Cycling?

[Gesp56]

Thanks so much :D

[mommy1]

You are quite welcome, good luck and I hope your tanks cycle quickly!

[Gesp56]

I completely forgot to ask but what amounts should I start at to get the ammonia up to around 2 - 3 ppm?? A teaspoon, tablespoon. 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, cup? What? O.o

[mommy1]

1-2ppm is good to start in a 10 gallon, small tank = small fish and small fish don't have a huge bio-load. Once nitrites appear and ammonia is at 0ppm reduce the ammonia dose to .5-1ppm. Start with a few drops of ammonia, wait for 20-30 minutes and test for ammonia level, then add a couple more drops, continue this way until you have 1-2ppm. The initial amount depends on the strength of ammonia you have, I used a cap full for the initial dose on my 75 gallon, others have needed the same amount or a bit more for smaller tanks. It's better to need to add more, than add too much and have to do a water change to bring the level down.

[Gesp56]

Okay thank you for all the help. My father ordered the stuff I needed for the filter and when it comes in I should be able to set up and start cycling my 20 gallon.