210 gallon tank how long to cycle

[AnthonyFish20]

I assume you’re adding an ammonia source to feed the bacteria (unless I just missed you actually saying it in another post). I kept my ammonia at 5 ppm until it could take it from 5 to 0 in 24 hours and of course 0 nitrites.

I added a hob so I guess there is ammonia in it. But it went down after adding the filter.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

Did you add a bottled bacteria supplement or just the cycled filter?

I would say you are not near ready to add fish yet based on the color results from the test kit.

What should the parameters be I know ammonia you want zero but thats all thats a little high nitrites are 0 and nitrates are under 5ppm as well.

 

[deeda]

Anthony, ammonia and nitrites should be zero and some level of nitrate over zero. However a cycled filter will definitely help but how quickly that filter will help depends on the size and amount of filter media in that filter.

Which brand and model filter did you add to the new tank and how long was it on the original tank?

Daymon, the only bottled bacteria I've tried is Start SmartComplete and it worked great on tanks I needed immediately for juvenile cichlids bought at local club auctions. Traditionally I use regular ammonia and wait out the 6 to 8 week cycle.

 

[DRC]

Y

I added a hob so I guess there is ammonia in it. But it went down after adding the filter.

ou need to feed ammonia to your bacteria to get it to grow and fully cycle your tank. Some people just throw in fish food and let it decay for an ammonia source, but that takes a while and is messy. I prefer to add ammonia directly to the tank. It’s quicker cleaner and you can control the concentration. I over pay for Dr. Tims Aquarium Ammonia (but it’s still cheap) just for the peace of mind of knowing there are no added cleaning agents in the ammonia which could hurt the cycle. But you can just use ammonia from the store, just make sure it has no other additives listed and also shake it, if it has suds it’s no good, if not it should be fine to use. Do a search for fishless cycle for more info especially on how much ammonia to add and how often. Since you have no food source for the nitrifying bacteria, I’m not sure, but the ammonia you are showing could be from the good bacteria dying off in your filter.

 

[DRC]

What should the parameters be I know ammonia you want zero but thats all thats a little high nitrites are 0 and nitrates are under 5ppm as well.

On parameters, it’s not enough for ammonia to register 0 in a fishless cycle. But you need to have enough nitrifying bacteria to bring it down to 0 from a concentration of maybe 5 ppm of ammonia within 24 hours, or something like that. Nitrite should of course be 0, and nitrates just need to register, but will probably be high by the time the tank is cycled, but that’s no big deal because you should remove them with a large maybe 75% water change before adding fish.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

Anthony, ammonia and nitrites should be zero and some level of nitrate over zero. However a cycled filter will definitely help but how quickly that filter will help depends on the size and amount of filter media in that filter.

Which brand and model filter did you add to the new tank and how long was it on the original tank?

Daymon, the only bottled bacteria I've tried is Start SmartComplete and it worked great on tanks I needed immediately for juvenile cichlids bought at local club auctions. Traditionally I use regular ammonia and wait out the 6 to 8 week cycle.

Its been on a 3 year cycled tank for at least 8 months its a marineland hob it filters up to 80 gallons.

 

[deeda]

Thanks Anthony!!

Do you already have a cycled filter on the Oscar tank that you could move to the new tank? If so and you can't wait for the new tank to cycle, you could move the mature filter to the new tank, dose with Prime as per directions to bind the ammonia and then move the Oscars over to the new tank.

Ideally, I would just wait for the new tank to cycle using Ace Hardware brand Industrial strength ammonia OR the Dr. Tim's Ammonia that Daymon suggested in post #34.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

Thanks Anthony!!

Do you already have a cycled filter on the Oscar tank that you could move to the new tank? If so and you can't wait for the new tank to cycle, you could move the mature filter to the new tank, dose with Prime as per directions to bind the ammonia and then move the Oscars over to the new tank.

Ideally, I would just wait for the new tank to cycle using Ace Hardware brand Industrial strength ammonia OR the Dr. Tim's Ammonia that Daymon suggested in post #34.

I already did tht but didnt add any ammonia also the other filter on the tank isn't as old as this filter as I upgraded it 3 months ago.

 

[twentyleagues]

Mi

Oh and on the subject of bottled bacteria, it seemed like Fitz might have helped speed things up some, and that’s the only live bacteria in a bottle I know of. I’ve had absolutely no results using anything else. I’m pretty much of the opinion that it’s a waste of money and in some cases may slow down the growth of the bacteria that you want. Throwing in some substrate from a previously cycled tank is the most effective aquarium starter I have used. Has anyone else ever had any significant speed up to their cycle with something from a bottle?

Microbacter 7 from Brightwells works great in fresh or salt water. I usually use it to start a tank using fish, never had an issue. I follow the directions and continue a weekly dosing schedule for a few weeks after the tank has cycled or if adding new fish in the first couple of months.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

Heres an update nitrates and ammonia are going down around .25ppm for ammonia and .25 nitrates.