Cycleing Tank

[Inytom89]

Hi just bought a new Roma 240 tank and it came with everything to get started. Know I've been reading in to a Fishless cycle but with the tank I got this nutrafin biological aquarium supplement and says I can add fish straight away should I use this or do what Ive been reading up on a Fishless cycle help please!! X

 

[Man of fish]

That bottled bacteria is pretty worthless. Go ahead and add it if you'd like, it can only help, but still do a regular fishless cycle.

 

[Fishy friend2]

The bottled bacteria actually contain the vital bacteria to supplement and "kick start" a cycle, usually mature media is a better alternative to bottled bacteria. If you cant get that, then I would recommend a Fishless cycle method.

 

[Inytom89]

Thanks for the help.

 

[OldMan47]

Inytom, most of us have tried at least one of those cycling nostrums with about the same result. The cycle took just as long with the product as it would have without the product. If you use that product, still do a fishless cycle and make sure it is complete before you stock your tank. That way if it works you will finish quickly and if it does not work you will not have harmed any fish. I would be interested to hear from you if a total cycle takes less than 4 weeks using such a product.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Not all the cycling products contain the same things, many do not even contain the autotrophic nitrifiers that tanks end up needing. So to say they all work or all don't work is not accurate.

What I can say is my two experiences using one went exactly as expected. I suggest if you want to try one that you use either Tetra's Safe Start or DrTim's One and Only. If you decide to try one, please follow their directions to the letter. Failure to do so is the most common cause for folks having them fail to work properly.

 

[PERCY]

Does the water need dechlorinator prior to starting a fish less cycle?

 

[DJH584]

Does the water need dechlorinator prior to starting a fish less cycle?

Yes it does, otherwise any bacteria generated would be killed off by the chlorine in the water.
A lot of water companies use a chemical called chloramine which, basically, is a compound of ammonia and chlorine.
You need the dechlorinator, i.e Seachem Prime, Tetra Aquasafe etc to deal with these products so that you can do a fishless cycle.

David

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

Hi just bought a new Roma 240 tank and it came with everything to get started. Know I've been reading in to a Fishless cycle but with the tank I got this nutrafin biological aquarium supplement and says I can add fish straight away should I use this or do what Ive been reading up on a Fishless cycle help please!! X

If you do decide to try the bottled bacteria and it dosn't work out for you, you'll be stuck with a fish-in cycle, unless you can return them to the store.

Cycling with fish takes longer as you're changing the water every 1-2 days to dilute the toxins to keep your fish alive. I started my cuurent fish-in cycle with Tetra Safe Start and a 2" Betta Splendens hoping for a quick cycle, but have spent 6 weeks changing water every 1-2 days to keep ammonia below 0.25. Progess has been slow, but i'm just starting to see positive results.

I'm rather skeptical if TSS worked or not, not to say the stuff dosn't work because there's plenty of success stories where their biofilter cycled within a week or less. But in my experience i can say it clearly wasn't a quick cycle, and seems to be a regular fish-in cycle. Good luck whatever you decide.

Dean.

 

[PERCY]

Does the water need dechlorinator prior to starting a fish less cycle?

Yes it does, otherwise any bacteria generated would be killed off by the chlorine in the water.
A lot of water companies use a chemical called chloramine which, basically, is a compound of ammonia and chlorine.
You need the dechlorinator, i.e Seachem Prime, Tetra Aquasafe etc to deal with these products so that you can do a fishless cycle.

David

As I thought. No cycle started then. I'm waiting on a bottle of seachem prime coming, can I use that when it arrives? Does that not take away the ammonia? How will the tank be able to cycle then?

Will I have to replace all the water in the tank now as I've already the ammonia in

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

Does the water need dechlorinator prior to starting a fish less cycle?

Yes it does, otherwise any bacteria generated would be killed off by the chlorine in the water.
A lot of water companies use a chemical called chloramine which, basically, is a compound of ammonia and chlorine.
You need the dechlorinator, i.e Seachem Prime, Tetra Aquasafe etc to deal with these products so that you can do a fishless cycle.

David

As I thought. No cycle started then. I'm waiting on a bottle of seachem prime coming, can I use that when it arrives? Does that not take away the ammonia? How will the tank be able to cycle then?

Will I have to replace all the water in the tank now as I've already the ammonia in

Yes you can use Seachem Prime.

Seachem Prime removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. It converts the ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter so your tank will still cycle.

Dean.

 

[PERCY]

Thanks for the info

 

[PERCY]

Ht my bottle of prime arrived today so I dosed the tank. I already have ammonia in to about 4-5 ppm. Is there any way I can speed up the bacteria growing ?

What should I be checking as I'm not really up to speed on cycling???

 

[Aqua Tom]

Ht my bottle of prime arrived today so I dosed the tank. I already have ammonia in to about 4-5 ppm. Is there any way I can speed up the bacteria growing ?

What should I be checking as I'm not really up to speed on cycling???

Ok the best enviroment for your nitrifying bcteria to grow and flourish is a tempreture of 28-30c & a pH of 8.

The tempreture is easy to get right by adjusting your heater.

pH lower than 8? No problem, bung a teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda in the tank, wait an hour & test again. Repeat the dose untill you get 8ish. Dont worry about contaminating your water with the bicarb as you will be doing a massive water change toward the end of your cycle.



As to what to check for in the first stages of the cycle you are just worried about the Ammonia level & pH. So just check those.



Tom

 

[OldMan47]

I can almost agree, but if you are moving ammonia you will want to look at your nitrites to see its build up. If it is not building, something else besides ammonia processing bacteria is at play, such as plants for instance. Plants, which includes algae, think that ammonia is fertilizer and can remove more than you might think.