Cycling question

[rubadub]

so ive had my tank up and running for about 3 weeks now and i have noticed the following my amonia levels barely went up, nitrite levels never moved
and now im getting a reading of nitrate

isnt nitrate the last thing to come in a nitrogen cycle??
wasnt the amonia suposed to spike or nitrites?
does that mean the tank is cycled?

i have a 72 us gallon tank
and i used 18 zebra danios to start it up
(yea i know fishless was better but its what my LFS suggested)

 

[fishbum]

How much are you feeding them? Are you,or have you done any water changes? What test kit are you using?

18 danios in a 72 gallon tank is not that much of a bio load IMO. That may be the problem.

 

[aclockworkorange]

A reading of nitrate indicates you have cycled your tank... however, the amount of cycled bacteria may be very low based on your bio load.

 

[ar0wan]

I recommend better test kits

 

[rubadub]

pretty much just a pinch or so
pretty much whatever they eat in 2 mins

and no i havent done any water changes yet
and i'm using Jungle Quick Dip Ammonia and Jungle Quick Dip 6 in 1

 

[aclockworkorange]

Buy the API master test kit, or the Seachem tests.

 

[creepyoldguy]

^^^+1

 

[fishbum]

A reading of nitrate indicates you have cycled your tank...

Not if there is ammonia in the tank.

You need more bio load to get a descent amount of ammonia in there.

What are you going to do with the danio when the tank has cycled? I would get rid of them,unless they are going to be in your final stocking plan. If you don't plan on keeping them,get some liquid ammonia to add. Or some raw fish or shrimp and put it in a media bag.

Also get a API master test kit. They are the most reliable.

 

[aclockworkorange]

Not if there is ammonia in the tank.

You need more bio load to get a descent amount of ammonia in there.

What are you going to do with the danio when the tank has cycled? I would get rid of them,unless they are going to be in your final stocking plan. If you don't plan on keeping them,get some liquid ammonia to add. Or some raw fish or shrimp and put it in a media bag.

Also get a API master test kit. They are the most reliable.

He didn't say his ammonia level was up... he said he didn't notice an ammonia spike or a nitrite spike, and now he has nitrates.

If there is ammonia in the tank, but you are still getting a steady nitrate reading, it probably indicates that you have some bacteria cycled converting the ammonia to nitrite and and then another bacteria converting that to nitrate, but not enough to keep up with the bioload, AKA a mini-cycle. You may also get a nitrate reading with a crashed cycle, but this would disappear with water changes.

The most reliable tests compared to what? How do you know they are reliable? Are you sending your water off to a chem lab to get analyzed, and comparing with the API test results? Have you tried many other brands of test kits? How many?

 

[half cab]

I say you over feed you danios. Im cycling my 55 gal with 6 red eye tetras. Im feeding them every 4 hours or so. They just keep on eating.