Cycling Tank For 1 Betta

[vanvran]

I read the post on fresh water cycling and thank the author for sharing this valuable inforrmation.  However, I am math-challenged and am lost when attempting to determine what categories on the chart I must fill in to get the amount of ammonia needed for my 5 gallon tank.  Can someone put this into layman's terms for me?  And, is this necessary for housing one betta?  Is there an other easier/quicker way? 
 
 

 

[Mamashack]

Yes it is necessary for a betta, they deserve good living conditions as do any fish.
For the ammonia calculator - first you need to determine the strength of ammonia you have - must be pure ammonia with water - no foamers or surfactants etc. The strength of the one I use here in the UK is 9.5% (Kleenoff)
Then you go to the calculator on here.
Scroll right down to the bottom and fill in the details for volume, ammonia strength and desired level and it should give you an amount in mls. Probably best to use a syringe for accuracy.
3ppm is the recommended level to aim for so you'll need to change that as it defaults to 5ppm which was the old recommended level to aim for. Decide whether you want to work in gallons or litres, (remember these will be US gallons not UK gallons) allow about 15% lost space for equipment and decor so if you've got a 5 gallon tank you've probably got around 4.25 gallons actual water in there.
 
There is a quicker way if you can get your hands on some bacteria to kick-start the process - mature filter media or mature substrate from another tank or you can purchase bacteria - Dr Tim's One and Only or Tetra Safe Start - however you will still need to add the ammonia and do the testing tho it should be a quicker process than without it. Other makes of added bacteria just don't seem to work so probably best not to waste your money.
Dr Tim's is now available in the UK and Tetra Safe Start can be found on eBay if you want to go that route.
Where in the world are you?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The cycling article here assumes one will be stocking a tank with a number of fish. If you are only keeping a single betta, there is no need to use 3 ppm of ammonia since in this case it would be overkill. You can reduce the ammonia to 1 ppm instead of using 3 ppm and this should be sufficient. This will also reduce the amount of time it will take you to get the tank cycled. The only problem you might have is in trying to do the snack dose which would become .33 ppm. This may just be impossible to measure accurately without help.
 
You should visit your local pharmacy and look to buy a dosing syringe which cab measure smaller amounts. This will likely be a help with the full 1 ppm doses as well. Such a syringe is usually used for dosing meds for infants where small quantities are involved.

 

[vanvran]

Thanks, I'm in the US.  I don't even know what ppm means.  

 

[fm1978]

Thanks, I'm in the US.  I don't even know what ppm means.  

Don't worry about it, we all had to start somewhere...
 
ppm just stands for Parts Per Million. An equivalent (almost exactly for argument sake) is mg/l which is Milligrams per Litre and simply represents, through testing, how much of a chemical/substance is in your aquarium water. For example and as above, TTA suggests that it's not necessary to aim for 3 parts per million (or mg/l) of ammonia when cycling your tank for just 1 betta.
 
It will all become clear very quickly when you start testing the water for bad stuff like ammonia, nitrite and (to a slightly lesser extent) nitrate. There's other tests that should be carried out as you become more familiar with cycling. All I can suggest is that you read the articles on this forum and try to familiarise yourself with some of the technical terms and the basic idea behind why we should cycle in the first place.
 
Get hold of a liquid test kit and read through the instructions a few times and even that will help to explain some of the technical jargon.
 
Good luck and don't forget to just ask if you need help with anything. If you're not sure, just ask

 

[vanvran]

Thanks fm!  I was afraid my wording would be misinterpreted.  It's very confusing when I read that it's ok to keep bettas in an unfiltered tank vs. a complex cycled tank.  I am totally in love in with bettas and take it very personally when I lose one.  When I hear newbies in the LFS misguided ideas of how to care for a betta,  I want to run over and educate them, yet here I am, a person who had no idea that one had to go through the ammonia cycle process.  When one option is to house a betta in an unfiltered tank and change 100% water -- which IMO seems a lot more stressful to a betta, the other option --the ammonia cycle process--seems like overkill.