Is my tank done cycling????

[bsdubois00]

Hey Everyone, i tested my water and this is what I came up with.... IS IT TIME TO ADD A CLEANUP CREW AND A HARDY FISH?
Brandon
Nitrate - 30
Nitrite - 0
Alkalinity - 300
pH - 7.9

 

[ryanhayes9]

you need an ammonia test

 

[ryanhayes9]

if ammonia tests 0 then do a water change to get the trates down

 

[mcsd22]

Did the Am spike? How long has it been cycling? The trates are not to awful high but need to be addresses if they get worse and the water change will help. Sounds like the crew is about ready to go in though. What size tank?

 

[bsdubois00]

I'ts a 55 gallon tank, its 3 weeks old right now, i dont have an amonia test around, and no lfs carries one, shoudl i do a water change based on the other results, they did spike, this past week they nitrate and nitrite levles were off the chart on the test that i did, then they gradually came down day by day...

 

[ryanhayes9]

well to me then the cycle seems done. i would do a water change to lower the nitrates.

 

[murph]

Sounds to me like your good to go. I would however stick with hardy inexpensive fish for a few months. Damsels work perfect for this but keep in mind they will likely have to come out of the tank and be returned to LFS when you advance to some more sensitive species.
Assume that your tank is still somewhat unstable when it comes to water chemistry and there could be some factors that you are unaware of that could be sources of stress to any fish introduce, hence the introduction of inexpensive fish to make sure the system is capable of supporting the bio load and if not there is not to much of a financial hit if things are still not quite right.
IMO there is no substitute for the actual introduction of fish for the tank to begin to stabilize in ernest. A tad more expensive but suitable first introduction could be a pair of false percs and of course its time to start getting some cleanup crew in there also.
Good luck with your new tank and have fun

 

[vtfishies]

damsels are mean..hard to get out of an aquaruim...pretty nontheless..but mean...levels of trate arent that bad..doing a water change now that the cycle is over is a good thing and i believe will help with the trates..think its safe to say add ur clean up crew..good luck and congrats

 

[murph]

I agree damsels are mean. They are also cheap :joy: Let em spend a few months swiming around your tank.