# Flareon's Cycling Adventures



## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

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Flareon'sCycling Adventures


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I am starting the nitrogen cycle in Flareon's tank this week, and to encourage myself not to miss any water tests or changes, I decided to make this log where I will detail each day of the cycle process until it is completely in place. (Also, this way in case something terrible goes wrong and I need to make a post in the emergency forum, I can direct people here to see my most recent notes).

In this first post I will include the steps of the process, any reminders to myself, and quotes from other users around the site who have helped me understand how to get the cycle going. 


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The Tank​ 










1. Azoo Palm Filter
2. Eheim Jager 25w heater
3. Seachem Prime
4. 3 gal Tetra Cube
5. Gravel vac
6. API Freshwater Master Test Kit


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The Process​


Rana said:


> Basically, your tank will cycle itself- your job is to make sure the levels of ammonia and nitrites stay in the safe range. The Beneficial Bacteria already live in the water naturally, just not in large enough numbers to be useful unless you have a filter.
> 
> I'll write it out in numbered steps, hopefully that will be somewhat useful:
> 1. Since you have Prime, add in two-three drops per gallon daily to keep everything safe for your fish.
> ...





Hallyx said:


> I agree with 2muttz suggestion to cycle your tank. I think any tank over2g should be cycled. It provides better water quality for your fish and, less important, it makes less work for you.
> 
> You've read the cycling stickies? So you have an idea how it works. Here's my one-sentence cycling tutorial:
> 
> Change half the water whenever the ammonia or nitrite rises to 0.25ppm, or weekly, whichever comes first, using Prime @2-drops/gal of tank capacity and 1-drop/gal daily during the cycle.


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Reminders​
Current format for daily log:

*❀Date*: 
*❀ Ammonia*: 
*❀Nitrites*: 
*❀Nitrates*: 
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 
*❀ Water change*: 
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: 
*❀ Additional notes*:

("~" before a number denotes that I can't say exactly what the test is reading, because it's somewhere in between two colors on the chart.)


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## Railyn (Mar 3, 2014)

This is a wonderful idea! I'm very new to the fish world, so hopefully this can give me an idea on what to expect when it comes to cycling!


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

Railyn said:


> This is a wonderful idea! I'm very new to the fish world, so hopefully this can give me an idea on what to expect when it comes to cycling!


I hope it's able to help! I wish there were others out there that we could reference. It would have helped me understand the cycling process a lot better, seeing a log for it with all these details. I know how it works now but I still don't fully know what to expect! Hence, an adventure :-D


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

Anyway, here are my first logs. I started out writing them in a journal, so the process actually started yesterday, so there's two in a row.

To clarify, "~" before a number denotes that I can't say exactly what the test is reading because it's somewhere in between two colors on the chart.

*❀Date*: 3-3-14 (Day 1)
*❀ Ammonia*: .25
*❀Nitrites*: ~.10
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 2 per gal (included in new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: ~.5
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: ~.5
*❀ Additional notes*: I still haven't gone out to buy a gravel vac, but will have it for the next change.


*❀Date*: 3-4-14 (Day 2)
*❀ Ammonia*: ~.10
*❀Nitrites*: ~.10
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 2
*❀ Water change*: No
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: Funny and totally unrelated story. Flareon was sleeping on top his tree when I got home, so close to the surface that I thought he'd become trapped. So I reached in with my finger to dislodge him. Well, turns out he was fine, he darted right away and scared me half to death (though I probably scared him more!)


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Great idea! I wish you a smooth cycle. I used Tetra Safe Start in my tanks and have had no ammonia issues at all so far. One tank is planted the other is not.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

I heard that it is hit or miss with Safe Start. How long did it take for you to cycle your tank with it?


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Railyn said:


> This is a wonderful idea! I'm very new to the fish world, so hopefully this can give me an idea on what to expect when it comes to cycling!


I'm sure this thread will help many beginners. It will also be of interest to experienced keepers like myself. Nothing like following a tank in real time to gain a deeper understanding of the process. Its a beautiful thing.
Good luck!


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Cari said:


> I heard that it is hit or miss with Safe Start. How long did it take for you to cycle your tank with it?


My 29 gallon has been running for 9 weeks. I never had ammonia spike or nitrites and started seeing nitrates at about 2weeks. The 10 gallon has be running almost 2 weeks. No ammonia, no nitrite, trace nitrates.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

I wonder, is it too late now to add safe start to my tank? 

Today's readings:

*❀Date*: 3-5-14 (Day 3)
*❀ Ammonia*: ~.25
*❀Nitrites*: ~.15
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 2
*❀ Water change*: Yes, but in a few hours.
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x (will update later)
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x (will update later)
*❀ Additional notes*: It's hard to tell with these readings sometimes. Nitrites are obviously still in an acceptable range but Ammonia is hard to tell. The picture below was my reading. I'm stopping by the pet store later to get a gravel vacuum...getting up all the poops that have been accumulating on the bottom for a week will probably help with ammonia levels. Anyway, I can't do any of that until after my class, which I'm leaving for now. I'll be home around 5pm with the gravel vac so expect me to post a new update after that.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-5-14 (Day 3 part 2)
*❀ Ammonia*: ~.25
*❀Nitrites*: ~.15
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 4 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50% water change with gravel vacuum
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: 0
*❀ Additional notes*: Well that's much better. The only thing that sucks (pun not intended) is that the smallest gravel vac I could find (1 inch) is way too big, it sucked out half the water in under 40 seconds, way too fast for me. It did get up a lot of gunk at the bottom but probably not nearly enough if it had been a smaller hose. Anyway, I will worry about that later. Flareon has started glass surfing again. He did it for a few days a couple of weeks ago (when I first got him), but then he stopped, so I don't know if this is just another phase he's going through or if it has something to do with the cycle. No way to tell, really, but thought I'd add it to the log just in case.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-6-14 (Day 4)
*❀ Ammonia*: ~.10
*❀Nitrites*: ~.10
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 2
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: So as some of you might have heard if you have seen the Betta Care forum today, there was an insane incident this morning. Flareon had jumped out of his tank. Luckily I woke up to go to the bathroom and noticed he wasn't in there. Full story here. He's still alive and his cycling adventures will continue. Because I think it might have been a factor in his jump, I have baffled my Azoo palm filter even though it is already set to the slowest setting. He seems to really like that. He isn't getting drawn toward the filter from the current anymore.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-8-14 (Day 6)
*❀ Ammonia*: .10
*❀Nitrites*: .25
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 4 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: .10
*❀ Additional notes*: Flareon seems to be doing fine two days after his attempt to mimic a beached whale.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm so glad he's ok after his out of water adventure!


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-9-14 (Day 7)
*❀ Ammonia*: .05
*❀Nitrites*: .25
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 4 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: ~.7
*❀ Additional notes*: I guess I've reached the point in the cycle where nitrites begin to skyrocket? Because I just did a water change yesterday, and nitrites were back up to .25 overnight. At this rate I will be doing two water changes a day. I'll check Nitrites again tonight and if they are high I will do a water change before I go to bed just to be safe.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-9-14 (Day 7 part 2)
*❀ Ammonia*: Below .10
*❀Nitrites*: Below .10
*❀Nitrates*: 30 ppm
*❀ Additional notes*: Just a quick test I did an hour ago to make sure the levels were acceptable, just because I was curious I tested for Nitrates too. I also checked the pH and it is at 7.4


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-10-14 (Day 8)
*❀ Ammonia*: .05
*❀Nitrites*: .25
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 6 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 75%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: .05
*❀ Additional notes*: I did a 75% water change today because I discovered last night that one of his painted decorations was peeling (go figure). I did an extra thorough cleaning with the vacuum just to be sure there weren't any paint chips floating around. Now the only decorations in his tank are the green silk plant and the tiny green plastic plant in the front (looking at my avatar). I'm returning the two trees today, and I ordered some silk plants which should arrive in 2 days.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-11-14 (Day 9)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀Nitrites*: .10
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 3
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: So I'm not sure, but I think Flareon might have fin rot. His fins turned into swiss cheese after his jump, and I noticed today those areas look a little black. I don't know how I'm going to treat it, if it is fin rot...


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

So I ended up doing a 50% water change anyway, 6 drops of prime added. I want to keep the water clean just in case Flareon DOES have fin rot.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-12-14 (Day 10)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀Nitrites*: .15
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 3
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: The silk plants arrived! I boiled them for a minute, rinsed them in primed water, let them dry, then added them to his tank. Now there are no plastic plants in Flareon's tank to snag his fins. Here are the updated pictures of his set-up. I also built him a rock cave which I'll add in tomorrow as a centerpiece.

















Even though his tank is so full now with plants, he's still glass surfing like a maniac, which you can see him doing in picture #2. I know it's not because the filter is too strong, because the silk plants have zero movement and the water looks still from above, so that's not what's causing it. I'm just going to wait to see if it passes.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-13-14 to 3-16-14 (Day 11-14)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀Nitrites*: .25
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 6 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: .5
*❀ Additional notes*: Sorry for the lack of updates! I've combined the last few days because it's been the same thing over and over. Within 24 hours nitrites are always back up to .25, so I'm doing daily water changes now. Flareon has stopped glass surfing, finally. He still does it a little but definitely not as bad. Tomorrow after the mandatory water change I'm going to also test for pH and nitrates.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀Date*: 3-17-14 (Day 15)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀Nitrites*: .25
*❀Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 6 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: .5
*❀ Additional notes*: Same old same old.

*❀Date*: 3-18-14 (Day 16)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀Nitrites*: .10 :shock:
*❀Nitrates*: 30 ppm
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 2
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: This is the first time I haven't had to do a water change 24 hours after the previous change! Maybe a sign of something changing. I'm going to test again at night just to be sure.Oh, and pH was 7.4


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

❀Date: 3-19-14 (Day 17)
❀ Ammonia: 0
❀ Nitrites: .25 
❀ Drops of Prime added: 6 (with new water)
❀ Water change: 50%
❀ Ammonia after water change: 0
❀ Nitrites after water change: .05
❀ Additional notes: see day 19

❀Date: 3-20-14 (Day 18)
❀ Ammonia: 0
❀ Nitrites: ~.10 
❀ Drops of Prime added: 3
❀ Water change: x
❀ Ammonia after water change: x
❀ Nitrites after water change: x
❀ Additional notes: see day 19

❀Date: 3-21-14 (Day 19)
❀ Ammonia: 0
❀ Nitrites: ~.15 
❀ Drops of Prime added: 3
❀ Water change: x
❀ Ammonia after water change: x
❀ Nitrites after water change: x
❀ Additional notes: wow, no water change needed in two days! Tomorrow I'm going to run every test again to see what pH and Nitrates are at as well.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-22-14 (Day 20)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: .15
*❀ Nitrates*: 30 ppm
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 2
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: pH is still 7.4~5. This will be day 3 without needing a water change!


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-23-14 (Day 21)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: ~.15
*❀ Nitrates*: 30 ppm
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 6 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: .05
*❀ Additional notes*: Decided to do a water change even though nitrites weren't at .25 yet. Nitrates didn't really change much. It's somewhere between 20-30 ppm.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-24-14 (Day 22)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: .05
*❀ Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: x
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: I didn't even bother adding Prime this day because I'm curious to see what ammonia will look like after 24 hrs. It's been at 0 literally this whole time. I have a feeling the cycle is pretty much close to being finished!

*❀ Date*: 3-25-14 (Day 23)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: less than .05
*❀ Nitrates*: ~.30
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 3
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: Nitrites are at the lowest they have ever been! This is awesome. I think the cycle is pretty much done? I'm going to do a 50% water change tomorrow, stop adding Prime all-together, and wait a few days to see what the levels look like.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-26-14 (Day 24)
*❀ Ammonia*: ~.05
*❀ Nitrites*: ~.05
*❀ Nitrates*: ~30
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 4 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: ~20
*❀ Additional notes*: pH was 7.8 before the water change and 7.4 after. I'm going to add a drop or two of Prime for the next few days, and do a reading on the night of the 28th. Hopefully ammonia & nitrite will both be at 0!


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-27-14 (Day 25)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: 0
*❀ Nitrates*: ~30
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 3
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: x


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-28-14 (Day 26)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: 0
*❀ Nitrates*: ~30
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 0
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: x


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-29-14 (Day 27)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: 0
*❀ Nitrates*: ~30
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 0
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: x

*❀ Date*: 3-30-14 (Day 28)
*❀ Additional notes*: I am going to take a wild guess and say that ammonia and nitrites are at 0 (I'll test again, but maybe tomorrow). Either way, it's been 3 days since the last water change, and they have both been at 0! According to the instructions I was given, this means that the cycle is in place. I'm surprised it took less than a month, because I heard that the fish-in cycle usually takes longer.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 3-30-14 (Day 28)
*❀ Additional notes*: Just tested it, and ammonia and nitrite are both at 0 still.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

Well, that didn't last long.

Yesterday (3/31, day 29) I tested the water, nitrite and ammonia are at 0 as they should be, everything looks good. I did a 30% water change because I thought that that's what I was supposed to start doing twice a week now that the cycle was working. I swished out the filter media in the old tank water because it had accumulated some dog hair. Tested the water after and everything was still 0.

Tested it last night and I noticed nitrite was around .05, thought maybe it was just a blip and went to bed.

Tested it this morning and nitrites are .25 ppm, ammonia is close to being that too.

I'm going to do a 50% water change and see what happens. It looks like the cycle crashed...


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 4-1-14 (Day 30)
*❀ Ammonia*: .25
*❀ Nitrites*: ~.25
*❀ Nitrates*: ~20
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 6 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: .05
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: The only thing I can think of that I did differently yesterday during the water change that might have killed the cycle is that I accidentally plugged the filter back in before refilling it all the way with water. It struggled for a few seconds before I realized that and unplugged it again. I also used a smaller bowl for the water change since it was only a 30% change, so I didn't need my giant bowl anymore.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 4-1-14 (Day 30 Part 2)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: ~.20
*❀ Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: x
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: Looks like I'll be doing another 50% water change within the hour. Nitrites are almost back up to .25 ppm 6 hours after the last 50% change T_T;


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 4-1-14 (Day 30 Part 3)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: ~.25
*❀ Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 6 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: 0
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: ~.05
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: Hopefully the reading will be lower by the time I get back from class tonight. Although I'm not getting my hopes up. I'll probably have to do another water change.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 4-1-14 (Day 30 Part 4)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: ~.05
*❀ Nitrates*: x
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: x
*❀ Water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: Well, I guess I'm lucky. It didn't spike again! Weird...weird, weird...


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

*❀ Date*: 4-4-14 (Day 33)
*❀ Ammonia*: 0
*❀ Nitrites*: 0
*❀ Nitrates*: 20~30
*❀ Drops of Prime added*: 5 (with new water)
*❀ Water change*: 50%
*❀ Ammonia after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrites after water change*: x
*❀ Nitrates* *after water change*: x
*❀ Additional notes*: x


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

The cycle as been going strong for two months now! I haven't had any issues. I think that last little blip back in April was just a small spike before the cycle stabilized. I hope this log was able to help some of you.


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## mobius981 (Apr 27, 2014)

Amazing log!! I feel better now...thanks!


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

I realize this is very late, but you're welcome!!

I hope this log will continue to help more people.


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

This cycle has been going strong for a year and a half now with no issues! It even helped jump-start the cycle in my second 3-gallon tank, and again, no issues in either one so far.


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