Tank Cycle going well, but

I started my cycle with 2 tiger barbs in my 55 gallon tank 5 days ago. Everything is going as I have been informed, ammonia is rising and barbs are doing fine.

I have read a lot of posts but maybe I missed the answer to this question: My tank has become a cloudy white, is this normal or should I do a water change?

 

cloudy white is okay, it means the beneficial bacteria is growing.

https://www.fishlore.com/CloudyWater.htm

 

be happy with white cloudy water but be careful not to have ammonia and no2 rising 2 much. I think its best that once a week you make a partial water change

 

I would do a water change every 2-3 days of 30% or more. I even am on a schedule to do a water change every 2-3 days of 10-15% as a regular maintenance!

 

Cloudy is normal for a new tank...I asked the same question when I started mine and the answer I got was correct...It will disappear as tank gets settled..It took mine about 1 week..Good Luck

 

Thanks. Can't wait for cycle to be complete and add the rest of the fish!

 

Welcome to Fishlore. What other fish are you planning on adding to the tank?
Tom

 

Thanks. Right now I'm thinking of 2 more barbs and looking into gouramis and rainbows. I'm trying to get a lot of unique colors in the tank with out them being bothered by the barbs. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks. Right now I'm thinking of 2 more barbs and looking into gouramis and rainbows. I'm trying to get a lot of unique colors in the tank with out them being bothered by the barbs. Any suggestions?

I love the metallic-looking barbs that look like gold, but I'm not sure of the name.. There are pink and golden ones that are the same, just the different color.

 

hows the cycle doing? what are your readings? has the cloudiness gone yet? hope all is well. make sure the tank is cycled before you get more fish and add them a few at a time ( a few a week. if levels go up, wait...dont add more fish) your tank is cycloed when you have zero ammonia and nitrite and detectable nitrate (under 20, 5-10 is ideal). have you read the beginners guides on here about the nitrogen cycle etc?
good luck
tan

 

Tan.b- I've read eveything I can on cycling. My ammonia is at 1.0, nitrite and nitrate are at 0. The water is still a bit cloudy but seems to be clearing up today. This waiting around for the tank to cycle stinks, but I know it's important to do it properly so I'm trying yo stay as patient as I can.

 

I know its hard......i'm hopeless at patience too! you will get there in the end. and just think...if you get any more tanks it'll be so much faster next time as you can move the media about from tank to tank thus borrowing some good bacteria. the first tank is alwasy gonna be the slowest and thus hardest!
you're doing a great job, and the research you've done will pay off. cloudiness is an excellent sign as that should be your nitrifying bacteria getting prepared to start turning our ammonia into nitrite, which is one step closer to your goal!
how are the barbs doing? keep an eye out for red gills. when my ammonia got to 1.0 the gills were quite swollen and red. what's your pH out of interest? don't try to change your pH as this stresses fish, but if it happens to be below 7 this will help as you'll have ammonium rather than ammonia which is less toxic. pH above 7 (which mine unfortunately was!) and you get the toxic ammonia.

keep up the water changes..it'll be worth it in the end!!

good luck
tan

 

My ammonia level has dropped to .5 and mt ph is 8.0. It has dropped since the cycling has started from 8.4 and the cloudy water has almost completely gone beck to clear. The barbs are doing well.
The only thing is, is that the nitrite or nitrate hasn't changed at all. It has always been 0. Was wondering if the water changes would slow this process down at all. My ammonia was at a high of 2.0. Just wondering with your experience if this is normal or if I should cut back the water changes a bit. I have been doing a 10 gallon change once a week.

Thanks Tan,
Brandon

 

With cycling with fish, it's better to keep up the water changes and let the cycle take longer if you want them to live through it. It took me over 2 weeks to get a single reading of nitrite in my tank. I've finally got it now and some nitrate too, so I'm well on my way. But yes it can take time to get to that stage. I would just keep up with the water changes as long as the fish are happy you are doing a good job ;D.

 

yep I agree with luniyn, keep up the water changes as tedious as they are because of your barbs in there. if there's any ammonia its worth doing a water change. it may slow down the cycle a little, but its better to have a slightly longer cycle and have living fish than rush through it with casualties! now your ammonia is dropping you will eventually start to see nitrite. with one of my tanks my ammonia disappeared on 28th feb and I didnt get nitrite til the 8 mar. I also got the ammonia back again this day too, so it may fluctuate a little as the balance between ammonia production and bacteria cycling settles. don't worry too much about that. my other tank had 0.25 nitrite for 1 day then the next day it was back to zero, so if I hadn't tested it that day I could've missed it! just so long as you do a 50% water change anytime you see any ammonia or nitrite or if your fish look unwell (red gills, gasping at the surface, laying on the gravel etc) you'll be doing a great job! when you eventually get nitrate, keep an eye on all the levels for a while until you get reliable predictable results, and don't let the nitrate get to above 20. don't forget, when you get to the point where you can add more fish, it may temporarily send the ammonia back up, but as you have bacteria there already this minI cycle will sort itself out quite quickly once the bacteria have multiplied. hope i've been some help withmy ramblings!!
good luck! keep us posted!
tan

 

Yeah that should be okay, keep up the the water changes cloudy water is okay. When I got my tank that's what heppened but I did not know that so I ended up changing all the water twice a weeks. :-[