# New little fishes....



## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

So today i bought 3 bala sharks and 5 black mollies to go in my mini cycle. I would just rather have something to look at whilst the tank is cycling, as i am in no rush to get my P's, i will probably get them after x-mas now. So i now have a combination of 20 fish, 6 danio 6 tetra 3 bala and 5 molly. I know these will all be fine together, and i plan on keeping them in a separate tank when my P tank is cycled. And i still need to add an xp3 to the cycle. (waiting for it to be delivered).

My question is, to get the cycle going, do i just look after the fish like any normal tropical tank, do water changes, test the water etc...
And does the ammonia reading need to be trace, or do you need it to let the filters kick in?

What readings of the ammonia and the other's will i need for this cycle? And also how do i know when the cycle is complete? i've heard people say it will go up and down, but can somebody please be a bit more specific.

very much appreciated


----------



## Orracle (Feb 7, 2008)

Murphy18 said:


> So today i bought 3 bala sharks and 5 black mollies to go in my mini cycle. I would just rather have something to look at whilst the tank is cycling, as i am in no rush to get my P's, i will probably get them after x-mas now. So i now have a combination of 20 fish, 6 danio 6 tetra 3 bala and 5 molly. I know these will all be fine together, and i plan on keeping them in a separate tank when my P tank is cycled. And i still need to add an xp3 to the cycle. (waiting for it to be delivered).
> 
> My question is, to get the cycle going, do i just look after the fish like any normal tropical tank, do water changes, test the water etc...
> And does the ammonia reading need to be trace, or do you need it to let the filters kick in?
> ...


You do not want to start to change out the water until your Ammonia and Nitrie is 0ppm. I also suggest using some sort of cycle product to help keep the fish alive.

Here is my tread when I cycled with fish, hope it helps you through it.

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.ph...=176017&hl=


----------



## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Orracle said:


> So today i bought 3 bala sharks and 5 black mollies to go in my mini cycle. I would just rather have something to look at whilst the tank is cycling, as i am in no rush to get my P's, i will probably get them after x-mas now. So i now have a combination of 20 fish, 6 danio 6 tetra 3 bala and 5 molly. I know these will all be fine together, and i plan on keeping them in a separate tank when my P tank is cycled. And i still need to add an xp3 to the cycle. (waiting for it to be delivered).
> 
> My question is, to get the cycle going, do i just look after the fish like any normal tropical tank, do water changes, test the water etc...
> And does the ammonia reading need to be trace, or do you need it to let the filters kick in?
> ...


You do not want to start to change out the water until your Ammonia and Nitrie is 0ppm. I also suggest using some sort of cycle product to help keep the fish alive.

Here is my tread when I cycled with fish, hope it helps you through it.

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.ph...=176017&hl=
[/quote]

Ok, which is the best product, and how much will i need for a 100g (84ukgallons)?


----------



## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

You dont need to do anything to start the cycle because you have fish in the tank producing ammonia, so your tank started cycling as soon as you introduced an ammonia source. Dont need anything to keep the bacteria alive as long as you keep the fish in the tank. Dont waste your money.


----------



## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Dr. Giggles said:


> You dont need to do anything to start the cycle because you have fish in the tank producing ammonia, so your tank started cycling as soon as you introduced an ammonia source. Dont need anything to keep the bacteria alive as long as you keep the fish in the tank. Dont waste your money.


Ok, thanks for the info

How do i know exactly when the tank is cycled, and how do i lower the ammonia if it rises, aquarium salt or ordinary salt?


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

just adding to what Dr. G said. your ammonia should be zero before you added the fish and since you have added the fish it will start to rise. then as your ammonia rises it will peak and then you should see nitrites then your ammonia reading will fall and your nitrite reading will rise until it peaks like your ammonia did. then you will start to see nitrates which will always be present in your water from now on because it is a by product of ammonia and nitrites basically it is the end result of the nitrification cycle. the nitrates will rise and your ammonia and nitrites will be zero that is when your cycle is complete. you need to do water changes to remove nitrates and keep them at a acceptable level. i have never had a problem doing water changes when i chose to cycle my tanks with fish. in order to lower your ammonia level or nitrite level on a cycling tank you can do normal water changes like you would on a fully cycled tank. i dont know if this slows the cycle down or not but for you it is likely easier to just not change the water until the cycle is complete which will most likely take about a month. keep a eye on the ammonia to start then look for ammonia and nitrites then look for ammonia nitrites and nitrates. make sure when you get a zero reading for both ammonia and nitrites that it remains at zero. adding salt to your tank for the cycle will help prevent nitrite poisoning for when you have nitrites present in your tank. once the cycle is over you should only have a reading of nitrates.


----------



## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

AS fan said:


> just adding to what Dr. G said. your ammonia should be zero before you added the fish and since you have added the fish it will start to rise. then as your ammonia rises it will peak and then you should see nitrites then your ammonia reading will fall and your nitrite reading will rise until it peaks like your ammonia did. then you will start to see nitrates which will always be present in your water from now on because it is a by product of ammonia and nitrites basically it is the end result of the nitrification cycle. the nitrates will rise and your ammonia and nitrites will be zero that is when your cycle is complete. you need to do water changes to remove nitrates and keep them at a acceptable level. i have never had a problem doing water changes when i chose to cycle my tanks with fish. in order to lower your ammonia level or nitrite level on a cycling tank you can do normal water changes like you would on a fully cycled tank. i dont know if this slows the cycle down or not but for you it is likely easier to just not change the water until the cycle is complete which will most likely take about a month. keep a eye on the ammonia to start then look for ammonia and nitrites then look for ammonia nitrites and nitrates. make sure when you get a zero reading for both ammonia and nitrites that it remains at zero. adding salt to your tank for the cycle will help prevent nitrite poisoning for when you have nitrites present in your tank. once the cycle is over you should only have a reading of nitrates.


So shouldn't i do any water changes at all, until the cycle is complete, what about the fish, will they last that long?
And for lowering the Ammo and Nitrite levels do i use normal salt or aquarium salt? and how much salt?

thanks.


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

the fish should last the cycle without doing a water change because most usually do but i cant promise that they will make it. a tablespoon of salt per 10 gallons would be plenty and the salt is used to combat nitrites. it does not lower ammo or nitrites it just neutralizes nitrites temporarily. you should only need to use the salt for the cycle so just go ahead and buy some aquarium salt to be safe but table salt is fine too.


----------



## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Ok, Thanks for the info, very much appreciated.


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

not a problem


----------

