cycle question

[BigLinc]

ok, i just got my 1200g indoor pond up and running a week ago, been very busy with work and havent had a chance to test the water til right now, i put some comets in a day after i got it up and running, test results show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates and 0 nitrites

think it has cycled already or yet to come? i was suprised by the tests

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Sounds as if nothing at all has happened yet.

The way biological bacteria (BB) work is

Fish produce ammonia, BB consumes the ammonia and its by product is nitrite. Then the second form of BB consumes the nitrite and its by product is nitrate. Nitrate is removed by the weekly water changes.

So how many comets do you have in there?

For 1200g I would guess it would take maybe 250-300 feeder size comets to get a good cycle. I know from experience that 100 feeder size comets equals 4ppm ammonia in 100g in about 10-12hrs. So 250 for 1200 should give you a good start on the bacteria's food source. Of course these are not exact numbers but a educated guess.