locoyo386

Hi there,
I have cycled saltwaterfish tanks before, but I have never done it for freshwater tanks. Is the cycle the same (amonia-nitrites-nitrates)? If so, how long should I expect the ammonia (4) and nitrites (5) to go to zero in a 20 gallon tank with four gold fish (about 2" each)? It's been running for about 19 days.

JoeSmo

That's how I cycled my 20 gallon tank too. Yeah, it is pretty much the same for freshwater tanks and saltwater tanks. Mine took about three weeks if I remember right. I would recomend picking up some test kits from Petco or your LFS to test your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. What kind of filter are you running, just wondering?

kimb

Welcome to Fishlore! If you are looking for cycle information, you might want to read up on the nitrogen cycle. A cycled freshwater tank will have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and some nitrates. There are several inexpensive easy ways to cycle without using fish. Cycle time varies from person to person but the average seems to be 4-6 weeks (fishless, no seeded material). If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Good Luck with your 20g!

aquarist48

Good morning. Hate to say it but I'm afraid that your 20g is going to be way overstocked with 4 goldfish. Goldfish are major waste producers. It's suggested that you have 20g for 1 goldfish and 10g per each additional goldfish. Hopefully you can provide them a bigger home in the not too distant future.

Are you cycling now with the goldfish in the tank? If so, I suggest doing 30 to 50% daily water changes to prevent ammonia poisoning. Add some Prime or Amquel+ to detox the ammonia. This all should be done daily until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 5-10 nitrates

Best of luck. Hope you can share some pictures along the way.
Ken

locoyo386

I already have a test kit, at least for ammonia and nitrites anyways. I have a marineland 200.

locoyo386

Thanks for the info, I am already familiar with the nitrogen cycle. I was more interested in how long to expect the tank to cycle. My salt water tanks usually cycle in about 15 days. I know about cycling without fish, I figure I could use some feeder fish for the cycling since they are going to be food anyways. I know it sounds sort of cruel, and I apologize to anyone that might think so.

locoyo386

Thanks for the info, I am not keeping the gold fish in the 20 gallon. I am cycling the tank with them. I want to be able to add all the fish that I will keep there at once, thus I am using for goldfish to cycle the tank. This way i can compensate for the load that the fish will be once I put them in. Do you think that the waste that the goldfish produce, night be too high to cycle the tank? I don't what level of ammonia will kill the goldfish, but I had four gold fish in a ten gallon tank for about 3 years before I broke the tank down. Does it take more than 3 years to poison the gold fish with the ammonia and nitrites they procude (well from their waste anyways)?

kimb

I think you a lot of folks around here, would opt for fishless cycling. Those who have been forced to cycle with fish, due to misinformation, or lack of information fight through daily water changes to keep the fish alive. You will cycle no faster with fish than you would using pure ammonia added to the tank. The cycle should not be any better or worse. In fact, IMO, if you added ammonia on the high side, you could realistically have a very strong bed of bacteria. Even using fish, because each type is different, there would be no way to know for sure if there was enough bacteria to support the bioload you choose with your new fish. Cycling varies from tank to tank, person to person. Have you ever heard of a product called Tetra Safe Start? With this product you set up your tank, add product and your planned fish all at once. Keeps the fish safe and completes cycle in a week to 10 days. Pehaps this would be your best choice, fast for you, harmless to fish...

locoyo386

Well thank you all for your help. I have gone a different route now, but thanks for all the help.