How long to ferment in primary and secondary

[CatsCradle]

I am curious as to how long cider and mead need to ferment in primary and then secondary. I know for cider it’s generally accepted to get a fg of around1.000. After that reading should I transfer to secondary and then for how long? Something else I was wondering is if I wanted a sweeter cider with no backsweetener should I use sulfates to premetearly stop fermentation I.e would have a higher fg ( is this acceptable ?)

 

[CatsCradle]

Also when should I backsweeten? Should I add the sulfates to my primary fermentation bucket after fermentation has completed/ reached 1.000, wait 24 hrs for the chemicals to kick in then add the sweetener to the primary fermentation or after the 24 hrs is elapsed transfer to secondary carboy and add sweetener to the secondary? Or does it not make any difference?

 

[Chalkyt]

Generally I will do primary fermentation in an open vessel until the turbulent phase is over and the "foam" has settled. This is usually around SG 1.020, Then transfer to secondary in a sealed container with little air space and under air lock for as long as it takes for bubbling to stop and SG to be around 1.000. Then bottle or leave in secondary to mature for as long as you like. Any fermentable sweetener (like sugar) that you add will simply be eaten up by the residual yeast so if you want any sweetness you will need to use something like Splenda, Xylitol or heat pasteurise above 1.000 to stop the yeast. I am not a fan of chemical pasteurisation but others may have different ideas.