pads in the over the back whisper. And the carbons on the undergravel filter. Its been setup a month now, no ammonia ever nor nitrate, but i did put live plants in there. My Question is, has the tank allready been Cycled, or am i just still waiting? And I want to get some Angel fish, the PH is 7.6 and i hear Angels like 6.5, should i try to change this? Thanks for anyone that can help.

[AfroCichlid]

If you have not had fish in the tank or added a source of ammonia, then no, your tank is not cycled nor will it until a source of ammonia is added.

[ChrisK]

So for X-Mas my Boyfriend Bought me a 55g tank off Craigs list. The lights were burnt out and there was many scratches, but he did get a good price, even for the stand it came with. It came with about 10 juvenile Guppie fry, and one Medium sized Pleco, which i wasnt to happy about. but he was freaking out cause he had them in a bowl, and didnt know what to do, so i got my present early. I setup the tank and used all the same stuff, including the gravel which was still wet and in a bucket. I changed the filter pads in the over the back whisper. And the carbons on the undergravel filter. Its been setup a month now, no ammonia ever nor nitrate, but i did put live plants in there. My Question is, has the tank allready been Cycled, or am i just still waiting? And I want to get some Angel fish, the PH is 7.6 and i hear Angels like 6.5, should i try to change this? Thanks for anyone that can help.
:welcome: To ac.

First thing to do is get a good liquid test kit so you'll know where you stand on your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels you will not know if you are cycled unsless you know where you stand on these. Click this link to read up on cycling http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598. I would not mess with the ph as long as it is consistent the fish will adjust.

[Nue]

Thanks for the Welcome :)

Yes its had the Guppy fry and the Pleco in there, since i setup the tank, a month ago. But the gravel is the same from the previous owner. And it was still wet, the tank was only empty for about 5 hours.

[Rbishop]

Get a good liquid test kit, like APIs.

Test the tank and your tap water and post the readings for us.

[ChrisK]

Probably maintained some of the beneficial bacteria from the gravel. Definately get test kit to know where you are though. The API master test kit is a good one.

[Nue]

Sorry, I should have mentioned i am testing with API liquid test kits. Ammonia comes up with 0 ppm, but for the nitrate all the testing i could find was the strips. and it says 0, same with the tap water.

[ChrisK]

This has all the tests you will need http://www.frogpondaquatics.com/product/34?meta=FRG you are at least in the second stage of cycling since you have no ammonia. :)

[msjinkzd]

Did you ever show nitrite?

[Nue]

Thanks everyone for all your help!
Ive been testing with the quick strips for nitrite and nitrate, msjinkzd. I dont think its working, so i just went and bought some API Liquid Tests, and the nitrite bottle is busted and leaking all over the box, :( so another trip to the LFS. Ok So now im using all API liquid testers.

Ammo 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate is a little hard for me to read, but im pretty sure it read 5.0, if i look at it from the bottom of the bottle its deffinatly a 10ppm.

Thanks again everyone.

[jpappy789]

Double check the nitrates just to be sure. The directions are the most complicated therefore the easiest to make a mistake on when testing.

And FYI, don't worry about pH. Fish don't care nearly as much (some would say not even at all) as LFS's would like you to believe.

[KuchDaddy]

If you have had fish in there for a month and your ammonia is really zero, then I'd say the tank is cycled.
Unless I am missing something.

[Nue]

Nice. I hope its cycled. Now i just did a water change before i saw the post to retest, should i wait till tomorrow to test again? Thanks

[jpappy789]

I'd wait to call it cycled until ammonia and nitrite are consistently at zero.

[Nue]

Ok, i tested again. But i compared to tap water like suggested and got a definite answer

Nitrate in tank is clearly between 10-20, and tap water 0
Ammo is 0, tap water is 0
Nitrite is 0, tap water 0.

Thanks for everyone's help. Those quick dip tests are horrible, i wonder if they even work. Think 4 Angels would be fine in a 55g? There is 10 young Guppies, but im probably gonna trade them in for in store credit. Im gonna wait a week or so of more testing before i get the Angels.

[jpappy789]

They will pair up eventually. After that you'll only want one angel pair in that tank...