mattyluke

Helllo out there,

I am curious and this may be a stupid question. I'm in the process of cylcing a new 10 Gal. tank with fish food. I've been placing a few flakes of food in to a net that's suspended in the water. I started the cycle on 2/17/07. Right now, my ammonia is about 4.5-5.0 and Nitrites at .25. I have tested every day and seen the ammonia increment daily. The nitrites have not changes. So it sounds like I'm off to a good start right?

My questions are related to changing things during the cycle. I have seen mixed things and some things I've read state that nothing should be changed while you're cycling.

1. The net is full of decomposed fish food. Should I rinse this out w tank water and continue to add the food or leave it the way it is?

2. As I am testing every day and with evaporation, should I add new water to the tank so it is always full or not add any until the cycle is done and I do my first change prior to adding the fish?

Thank you very much,

Matt

Gunnie

I'm not really sure about the fish food issue because most folks cycle with pure ammonia. Since its decomposition is what raises the ammonia level in the tank, you probably need to leave it the way it is. As far as adding water to the tank, continue to keep the level up but make sure you dechlorinate the water before putting it in.