New tank cycling

[DawnE]

I planted my new tank 13 days ago. I used Carbisea Eco substrate. No fish, just fish food to produce ammonia.

I have never managed to get the ammonia level above 0.5. On day 6 I added 4 oz FritZyme Turbo start. On that day my Ammonia was 0.25, and my Nitrite was 1 (before adding the Fritz).

Since then I have 0 ammonia, Nitrite 0.25-0.5, and Nitrate 5-10.

I have started adding even more fish food each day. Non of the videos I have watched on Youtube tell you how much I should be adding. Today I also added some liquid fertilier.

Should I just keep on as I have? Should I be adding even more fish food?

[modified lung]

Depends on the amount of protein in the food and the tank size.

Here's a chart for adding 1 teaspoon of Xtreme Krill Flakes:

Sounds like your cycle is going well though.

Edited March 23, 2022 by modified lung

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/23/2022 at 10:04 AM, DawnE said:

I have never managed to get the ammonia level above 0.5. On day 6 I added 4 oz FritZyme Turbo start. On that day my Ammonia was 0.25, and my Nitrite was 1 (before adding the Fritz).

Since then I have 0 ammonia, Nitrite 0.25-0.5, and Nitrate 5-10.

I have started adding even more fish food each day. Non of the videos I have watched on Youtube tell you how much I should be adding. Today I also added some liquid fertilier.

Once you see ammonia in the water testing, and then you see the tank cycle from nitrite to nitrate, you're fine. Once you're at that step, the tank is doing the things biologically to survive and sustain itself.

When you're starting to toss in more food or fish to try to regulate that process to a certain level, all you need is time. Once you see nitrates at about 20-40 and your plants are doing their thing, then you should be ready to add what you need to.

What I mean by that.... Right now I would add your plants in (if you haven't already) and get the plants going. Any surface area you have in the tank itself, that is what you want to focus on right now before adding fish, or more fish.  What I did with mine was just set it up, run the filter, aeration, and substrate. I gave that about a week (no food or anything beyond a pinch on day 1).  Then I added my lights, heater, equipment, rocks, wood, and I let that run for just a little while 2-4 days). Once that was done, I had my plants in a tub, I moved those over and tried to set some things up and added the one fish that desperately needed to be moved from the tub. Over the next few days, I slowly added my shrimp, etc.

So.... Essentially, once you see your nitrites stick at 0. You should be good to go. Right now you have a mix of nitrite and nitrates, that's all you need to keep an eye on.  Make sure the tank has everything it needs in terms of scape, plants, and then you're fine to slowly add fish.

Edited March 23, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[sumplkrum]

If you have Nitrate and zero ammonia, you should be ok to add fish. Check it daily for the first week to make sure things are balanced. If ammonia spikes, do a water change immediately.

I have ramshorn snails. I'll use those in a new tank before adding any fish.
Feed them a little every day and see how the cycle is going. They break down the food faster, and I find that the snails are a lot hardier than fish if something spikes unexpectedly.

Also, you don't say if you have plants. Live plants will help a lot. If something starts to spike, do a water change and throw a ball of floating plants or java moss in to help counteract the spike.

[DawnE]

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes I have plants, they went in the first day, and a few more a few days later. I will keep on as I am. It will likely be a few weeks before I consider getting fish.

I am just using some aqueon flakes.