cycling amonia question

[Tabasco]

So it has been a while since I have cycled a tank. I started the cycle on Friday with fresh live rock.

My question is regarding amonia, I don't want to let the amonia run wild so that there is as little stress to the "live" stuff that is on the rock as possible but don't want to prolong the cycle super long.

Is a good rule of thumb to change water only when ammonia reads 1ppm or greater? So if my test reads .5 or .25 I should not change the water and let it do its thing and if it is over 1ppm I should do a water change?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Lots of disagreement on this subject. I think ammonia can get high enough to even kill the bacteria we want to culture. As long as you aren't taking ammonia down too low, I think a WC is a good idea when ammonia hits .5 or higher. Having ammonia at a level that your bio-filter can't yet handle is doing no good anyway.

 

[duncantse]

Do a water change when ammonia hits 0.25. When your cycle is finished, add some inverts, if they survive add 1 small fish. This way, there will not be a mini cycle.