Ready for Fish?

[Lumpy69]

I think I'm ready for fish.

I've been doing a fishless cyle for the last 2 1/2
weeks. I've been adding ammonia and cut back to
adding half the dose when Nitrites began to show.

I went away for the long weekend, got back and my
ammonia which was at 7.3ppm was at 0. I added my
half dosage of ammonia again and it was at 4.3ppm
last night. Today it is back to 0.

I take it that my tank should be able to handle a fish
load now?

Can someone confirm?

Should I keep "feeding" it ammonia till i get fish?

Any input would be great.

 

[Blinky]

Can you measure NO3 (nitrAtes)? When you see nitrItes go down to 0 and nitrAtes go up, that's a surefire way to tell that both types of nitrifying bacteria have moved in and you're done cycling.
Don't quit feeding the bacteria ammonia, they need a source of food, so if you're done cycling but haven't added fish, you want to keep adding some ammonia so the bacteria you worked so hard to establish don't die off.
I believe you'll want to do a pretty hefty water change to eliminate built-up nitrAte levels before you add fish, I think many people do 80% or 90% - you should be able to find more info on finishing up the cycle and adding your fish on the AC site, just look for 'fishless cycling'.

 

[phanmc]

When your ammonia dropped down to 0, did your nitrites also dropped down to 0 within the same timeframe? when both drop to 0 within 24 hrs, your cycle is complete.

 

[Lumpy69]

Nitrites are still up there (3.3mg/l). My "Master" test kit
didn't come with a Nitrates test.

I'll pick one up tommorow. Till then I'll continue to add
ammonia.

I gather I'm not there yet. I'll keep at it.

No rush.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Any thoughts on my PH. It's been a constant 8.0. That's
straight out the tap as well. My GH is at an all time high
of 200 and my KH is at the lowest of 60. Thoughts?

 

[ArkyLady]

Your KH will drop during a fishless cycle. If it drops too much, then the PH can also crash killing off your bacteria. If that happens, you'll basically be starting all over from scratch. I do weekly 50% water changes while I'm fishless cycling and this seems to be enough to keep things from crashing. Has worked for me so far at least.

Your PH is fine at 8.0 as long as it's stable there, so you don't have to worry about getting it lowered or anything. The majority of fish will adapt to any reasonable PH, although some won't breed unless the PH is more to their liking. One of the worst things you can do is add chemicals to raise/lower the PH to an "ideal" level causing it to fluctuate. The PH swings are much, much harder on the fish and can be lethal.

Hang in there, the cycle is almost done now