How Long Will It Take To Cycle My Tank?

I bought an aquarium 2x1x1 feet and I I w thinking cycling it with the help of guppies and platies as I wanted to cycle it quickly and its been 3 weeks and I have been doing 50% water change every other day and inbthese three weeks I could resist myself and added more fish to the tank. Now I am worried whether my tank is overpopulated or not right now I have 10 platty, 7 guppies and 4 mollies and how do I know whether the cycle is complete...
Local pet store are small ones and doesnot sell the ammonia test kit..
I have a submersible filter running and two live plant that I found in the store..

don't know the name of the plant..



This is the filter.. now not running due to power cut..

 

Well you can’t cycle a tank without knowing your levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Try ordering the liquid API master kit online since your local fish stores don’t carry them. The filter also has to be running 24/7 to cycle the tank, if it’s not running it’s not cycling.

 

could

Couldn't*

Well you can’t cycle a tank without knowing your levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Try ordering the liquid API master kit online since your local fish stores don’t carry them. The filter also has to be running 24/7 to cycle the tank, if it’s not running it’s not cycling.

It runs 24/7 but the electricity went right now while clicking the pic..

 

I gotcha. Still need that test kit! There’s no way of knowing if it’s cycled without it. Good luck!

 

You won't know if the tank is cycled unless you have a test kit. Considering the dimensions you've mentioned. The tank is probably about 15-20 gallons (moreso on the 15 gal end, a 20L is 30x12x12.) So, for the amount of fish you have, yes the tank is overstocked. And that is a concern when you're unsure if the tank is cycled or not. If it's not cycled, you could have an ammonia spike which could kill fish. You'll know you're having an ammonia spike (w/o a test kit) if most of the fish are at the top of the tank gasping for air or 'coughing'. The remedy for this is a water change.

There are 3 different ways to cycle a tank. You're technically doing a 'fish-in' cycle, where your cycling the tank with fish already present. It can take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to completely cycle the tank. Though, you should only do water changes when your ammonia is high, water changes every other day may be depleting the BB that has grown in the tank. You'll know your tank is finished cycling when your test comes back with 0ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-20 ppm nitrate. At this point the cycle is complete but you won't know until you test.

Also, 50% water changes should be reserved for when they're needed. (I.E disease breakout, water contamination, big oopsies) That's a lot of water. Typically we take out 25-30% of the water once every week. Considering your tank is over-stocked, every 4 days or so may be a good schedule but imo, 50% is too much, especially every other day AND during cycling at that.

Edit: I keep editing this because I don't want to spam, but also on the stocking thing. Most people swear you cannot over-stock a tank. You can. I do it all the time. You do run the risk of causing an ammonia spike (more fish=more bio-load=more ammonia) Especially if the tank is not already cycled. But...aside from giving the fish space to swim. If you were to get a filter that was rated for at least twice the size of your tank (so about a 30-40gal filter) You could overstock the tank...almost as much as you want....

This will be at the fish's expense, as fish do like swimming space and territory, but, if that's what you're going to do, having a larger filter and keeping up on maintenance is how you can maintain it.

 

Welcome to FishLore!

Do you know how many gallons (or liters) you tank is. I have a very strong suspicion you are severely over stocked.

Cycling is a process that usually takes between 4-8 weeks to complete. The problem with being overstocked is that your ammonia and/or nitrite levels can become so high that your filter does not have enough room to accommodate large enough bacteria colonies to process all of the ammonia and/or nitrites, or your filter just doesn't push enough water thru the filter per hours to keep up with ammonia/nitrite production.

I highly recommend you get a good test kit which will test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. A really good test kit would be the API Master Test Kit for Freshwater.

 

Everyone is telling you to buy a water test kit, and I agree that is what you should do for the long term, but if money is tight and you can't get one right away, you can take a sample of your water to just about any pet store or fish store and they will test it for you for free.

If you do have the pet store or fish store test your water for you, get the actual numbers from the test. Your water isn't "fine" with "perfect parameters", so don't settle for that answer if the pet store tries to tell you that was the result. Insist that they give you the actual test results. You need to test for: ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH. If you post the results here, we can tell you how far along your cycle is.

In the long term, you should get a test kit of your own. But for right now, there's no shame in taking a water sample to the pet store and having them test it. I had to do that myself last week, as some of the vials in my test kit broke. I have never heard of any pet store or fish store that doesn't do free water testing.

 

My store doesn't...(where I work) But we sell the test kits. Regardless of what my store does, there is a petco down the street that does test water. I didn't even think about recommending that because typically, the store will tell you 'OH, your water is 'fine' and that's not what you're looking for.

I agree with IHaveADogToo, ask them for numbers. They should be able to test the water for you.

 

Ok I will take my water sample to the pet store for testing..

My water is a little bit hard.. it leaves white stain on my glass how to deal with that??
Should I try cleaning it with vinegar? Will it cause anything to the fish?

 

My water is a little bit hard.. it leaves white stain on my glass how to deal with that??
Should I try cleaning it with vinegar? Will it cause anything to the fish?

No that’s just calcium build up from your water, it’s fine and it happens in most tanks. But you would have to take everything out of the tank and completely tear it down to wipe it down with vinegar. Just wipe it off with a paper towel dampened with tank water whenever you notice it and it should be fine. When there’s water over it you can’t even see the stains.

 

Use an algae scraper for the hard water buildup.

I know it's unsightly, but it's really not dangerous.

Do a water change after, to get rid of all the debris you cause from scraping the hard water buildup.