Ask Questions About Cycling

[Seandgoode]

I am currently cycling my tank (started on the 17th May) and have found out I have to move house on 26th July. After peoples advise decided not to stock before the move and keep adding a "snack" dose of ammonia every 2-3 days after cycling is complete. But because of the long period I will be doing this for would it be advisable to be doing any water changes, or cleaning until it is stocked? I just didn't want it getting un-necessarily dirty. 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The longer one adds ammonia to a tank, the more it will contribute to algae. The longer you have to keep feeding the ammonia the greater the odds algae will become an issue. There is no hard and fast rule as to a time frame, but be aware this can be an issue. You can always resort to blacking out the tank if this gets to be a problem. The bacteria don't need light and live plants can last much longer in the dark than can most algae.
 
If you have some live plants I suggest reducing the ammonia dose from 3 to 2 ppm.

 

[Seandgoode]

OK thanks, so no great call for water changes until I'm ready for fish then?

 

[Sharah]

Hi all,

Have had my current 60l tank for several years. Was considering investing in a bigger tank and it appears I now need to get on with that as my current tank has sprung a leak. I am looking at a 200l tank. If I simply move my current filter to the new tank and run it alongside the new filter will that cycle the new tank? Or would it be better to put the old filter media in the new filter? I won't be adding any new fish, just moving my current stock to the new tank.
Thanks. ☺

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Move as much over from the tank as you can. The media in the filter is more important than the filter itself. The bacteria will also be in the top 1/2 inch of the substrate (more and deeper in tanks with rooted plants).
 
Once you get the stuff moved over (but not the fish of course), you can add a 1 - 2 ppm dose of ammonia to make sure the tank is ready for the fish. It should process this in 24 hours or less and there should be no nitrite showing as well.
 
Even if you end up only moving 1/2 the total bacteria, it should not take more than a couple of days to back to full strength if you can add the 2 ppm ammonia dose once or twice. If you can't and must move the fish, you may get a bit of a cycling spike. If possible ride it out with no water changes as this willget you fully cycled the fastest. Of course if ammonia rises to where NH3 levels are pushing towards .05 ppm or if the fish are showing signs of ammonia or nitrite poisoning, you should do a wc no matter what the test kits tell you. If the problem is only nitrite and there is no ammonia, a bit of salt is the better alternative.
 
You may very well not see any sort of a mini spike at all. There is really no way to know until you do it all. it has to do with out not really knowing for sure where all of the bacteria in our tanks might actually be. One tank can have most of it in a filter and the next mostly in the substrate and on the decor.

 

[carmstrong]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to find out if I can us this method while I have a mystery snail in the tank and will he survive?

My tank (15.8gal) has been set up since June 7th
I think I did the calculator right and it told me that my first dose should be 3ml
Is this correct?

Any advice would be very helpful.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

What strength ammonia?
 
I ran your tank, reducing the volume to 13.5 gals to allow for glass. substrate and decor etc. I used 9.5% strength ammonia and the dose for these condisitons is 1.6 ml. If your ammonia is weaker then the amount would be higher. At 4.5% the amount is 3.4 ml.
 
And no, you do not want to be adding ammonia to a tank with anything live in it aside from bacteria or plants. Not only are you exposing the snail to the ammonia, but next comes nitrite and nitrate. Don't forget the snail is also adding ammonia t the tank.

 

[carmstrong]

I haven't bought the ammonia yet, so I can't tell you that. 
 
Another method someone suggested online was with a frozen shrimp from the grocery store.. 
Would this be advisable? 
 
I have this tank at work and wouldn't want it to smell.
 
I don't think i'll do the ammonia method then cause I don't want to kill my snail, 
I guess my options are to run the tank for 4-6 weeks empty. OR I have an ADF I can place in the tank if that will help. 
Thats the whole reason why I started this hobby in the first place, lol

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Running a tank empty for 4-6 weeks will change nothing in the tank. It will still not be cycled.
 
Putting anything live into an uncycled tank will create ammonia in the tank. Because there are almost no bacteria in the tank to start, the ammonia will start to build up. Basically a fish, snail or frog can make ammonia faster than the bacteria can multiply at the outset. So you are about to embark on a lot of water changes to keep a snail or frog safe. You would be doing a fish in cycle using a snail or frog in lieu of fish, but the process and problems are still the same.
 
There are only two ways you can get a new tank cycled. One is to add ammonia and allow the bacteria to multiply. The other is to add bacteria from the start. This can be done in one of two ways. One is to buy one of the viable bacterial starters and the other is to seed bacteria from established tanks. There is one more option and that is to plant the tank fairly well. Plants use ammonium. So if you start with enough plants and few enough live creatures, you can avoid having to cycle a tank.
 
Yes raw shrimp or fish can be used to create ammonia, but there is no difference between that ammonia or the ammonia you can buy. And it will still harm live things. The difference is you can precisely control ammonia when using it and with degrading organic matter like a raw shrimp you have almost no control.

 

[carmstrong]

I see, 
 
ok.. So the pet store suggested THIS as a biological starter, so I will try that tonight.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I'd actually suggest different brands rather than Nutrafin Cycle, it does not have a good reputation really, better than nothing though, might just work.
 
Recommend the following 2 products : 
 
Dr Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria
 
or
 
Tetra Safe Start
 
One of these two will give you a much better chance, particularly Dr Tim's as these contain the correct bacteria that a tank needs.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I see, 
 
ok.. So the pet store suggested THIS as a biological starter, so I will try that tonight.

 
 
Unfortunately, that won't do what you ultimately are looking for.

 

[carmstrong]

Ok eagles, I get it.. I got sucked into the "Pet Store Syndrome" of listening to everything they say and believing it. 
 
Well, now i'm going to proceed with the fish-less cycle now that I know I can remove my snail and house him in a smaller container for the duration. 
 
I'll let everyone know how i'm making out. 
 
First thing, I want to make sure I have my measurement right for the first dosage, the calculator says for a 15.8gal tank it requires a 1.89ml dosage of ammonia. 
I'm going to verify that once i purchase the scent free pure ammonia tomorrow but I want to make sure i'm using this calculator correctly. 
 
Thanks and chat soon!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ok eagles, I get it.. I got sucked into the "Pet Store Syndrome" of listening to everything they say and believing it. 
 
Well, now i'm going to proceed with the fish-less cycle now that I know I can remove my snail and house him in a smaller container for the duration. 
 
I'll let everyone know how i'm making out. 
 
First thing, I want to make sure I have my measurement right for the first dosage, the calculator says for a 15.8gal tank it requires a 1.89ml dosage of ammonia. 
I'm going to verify that once i purchase the scent free pure ammonia tomorrow but I want to make sure i'm using this calculator correctly. 
 
Thanks and chat soon!

 
 
Lots of us have fallen prey to that in the beginning. 

 

[carmstrong]

 

Ok eagles, I get it.. I got sucked into the "Pet Store Syndrome" of listening to everything they say and believing it. 
 
Well, now i'm going to proceed with the fish-less cycle now that I know I can remove my snail and house him in a smaller container for the duration. 
 
I'll let everyone know how i'm making out. 
 
First thing, I want to make sure I have my measurement right for the first dosage, the calculator says for a 15.8gal tank it requires a 1.89ml dosage of ammonia. 
I'm going to verify that once i purchase the scent free pure ammonia tomorrow but I want to make sure i'm using this calculator correctly. 
 
Thanks and chat soon!

 
 
Lots of us have fallen prey to that in the beginning. 
 

Thankfully, not again, lol