Let me get this straight...

[plush]

I'm more or less trying to sum up things I've read on the web. Is this the basic idea of cycling?
-Add ammonia
-Check
-when ammonia drops,nitrite rises, you add more ammonia
-Repeat until...
-Ammo=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=0-20 then,
-Do 20% water change
...or something


And uhh... how long should I wait until the ammonia levels rise?

 

[jordan]

you don't need to add additional ammonia after the first amount. It takes all different times for the ammonia to start but i think it would be present in the first week or so. Other than that, you seem to be correct. Also, welcome to the forum.

 

[joan]

You should add additional ammonia to continue feeding the ammonia converting bacteria after the initial drop in ammonia. Overall, this process should take between 30 and 60 days.

 

[edward]

Joan is correct, if the ammonia level drops to zero and there is not further ammonia source then the bacteria that converts the ammonia to nitrite will die back resulting in an inability to convert ammonia to nitrite causing the tank to recycle once the animals are added to the tank.
See http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml for how it works.

Ed