Cycling question *help a newbie out =) *

[ricey0809]

Ok so its almost been a week with my cycling tank and ammonia levels have finally spiked up to a 1.0-1.5. im scared my firemouth wont be able to take it and die on me, even tho he hasnt been really showing any signs or acting werid.
How much ammonia is to the point where it would get deadly?

I have a 10 gal tank with a aquaclear 50 temp. is at 78-79 and Ph is at 7.0.
Im using a starter fish a small firemouth around 2 inches.

my questions
How much ammonia is to the point where it would get deadly?

How long does it take to completey cycle a small 10 gal tank without any gravel or help from a already cycled tank?

Would changing the water 10-15% delay the cycle process?

If i get 1-2 more fish to build more ammona would the cycle be faster?

My tank has just started to get alittle cloudy im guessing its the BB starting to form up?

My aquaclear sucks up alot of food that doesnt get eatten is that good for the filter to have so much trash in there? like would it jam on me evenaully?

Thank for taking your time to read my question guys

 

[pdbrady]

Your levels are already deadly. It just depends on the resiliency of the fish. Water changes will slow the process a bit, but you also don't want to kill your fish. DON'T ADD ANY MORE FISH! The cloudiness is the high levels of ammonia. The excess food isn't good for your anything connected to your tank. In your situation, you don't want to feed so much that food sinks in the tank. Just feed what can be immediately eaten. You should be cycled soon.

 

[lukester825]

dude you just got to wait, and don't feed so much.

 

[ricey0809]

but what will happen when my tank cycles and i put in 6 one inch bucktooth tetras? will my BB be able to handle it?

 

[Ianab]

If i get 1-2 more fish to build more ammona would the cycle be faster?

No.. because the fish will die and you will have to start again

Like the guys say, slow down.

The uneaten food will be breaking down in the filter and creating more ammonia. Good if you want to cycle the tank.. BAD if you want your firemouth to actually survive

Doing water changes during the cycling process will probably slow the process down, but it can also keep the fish alive by reducing the ammonia to safe levels. The bacteria will still multiply, just not as quick.

Once you get a decent population of bacteria in the filter then it's much easier to add more fish. You have a large amount of bateria that can multiply quickly to take up the extra load. Starting from scratch you have to rely on the few random bacteria that happen to be floating about. Even if they double in number each day, it still takes many days to build up a decent amount.

Cheers

Ian

 

[southpawz]

Do water changes...water changes...water changes

It will be hard to get it at 0ppm with water changes while cycling it but atleast try to keep it at or below .25ppm... Most of the good bacteria resides in your filter media and gravel and such so doing water changes will have little effect on prolonging the cycle but will have great effects on prolonging your fish's life.

 

[ricey0809]

usally how many days does it take for ammiona to become nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.

and would the tank size play any factors in how long it would take, like say my 10 gal compare to some one elses 100g?

 

[Danyal]

but what will happen when my tank cycles and i put in 6 one inch bucktooth tetras? will my BB be able to handle it?

probably it will, but this is why a fishless cycle is so great(and faster) you can spike the ammonia far higher than you can with fish so that by the time it's over you've got such a huge population of BB that you can add all your fish at once and not have to worry about it. if those 6 tetras(which i believe get too big for a 10g) produce more waste than the 2 firemouths then there is going to be a small ammonia spike until the bacteria catches up.

 

[ricey0809]

ahh i see why so many people prefer fishless cycles now. but then again pure ammonia is such a hassle to get, i dont have a car yet and have visited around 5 stores near me home and nothing... only pure ammonia i know of is "ace's jantior somthing pure ammoina" and i gotta travel miles for that or order a 6 pack for 30$ and ill prolly use only 1$ worth.

i think i would rather use a fishless cycle but pure ammonia is a pain in the butt to get =\

 

[Ianab]

usally how many days does it take for ammiona to become nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.

Allow a couple of weeks for the first part of the cycle to start. You should see the ammonia and nitrite drop around then. Once they do it's safe to add a few more fish, but allow 6 weeks for the tank to fully cycle and support a full load of fish.

Cycling with fish is simple and easy, but you HAVE to take your time

Size of the tank doesn't really matter, in a larger tank you would have more or bigger fish during the cycle process. So everything is bigger, the tank, the fish, the filter etc. A big tank is easier in many ways because you can have a relatively small amount of fish to start with and cycle things slowly.

Cheers

Ian