It’s really interesting to watch the difference in the natural Aquarium Cycle between my 20 Gallon tank and my 55 Gallon tank.  In the 20 Gallon tank the Ammonia levels began climbing starting on the fifth day after setting up my Aquarium and putting in my first set of fish.  The ammonia levels first went to 0.25 ppm for a few days, then climbed to 0.50 ppm for a few days and then went as high as 1.00 ppm for a period of 4 days before going back down to 0.50 ppm and now slowly dropping down to 0.25 ppm and less over the last few days.

Obviously the Cycle in my 20 Gallon Aquarium is well under way.  As for the 55 Gallon, it seems like the same thing is happening except much slower.  It took almost 10 days from setup and putting in fish to get the Ammonia levels to start going up.  They first climbed to 0.25 ppm for a few days, then 0.50 ppm for a few days and now have been at 1.00 ppm for about three or four days.

I’m keeping an eye on the Ammonia levels every day to make sure they don’t end up going any higher than 1.00 ppm.  I’ve also been adding in a few cap fulls (5-15ml) of Cycle into the tank on a daily basis to help establish a healthy population of beneficial bacteria.  My tests also show that my Nitrate levels have started going up as well in the last few days which means that the bacteria that convert Ammonia into Nitrate are starting to form nicely.

I did also do a 20% water change today in hopes that it will help to lower the Ammonia levels a bit.  I’ll test the water again tomorrow to see what’s happening.  So far the fish seem to be doing fine at the 1.00 ppm levels of Ammonia but I don’t want to stress them out too much so if the levels go up any higher than that I’ll do another partial water change while I wait for the biological filter Cycle to establish itself.

I also picked up a school of 8 Baby Cardinal Tetras for my 20 Gallon tank the other day and they seem to be doing very well in that tank so far.  I may end up either putting them in my 55 Gallon once it finishes Cycling, or I may move the one adult Cardinal Tetra I have in the 55 Gallon right now into the 20 Gallon tank.  I don’t like it being there by itself.  Tetras prefer to live in schools so I think the single one I have in the 55 Gallon is lonely right now.

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