need cycling help!

mtdewlover

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Dec 19, 2002
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Oh please help me. :( Here is the story. I got a 55 gallon tank with flourite gravel because it's going to be a planted tank. I started cycling on November 16. I'm fishless cycling for the first time. I added enough ammonia to get the water level to 5ppm which took 5mL of pure ammonia. I then added 5mL to the tank every day untill I got a nitrite reading, then I cut ammonia down to 2.5mL. I've been adding 2.5mL of ammonia every day since. On November 27 I had nitrites and nitrates off the chart and a ammonia reading of 0. Well we moved to a new apartment and we had to move all of our fish tanks on Friday the 28th. So I moved the 55 keeping none of the water that was in the tank. Only enough to keep the substrate wet. I kept all of the water that was in the canister filter. Also when I started cycling the tank I had three sponges from an established tank and those have been in the tank ever since. I moved the tank, filled it with water and the readings are now nitrites 0, ammonia 0. I don't know what to do. I'm still adding 2.5mL of ammonia. Should I start cycling all over and add teh 5mL? Or just keep adding 2.5mL? What should I do from here? :confused:
 
I'd say your tank is very close to being cycled, if it already hasn't finished. Just keep adding a little ammonia for a few more days and watch to see if the nitrites reappear...if they don't, then you have finished the cycle and can stop using the ammonia. The huge water change was a good thing in that it reduced all the nitrate in the water.
 
When should I dechlorinate the water or do I have to? I haven't added any kind of water conditioners in it at all.
 
Well, if you haven't dechlorinated, then there's a chance that some of your bacteria may have been killed off from the chlorine. If your tapwater has been treated with chloramines, then it is probably still lingering in the tank and needs to be taken care of...if your tap is just treated with chlorine, then it probably has already out-gassed and no treatment is neccessary. Just continue your ammonia dosing as usual and monitor your water for a few more days, to be sure. Hopefully, everything will be fine and you'll be able to add fish soon.
 
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