Should i do a water change while my tank is cycling?

Today marks a week of having my 10g planted tank and im fishless cycling so far and i have been using stability and fish food to try and start the cycle. Im not sure if i should do a water change because its still cycling so any thoughts? or recommendations? I have also started getting algae on my plants. Is that bad?

 

U should not water change until the tank is cycled and you put fish in. Not sure about the algae though because I’m not very experienced with plants. I’m assuming it is not a big deal.

 

U should not water change until the tank is cycled and you put fish in. Not sure about the algae though because I’m not very experienced with plants. I’m assuming it is not a big deal.

A water change in a cycle is perfectly fine as long as you do it correctly. In fact, when a cycle is stuck doing a water change(depends on the source of your water I believe) could help move it along.

 

A water change in a cycle is perfectly fine as long as you do it correctly. In fact, when a cycle is stuck doing a water change(depends on the source of your water I believe) could help move it along.

When I was cycling and did a water change it would always start over. That was prolly because I was an idiot and cycled while I had fish in the tank.

 

When I was cycling and did a water change it would always start over. That was prolly because I was an idiot and cycled while I had fish in the tank.

You aren't an idiot, fish in cycles are common . I don't think the water change had anything to do with your cycle if you didn't dechlorinate the water that could play a role(although bb is very hardy) though.

 

This a great question. Often a fishless cycle will complete and no water change will be necessary until you are ready to put fish in the tank. However, I am an advocate of doing water changes during cycling for two reasons:

First as bgntoc says, cycles sometimes stall. This usually involves stopping processing ammonia and happens when PH and / or KH gets low.

I am currently conducting a cycle experiment in which I purposefully stalled the cycle by letting KH and PH drop, nitrites and nitrates get high. Some research suggests that low KH and PH stop the cycle. Dr. Tim says nitrite above 5 ppm can stop a cycle.

Stalls like this can be stopped with a water change. You can just let it go and know that if ammonia stops processing, you just do a water change. Or you can do some preventative water changes so that it will not stall. I like to do water changes when my ammonia drops to zero before I re-dose with ammonia.

Another reason, I like to do water changes is that I have a hypothesis that the cycle develops with more stability if water parameters are kept reasonable during cycling. I have no evidence for this hypothesis. It is just a hunch.

 

I am aware of the water conditioner, i have Prime and i also know that i should keep the new water the same temperature as my tank and i was thinking if i were to do a water change I’d probably only do 15-25% also I’m not sure if the flakes at the bottom are whats causing the algae so i was thinking about using the water vacuum to remove them. Heres how my tank looks.

 

When I was cycling and did a water change it would always start over. That was prolly because I was an idiot and cycled while I had fish in the tank.

Cycling with fish in does not make you an idiot. There are very experienced members on this site who prefer that method. It just involves more work.

 

At the moment i cant test ammonia because i have the api test strips but i will try and order the api master kit later today and it will probably come monday and i think when i read those I’ll probably do a water change. I asked this question because i was stuck since most people say to do a water change every week. But i appreciate all the replies and your experiencesthank youu!!

 

At the moment i cant test ammonia because i have the api test strips but i will try and order the api master kit later today and it will probably come monday and i think when i read those I’ll probably do a water change. I asked this question because i was stuck since most people say to do a water change every week. But i appreciate all the replies and your experiencesthank youu!!

The weekly water changes are for when you have fish in the tank. If you are doing a fishless cycle different procedures apply. If you do fish in cycle then water changes more often than weekly are required.

 

You should really use ammonia not fish food to cycle with if you can.

 

You should really use ammonia not fish food to cycle with if you can.

A youtuber i seen was putting ammonia in her tank and im not sure but i think it was the ammonia bottle that was in the master kit. Does that work too?

 

No the ammonia bottle in the API master test kit is for testing.

A youtuber i seen was putting ammonia in her tank and im not sure but i think it was the ammonia bottle that was in the master kit. Does that work too?

No the ammonia bottle in the master test kit is to test for ammonia. I recommend Dr Tims ammonia. You can order it online at

Www.drtimsaquatics.com

You can also use pure industrial ammonia usually sold in 5% or 10% concentration. I am currently experimenting with that. Many report success with that product and it is less expensive.

I have Ace brand ammonia. But any will due so long as it has nothing but ammonia in it. No fragrances, not detergents, nothing but ammonia.

Dosing the store bought ammonia is a little more complicated. There are online calculators to help you. However, the one I used did not work for the bottle of ammonia I have. So you want to start with a little, test, add a little more until you figure out exactly how much ammonia to use.

Dr Tims is a lot easier. It tells you exactly how much to use.

 

No the ammonia bottle in the master test kit is to test for ammonia. I recommend Dr Tims ammonia. You can order it online at

Www.drtimsaquatics.com

You can also use pure industrial ammonia usually sold in 5% or 10% concentration. I am currently experimenting with that. Many report success with that product and it is less expensive.

I have Ace brand ammonia. But any will due so long as it has nothing but ammonia in it. No fragrances, not detergents, nothing but ammonia.

Dosing the store bought ammonia is a little more complicated. There are online calculators to help you. However, the one I used did not work for the bottle of ammonia I have. So you want to start with a little, test, add a little more until you figure out exactly how much ammonia to use.

Dr Tims is a lot easier. It tells you exactly how much to use.

Alright i will certainly look into that thank youuu