# cycling 55 gal.



## vinnycaz (Jul 22, 2003)

so i have been cycling a 55 gal for 2.5 weeks now, i had the water teted and the ammonia is low, the nitrite is low, how do i know if the nitrate is low, i dotn have a test for it, should i do a 20% water change before i get my fish tomorrow mornign?


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Your tank is cycled when both ammonia and nitrite are consistently reading zero. It's safe to assume that once that happens that you have nitrate. Do a water change and your set.

BTW, if you are getting low readings for ammonia and nitrite, your tank is not cycled...


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## vinnycaz (Jul 22, 2003)

thanks bro, so i am hearing that it takes 2 months to completely cycle tank, if i am adding amquel to tank is that going to slow the cyclying process? also, i have a ph of 7.4-7.6, i know that the p's will acclimate to this ph when i add them, how should i go about this, , and what is the ideal ph for red bellies


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

It takes about a month to cycle a tank. AmQuel will not slow down the cycling process because nitrifiers will oxidize both ammonia and ammonium. Acclimate the fish slowly by floating the bag in the tank to equalize the temp and then slowly adding tank water to the bag. Then remove as much of the bag water as possible and release the fish. There's also the drip method where the fish is placed in a bucket and water is "dripped" from the tank to the bucket via an airline tubing. A safe pH is one that's close to neutral (7.0). Again, it's more important to have a stable pH rather than an ideal one.


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## SimplyOrange (Jun 5, 2003)

yeah like DonH said the PH just needs to be stable. i got a ph about 8.4 or something. it sure isnt 7.0

also it depends on the fish load you started with. if you use small fish it'll take longer. i started with barbs then oscars/g.terrors. it took a little over a month cuz of those small fish that i had in there for like 2weeks.

edith my local Petco does free water tests. so asked your local PC and see if they do free water test too.


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