Need cycling advice, please :-)

[invisible1130]

I am in the process of cycling my (2) 10-gallon tanks. I was one of the "dummies" that bought the fish and the tank and now I'm learning about cycling. The next tank I get will definately be fishless cycled. So anyway, now that I have the fish in the tanks I have been checking my water and changing it religiously. I have 1 betta and 6 neon tetras in one tank. I have 3 cory catfish and 4 zebra danios in the other tank. My readings have been:

ammonia: .25
nitrites: .25
nitrates: .25
ph: 7.4

I have been doing about 30% water changes once a day. Should I be doing them more frequently as to not stress or burn my fish? I don't mind the water changes at all as long as it keeps my fish happy and healthy. I know its going to be a long process but since I didn't research before I bought them its my responsibity to make sure these little guys are comfy. Any and all advice is very much appreciated!!

 

[Pufferpoison]

you might add a de-tox (chlorine remover) such as amquel plus, if the levels get too high. it removes chlorine, chloramines, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. but for now i would keep up the W/C daily, i would keep a bottle of that stuff on hand just in case they shoot up. if i was going to do waterchanges, i like to get the most out of them and do 50% but that's just me, sounds like your on the ball and just keep checking, since you have nitrites, your ammonia bacteria is already starting to work!!!

 

[BiGFiSH220]

Under no circumstance should water changes be done on a DAILY basis!!! Especially 30-50%. By changing the water this much your preventing the nitrifying bacteria that your looking to create. You are preventing the "cycling" process from happining by constantly adding new water. Stick to ONCE A WEEK no more then 25%.

What type of filtration do you have on the tanks? What type of substate and how many inches deep? How long have the tanks been set up for?

I hope this information is helpful. I will be able to provide a bit more knowledge when i know the answers to the above asked questions.

 

[Darwin]

Have you read the sticky on cycling - it is REALLY useful. Like you I wish I had read all this a few months ago BEFORE i set up my tank and put fish straight in it !

Under no circumstance should water changes be done on a DAILY basis!!! Especially 30-50%. By changing the water this much your preventing the nitrifying bacteria that your looking to create. You are preventing the "cycling" process from happining by constantly adding new water. Stick to ONCE A WEEK no more then 25%.
.

I am fairly new to this but my understanding is that if you need to do a daily water change of 50% to keep the ammonia from getting above 0.25 ppm that is much less stressful on the fish than letting the ammonia get too high and burn their little gills. Also I am sure that I have read on this forum that frequent water changes don't mess with the nitrogen cycle progressing.

But please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[BiGFiSH220]

ive been keeping fish tanks for many years now. I have a 220 gallon tank that has been the home to many fish 3ft+ which i raised from a mere inch or 2 as babies. As well as a 75gallon acrillic tenecor planted with 9 red belly piranha. All raised from 1". I have never had any problems with ammonia during cycling. The only reason why daily water changes would be needed at this point of setting up the tank is if you fully stock it from day one. Which is not advisable. But putting a couple small tetras or something cheap in will speed up the cycling process. You can even buy of bottle of "cycle". Its fairly expensive but works pretty well. Dont be in a rush to get your tank fully stocked. It shouldnt take more then 7-10 days or so to fully cycle and clear up. Please do not look at my number of posts as a reflection of my knowledge of fish keeping. I joined this site to help out others who wish to enjoy this truly rewarding hobby. I would like to also point out that i have noticed some very false information in the Species Profiles section. I noticed species labled with completly WRONG scientific names. Use caution in what advice you take.

 

[TDWagner]

Under no circumstance should water changes be done on a DAILY basis!!! Especially 30-50%. By changing the water this much your preventing the nitrifying bacteria that your looking to create. You are preventing the "cycling" process from happining by constantly adding new water. Stick to ONCE A WEEK no more then 25%.

Is this good advice? All the research I've done on cycling contradicts this statement.

I have never had any problems with ammonia during cycling. The only reason why daily water changes would be needed at this point of setting up the tank is if you fully stock it from day one. Which is not advisable. But putting a couple small tetras or something cheap in will speed up the cycling process.

7 fish in a 10g tank seems like enough to produce a toxic spike of ammonia, followed by a toxic spike of nitrite if you only do weekly water changes...but I could be wrong. 1 or 2 fish at most is what's usually recommended for fishy cycling.

You can even buy of bottle of "cycle". Its fairly expensive but works pretty well.

"Cycle" did nothing for me. That's just my experience though.

Dont be in a rush to get your tank fully stocked. It shouldnt take more then 7-10 days or so to fully cycle and clear up.

7-10 days is pretty optimistic unless you're using seed material from an established tank. Mine took 7 weeks.

I would like to also point out that i have noticed some very false information in the Species Profiles section. I noticed species labled with completly WRONG scientific names.

Really, which ones? Could you list them? I'm sure the moderators would be interested in correcting these mistakes.

Use caution in what advice you take.

This part I definitely agree with. Do your own research to verify the advice you receive!! Very important!

 

[RockabillyChick]

the amount and size of the water changes has no bearing on the cycle, and can actually prevent the cycle from stalling.

 

[hurricanejedi]

ive been keeping fish tanks for many years now. I have a 220 gallon tank that has been the home to many fish 3ft+ which i raised from a mere inch or 2 as babies. As well as a 75gallon acrillic tenecor planted with 9 red belly piranha. All raised from 1". I have never had any problems with ammonia during cycling. The only reason why daily water changes would be needed at this point of setting up the tank is if you fully stock it from day one. Which is not advisable. But putting a couple small tetras or something cheap in will speed up the cycling process. You can even buy of bottle of "cycle". Its fairly expensive but works pretty well. Dont be in a rush to get your tank fully stocked. It shouldnt take more then 7-10 days or so to fully cycle and clear up. Please do not look at my number of posts as a reflection of my knowledge of fish keeping. I joined this site to help out others who wish to enjoy this truly rewarding hobby. I would like to also point out that i have noticed some very false information in the Species Profiles section. I noticed species labled with completly WRONG scientific names. Use caution in what advice you take.

Maybe the reason you don't have ammonia problems during cycling is because you have such large tanks with a smaller number of fish. Smaller tanks won't take to long for the ammonia to show depending on whats in them. The nitrifying bacteria do not live in the water column, they live in the gravel, filter, biomedia, whatever so water changes do not prevent or stall a cycle and are beneficial if you are doing a fishy cycle.

Everyone in this forum will disagree wtih you on the product "Cycle". Some can get real technical about why it can't work. However, the product Bio Spira is supposed to be good as it is kept refrigerated but is difficult to find.

The reason daily water changes are needed is so the fish don't get overly stressed out with high ammonia/nitrite levels. Obviously low amounts of ammonia/nitrites are needed for the bacteria to establish themselves.

 

[jennypenny]

Many people think that frequent and large water changes are only beneficial to fish. Personally I like to do smaller weekly water changes. It makes feel secure that I won’t accidentally shock the fish with any kind of temp. or chemical change. Certainly there can be some intelligent debate over the best frequency or amount of water that should be changed. However, water changes are great during a fishy cycle. You shouldn’t really be slowing down the cycling process. This is because most of the bacteria you want or going to be in your flitter and substrate. There are some bacteria in the water, but you will leave plenty inside your flitter.

Actually if you haven’t already you may want to make sure you have some kind of permanent bio flitter going. I say this because many starter flitter come with replaceable flitter that eventually may need to be tossed. If you toss you flitter pad sometime down the road you may end up restarting the cycling process. A bio-ball or sponge could act as a good permanent home for bacteria.

I do not want to argue with BiGFiSH220 his way a cycling may work just fine for him, but I think the amount of water changes you are doing would be advisable for most beginners.

I do want to say that a cycle can happen in a week, although do not plan on it happening that fast. Most likely it will take longer. Also I agree with the advice about keeping your stock low until you have cycled. Then if you want to add any more fish do it slowly.

 

[kveeti]

Invisible1130, to reiterate what some others have said, you are doing good since you are now stuck with the fishy cycle. Keep your ammonia and nitrite readings at the lowest measure from 0 on your test chart. Whether that means 30% daily water changes or 50%, so be it. There is little to no nitrifying bacteria in the water column, they attach themselves firmly to surfaces, so water changes will not prolong your cycle, it will only help your fish.