Confused About How To Start Fishless Cycling

[kathleen]

So I have been studying up on this topic and decided that this is the way I'd like to go. My confusion is in regards to adding ammonia in the beginning.

Some sites say to add enough ammonia to obtain a reading ~5ppm and then wait several days until nitrites start to appear then add small amounts of ammonia every day to feed the cycle.
Other sites instruct you to add ammonia to obtain a reading of ~5ppm and then add that same amount every day until nitrites start to appear and then 1/2 that amount for the remainder of the cycle.

Which is correct? The 2nd way seems like it would add way too much ammonia which I understand can sometimes stall the cycle.

I would appreciate any help and advice.
Thanks

 

[modernhamlet]

Basically, keep it at ~5ppm. Add enough to get it to that level and then test daily until the ammonia drops down. Add enough to get it back up to 5ppm. Repeat daily until you can go from 5ppm ammonia to 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrites in 24 hours. This should take around 3-4 weeks.

 

[SkiFletch]

The Jury still seems to be out on that one. I've read tons of articles and oppinions on the slightly different methods for fishless cycling and have even been having what I think are some unique experiences myself with the process. Many people have reported success with both of the two methods you are suggesting. The problem is that because the total time for a tank to cycle is dependent upon so many other variables than just ammonia concentration that we cant really get a good estimate of which method works better.

What we could really use is a microbiologist who knows about nitrobacter and can tell us what the maximum concentration of ammonia they can live in is. That might help speed up the process.

Compunding the problem of not knowing which one is right is that usually once an aquarist does a cycle one time its not something he/she ever wants to do again so we clone our tanks if we ever want to upgrade. This means few people have really repeatable data about starting a cycle from scratch (repeatable from a scientific standpoint). Therefore without lots of data to go by we cant come up with a 100% absoloute best method.

Being all that said, I have heard reports of either method working. I personally am using the keep the water at 5ppm approach and add whatever is necessary to keep it there daily, even if it does drop down to zero I dose daily. The key to success is to continue adding ammonia even after it drops to zero so that you keep the ammonia-eaters alive. Wait for your nitrites to drop to zero, do a water change and add some fishies.

 

[dwarfgourami]

So I have been studying up on this topic and decided that this is the way I'd like to go. My confusion is in regards to adding ammonia in the beginning.

Some sites say to add enough ammonia to obtain a reading ~5ppm and then wait several days until nitrites start to appear then add small amounts of ammonia every day to feed the cycle.
Other sites instruct you to add ammonia to obtain a reading of ~5ppm and then add that same amount every day until nitrites start to appear and then 1/2 that amount for the remainder of the cycle.

Which is correct? The 2nd way seems like it would add way too much ammonia which I understand can sometimes stall the cycle.

I would appreciate any help and advice.
Thanks

I followed the second method (not knowing about the first) so added ammonia every day (12 drops daily to a 60 ltr tank, then 6 drops daily once the ammonia had dropped and nitrites spiked). This cycled my tanks in 10 days and 14 days respectively. But it does not seem the method most often recommended on here. I must have found the same website as you then,

 

[Silverlady]

Iagree with you dwarfgourami,thats what I did with my tank .It took 16 days to cycle.

 

[kathleen]

Wow, great replies.
Yes, most of the data (charts, graphs) I have come across seem to be for just 1 cycle. There doesn't seem to be repeated trials. Maybe some day.

By adding ammonia daily in amounts similar to the intial amount the cycle may be sped up but at the risk of inhibiting the nitrobacter.
I think I will try a middle of the road approach and try to maintain my ammonia levels around 5ppm. It may take longer but I'm not in a rush. I also plan on raising the temp to mid 80's so that may help it along.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[rdd1952]

Kathleen, I have cycled several tanks with a method similar to the first one. I add enough ammonia at the start to raise the level to around 6 ppm and then wait until it drops to near zero. At that point, I start adding enough to raise it to around 2 or 3 ppm. Every time it drops back to sero, I do the same until the nitrite finally drops. I have never had a problem with any ammonia or nitrite after adding my fish. My cycles have all seemed to take around 3 weeks.

Both methods have their place. If you plan to keep fish that are terribly messy and create a huge bioload (oscars and goldfish for instance), you probably will be best served with the "add daily method" where you keep the ammonia level high the whole time. The tank will be cycled for a very heavy fish load, probably more than you would ever put in it. If you plan to mainly have a normal stocking load of say tetras and corys, the "add and wait" method will probably be best as you don't need to build an enormous bacteria colony to handle the waste of the small fish.

 

[kathleen]

Thanks rdd.
Yes, since I plan on stocking for a normal bioload and plan on introducing new fish slowly after the tank is cycled I think something similar to the first method will be the best answer.

I also plan on having a moderately planted tank and have read conflicting things about cycling with plants. Some say to add the plants up front while others say to wait until the tank is cycled. I think I want to know for sure that my tank is indeed cycled before adding any fish so I'll wait until then to add any plants. When cycling with plants it seems that the cycle isn't as obvious due to the fact that the plants themselves take up the ammonia.

So many decisions to make and I haven't even put a drop of water in the tank yet!
Thanks again.

eta - would any of you recommend the use of an airstone during fishless cycling to increase oxygen levels for the bacteria? I have a canister filter (XP3) and I don't know how much surface agitation this causes.

 

[SkiFletch]

I used one since the nitrobacter are supposed to use oxygen during the fixation process. As far as plants go, I'm taking the same approach and adding plants and fish AFTER my cycling is complete.

 

[rdd1952]

eta - would any of you recommend the use of an airstone during fishless cycling to increase oxygen levels for the bacteria? I have a canister filter (XP3) and I don't know how much surface agitation this causes.

You definitely need extra aeration. Since you also have to increase the water temp to the mid to upper 80s (I have actually cycled my last 2 small tanks (2.5 and 5 gallon) with temps in the low 90s), you need the aeration since the high temp will drive the oxygen from the water and encourage bacteria growth.

As for plants, I cycled my 75 gallon with the plants in it. I don't think they really hurt or helped the cycling process. If you plant and aquascape it well, it does make the tank much prettier to look at while there aren't any fish it in. On the down side, the extra aeration you add isn't good for your plants. Also, because of the high nitrate build up at the end of the cycling process, you will have brown algae all over everything, including the plants. Generally it's believed that increases lighting will get rid of that. I just added 4 Siamese Algae Eaters to start with and they made short work of it.

 

[kathleen]

Ok so now I still need an airstone, tubing, air pump etc. BTW this is for a 50g tank, would this provide enough extra aeration? I won't be needing it (hopefully) when I have the plants but I suppose I can use it on my 10g QT.

I think I am still going to wait to put the plants in after the cycle. I have to mail order my plants anyway and this will give me some time to better research the finer details of planted tank maintenance and wise fish selections.

Thank you everyone for all your helpful advice.

 

[rdd1952]

When you buy your airpump, be careful and don't just grab the cheapest thing you can find. Some of them are NOISY. I have 4 Rena airpumps and they are very quiet (but a little more expensive too). If you won't be using it that much after the cycling, you may be able to live with a little noise for a while.

PS: Make sure you get a check valve to prevent water from syphoning back into the pump in a power outage.