# how do i no



## jackburton (Nov 25, 2003)

iam currenly setting up my tank and whated to no how i no when the cycle starts


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## CraigStables (Oct 5, 2003)

you need to get yourself a tester kit, when ammonia and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are present your tank should be fully cycled.

You can put goldfish in there to speed things up, and can also get some chemicals from your LFS that will help aswell (i've forgotten what its called!)


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## str8up (Sep 20, 2003)

Hello and welcome to The Site!!









You will see your tank cloud up...thats when you know that it is in the process.
Beyond that....what size is your tank?
What are you putting in it?
More importantly....Show us some pics please....he he
Okay...any other questions.......let us know....There's always 10 or 20 opinions around here.....lol








Cya.....Str8


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

CraigStables said:


> You can put goldfish in there to speed things up, and can also get some chemicals from your LFS that will help aswell (i've forgotten what its called!)


 I think you mean BioSpira, right?
To my knowledge, it's the _only_ chemical available that actually helps speeding the up the cycling process - all others are basically an ammonia source that kick-starts the cycle (but does not drastically speed it up, as far as I know).

About knowing if the cycling process has already started, and how far it is: like the guys above said, get a test kit, and measure the amounts of ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes - first, ammonia should peak, then it starts to decrease, while nitrItes peak, and finally, nitrItes go down and nitrAtes increase.
As soon as you have zero ammonia and nitrItes, and detectable levels of nitrAtes, the cycling process is finished, and the tank is ready for usage. This process can take months (if you're unlucky): usually, it takes about 3-6 weeks.
You can add goldfish, some pieces of food, ammonia or chemicals (like the ones mentioned above), to speed things up a little: best thing is to add a filter from an already established tank (or using filter media from a filter that runs on a fully cycled tank) - this way, you'll introduce lots of bacteria needed in the nitrogen cycle.

*_Moved to Water Chemistry Forum_*


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## jackburton (Nov 25, 2003)

cheers i have posted pics and siad what setup ive got and will have 4 reds when cycled i have nutrafin chemicals to help


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## Noe (Aug 22, 2003)

The way you will know when your cycle start is when you do a water test and you have ammonia present. 
The Ammonia will go high then go down to 0 ppm and then the nitrite will go high then go down to 0 ppm and then nitrate will be present. If nitrate is to high then do a water change to bring the nitrate dowm. When all of that is done your cycle is complte.

Good Luck


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

In a virgin tank using feeders as an ammonia source expect a 1 ppm reading of ammonia in a week.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

The cycle starts as soon as a food source is introduced into your tank (whether it be fish, pure ammonia, rotting food...).


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## rbP NUT (Dec 2, 2003)

same as above, make sure you do the tests.


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