Need cycling advice, please :-)

jennypenny said:
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.
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Definitely lots of debate over ESTABLISHED tank water changes. Usually weekly is good. During cycling though....
jennypenny said:
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.
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Exactly what I've always read. During a fishy cycle, you'll have to change water every day to keep the ammonia & nitrite (both poisonous to fish) down to a reasonable level (<1ppm...some people say keep it down closer to 0.25ppm).
jennypenny said:
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.
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Agree again...in CAN happen (usually using seed material from an established tank). MOST LIKELY it will take longer...a LOT longer IME.
 
:dance: Thanks so much to all who have posted in reply. It sounds like (for the most part) that I am doing the right thing so that makes me feel better!! I really don't mind doing the water changes (I've found myself a nice routine) :dance: :dance: but it sure will be nice when my tanks are cycled!! :-) :dance:
 
invisible1130 said:
:dance: Thanks so much to all who have posted in reply. It sounds like (for the most part) that I am doing the right thing so that makes me feel better!! I really don't mind doing the water changes (I've found myself a nice routine) :dance: :dance: but it sure will be nice when my tanks are cycled!! :-) :dance:
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You're doing great...keep up the good work for a month or two and you'll be there. :thm:

-- One shortcut that a lot of people have used successfully is Bio-Spira. It's live bacteria (the kind you grow during the cycle) and must be refridgerated at all times. If your LFS has some and it has been handled correctly and kept refridgerated, you might try getting a pack.
-- Make sure you shake it up real good before dumping it in the tank. Some people have successfully cycled in 24-48 hours using it.
-- One other thing to remember is that if you do use it, don't change any water for 48 hours (this gives the bacteria time to attach to surfaces in your tank).
-- Your mileage may vary, but it could save you a few weeks of daily water changes.

Good luck either way! HTH
 
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yeah don't waste your time with Cycle. It's bunk. I tried it and it did absolutely nothing.

daily or every other day water changes are good during your initial cycling since the bacteria live in the gravel and filter media and not in the water itself, and doing frquent water changes will keep your water's toxicity down. once your cycling is done you can go down to a weekly water change and will be fine but during that initial process you need to keep those toxins down or you'll lose some fish.
 
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