pica_nuttalli
don't be a twit
ok, please no flames ~ it was an accident, I can't help that it worked...
right, so I was going to fishless cycle my new 60 gallon tank, ok? well, I went on ahead and gathered up from my old tanks dead leaves and dirty water and all the snails I could pluck from the farm-tank (we're talking MAJOR pond snail infestation here.)
anyways, so I had all the detrius gathered up into three full-to-the-brim 1-gallon acrylic jars which I shoved under the bathroom sink, just to keep overnight...which quickly became four or five days.
needless to say, I had jars of pure aquatic death. I tested the water and the ammonia was off the chart, so I just threw them in one day at a time and didn't bother with any store-bought stuff. I pulled more living snails and threw them into the big empty tank to eat down the filth. a few more days and I added plants. two weeks later and all my testing indicated that the cycle was through. I vaccumed the gravel thoroughly and waited a couple more weeks to add any fish (guppies).
I'm not certain that it was the sacrificial snails that did it, but *shrug*. They probably did release a significant amount of bacteria from their digestive tracts. And the new snails quickly devoured the carcasses of their compadres (all gone in two days!) so I don't have any fungal growths. I am sure that this shouldn't be tried unless you've got a HUGE snail population.
PS: before they died, the snails covered everything in egg-jellies. every last one of those things hatched - I've got a brand new infestation underway. so, in a sense, those innocents lost upon the way still live on... right?
right, so I was going to fishless cycle my new 60 gallon tank, ok? well, I went on ahead and gathered up from my old tanks dead leaves and dirty water and all the snails I could pluck from the farm-tank (we're talking MAJOR pond snail infestation here.)
anyways, so I had all the detrius gathered up into three full-to-the-brim 1-gallon acrylic jars which I shoved under the bathroom sink, just to keep overnight...which quickly became four or five days.
needless to say, I had jars of pure aquatic death. I tested the water and the ammonia was off the chart, so I just threw them in one day at a time and didn't bother with any store-bought stuff. I pulled more living snails and threw them into the big empty tank to eat down the filth. a few more days and I added plants. two weeks later and all my testing indicated that the cycle was through. I vaccumed the gravel thoroughly and waited a couple more weeks to add any fish (guppies).
I'm not certain that it was the sacrificial snails that did it, but *shrug*. They probably did release a significant amount of bacteria from their digestive tracts. And the new snails quickly devoured the carcasses of their compadres (all gone in two days!) so I don't have any fungal growths. I am sure that this shouldn't be tried unless you've got a HUGE snail population.
PS: before they died, the snails covered everything in egg-jellies. every last one of those things hatched - I've got a brand new infestation underway. so, in a sense, those innocents lost upon the way still live on... right?
