How long does it take a 2 gallon fish tank to cycle?

Question

Does it take the same amount of time as a 10 gallon or should it take less time since it is smaller?

Answer 1

the best way to tell if your tank is cycled is to do water tests throughout, not to wait a designated amount of time. you might be able to speed the process by adding beneficial bacteria from an established tank, but basically i'd test to see the tell-tale ammonia spike, then nitrAte spike, then nitrIte (its early for me...i think thats the right order.) usually it takes the same amount of time for any tank because its a question of establishing a good bacterial colony.

Answer 2

Cycling should take the same amount of time regardless of the tank size but is dependent on a lot of factors. It depends on what level you are raising the ammonia to, whether you're adding ammonia each day or only once and then waiting for it to drop, water temperature filtration, etc. The link below is to a thread I did a while back on a fish forum and should be helpful in understanding how a fishless cycle works.

Answer 3

It's all gonna depend on your filter. For example: there's a filter called a Magnum 350 it filters 350 gallons an hour. Check the filter you have and divide your time. This will be more accurate.

Answer 4

Yep, same amount of time is involved no matter what the tank size.

MM