How long should i cycle the tank without any fish??

[morillonj]

just wondering???

[Ed13]

Long enough!:D Seriously though, gonna have to test your water frequently. It could take anywhere from weeks to months to build up the bacteria popullation to where you need it.

[morillonj]

without fish correct?

[Ed13]

without fish correct?
Yes if you are doing a fishless cycle, are you?:confused:

[Keith Perkins]

6 weeks I believe is the general rule of thumb, but it does vary as was already stated.

[alpine]

I think 6 weeks , I did all my tanks fishless . You will be glad you did .

Roberto.

[csarkar001]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31V2Sq%2BXIgL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

i use this. when the strip turns white, i know the ammonia has been cycled to nitrites. i wait one more week (to give the nitrites a chance to cycle to nitrates) and then add fish.

[nc0gnet0]

How large a tank? I have found that when the tank can cycle 1 ml of ammonia per 30 gallons in a 24 hour cycle, the tank is good and ready. This is both ammonia and nitrites. Don't even bother testing for nitrites until your tank can cycle the ammonia in a 24 hour cycle. Add additional ammonia only when you test zero or trace.

[mmorris]

You could buy your discus from a reputable seller, and buy a cycled sponge from the same person at the same time. Presto - cycled. :)

[Keith Perkins]

You could buy your discus from a reputable seller, and buy a cycled sponge from the same person at the same time. Presto - cycled. :)

Awesome suggestion Martha, wish I had made it. :o

[morillonj]

yes its a fishless cycle. ok i will cycle for 6 weeks. oh and the tank size is a 65 gallon. another question. my ph is pretty high. i read buying some "peat" and putting it in a nylon bag in the canister filter and it would be ok. Also read that going down in ph is harder then going up, and i should leave the ph alone. Just have very clean water??? is this true??

[nc0gnet0]

6 weeks is just generally considered a "safe" number by those that aren't there and can't monitor the cycle. I have seen some tanks cycle in as little as 7-10 days when seeded properly and some take as long as 6 weeks. There are many factors at play, including but not limited to ph, temperature, water quality, etc. Your going to need a test kit, I recomend the API master test kit that can be purchased from one of our sponsors such as Dave over at IGP Pro.

You said your PH is high, how high? Most here will tell you that a stable PH is much more important than a low PH. There are exceptions to this rule if your planning on breeding, or have extremely high PH.

As far as peat goes, I don't personally care for it, but there are others here that will swear by it. Your going to need to add it to your aging barrel and not your tank however.

[flyman767]

Also read that going down in ph is harder then going up, and i should leave the ph alone. Just have very clean water??? is this true?? High is high? The best recommendation is usually leave the Ph alone. Clean, consistent, stable water is best. Sorry ncOgnetO..didn't see your post.

[Willie]

As the tank begins to cycle, the water will get very cloudy as a result of a mini-explosion of bacteria converting nitrite to nitrate. It'll take 2 - 3 days for the tank to clear up, after which you're good to go.

Willie

[nc0gnet0]

As the tank begins to cycle, the water will get very cloudy as a result of a mini-explosion of bacteria converting nitrite to nitrate. It'll take 2 - 3 days for the tank to clear up, after which you're good to go.

This is a good general rule of thumb, but a bit unprecise. While the filters might indeed be "cycled" what fish load will they support? If I am going to add 2-3 fish to a 55 gallon tank it might be fine, but if I am about to add 12 fish to a 125, I might still be a bit nervous.......

Personally, and its just me, I like to see how much ammonia my tank can process in a 24 hour cycle.

[morillonj]

my ph is pretty high. its like 8.2- 8.5..would a large piece of driftwood help?? i read something about that.

[mmorris]

I assume that is straight out of the tap? If you let it sit for a day in a bucket with aeration, what is the ph then?

[morillonj]

well thats usually the ph out of the tap. im still cycling it. ill give it a day more to see if theres changes. but would i see a diffrence??

[jimg]

my ph is pretty high. its like 8.2- 8.5..would a large piece of driftwood help?? i read something about that.

Yes I have seen driftwood lower the ph quite a bit. problem is that when you do a w/c ph will be higher and take a few days to lower again. should lower ph in storage first. Ketapang leaves are good too.

[morillonj]

so by the full 6 weeks i should see a drop perhaps?? and keeping peat in the canister filter be any help?

[Willie]

After the tank cycles, do nothing except to warm the water and treat for chlorine/chloramine. Do not play with pH, kH and any other water chemistry parameters.

Good luck, Willie

[nc0gnet0]

You do realize that when you keep discus you will be performing quite a bit of water changes right?

This is why you need to first age your water and if you plan on lowering the PH, do it there and not in the tank, otherwise your PH will be in a constant state of change. Driftwood, peat moss, etc will all lower ph to verying degrees, however, you cannot and should not address this issue at the tank. Everytime you change water, if done this way, you will have a PH change which if too severe is not good. Furthermore, most of the aforementioned means to lower PH will take time, and with constant water changes will offer limited returns.

There are verying opinions on at what level the PH is too high, but you will find a general consensus on the fact that mantiaining a certain PH level is of the utmost importance. Even if you manage to succesfully maintain your water at a lowered PH, bear in mind that you will also need to have at least 50% of your tank capacity stored and on hand at that PH in case of emergency. Otherwise, if you need to do an immediate 50% water change for one of the many emergencys that may arrive, and you have lowered your PH from say 8.4 to 7.4, and all you have on hand to do said water change is tap water (at a ph of 8.4), its not a good situation to be in.

[morillonj]

yea thats wat i been told with the discus im going to get. not to mess with the water chemistry. just cycle and have very clean water. the discus im getting are home grown. the ph there in is at an 7.8- 8.0. with all my aquariums i had i did about 25% water change a week, with a good siphoning of the tank floor.

[mmorris]

As you know, you want to keep your ph stable. Many of us, if not most, have to age our water in a barrel first because the water 'gasses off' as it comes out of the tap, which causes the ph to RISE. If there is insufficient buffer in the water, it will drop in the fish tank. You can measure the buffering ability of your water with a kh test kit.