dont understand fishless cycle

[Warr40]

some on told me this is how its done--
buy some amonia at homedepot test the water for nitrates,nitrites, and amonia and keep adding the amonia until there is no amonia and nitrites

IS THIS RIGHT
If it isn't some one tell me how dont give me a link

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah thats pretty much right, when you cycle a tank you are trying to get the bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrites in the tank but it can only do this with ammonia, so when you do a fishless cycle you have to add the ammonia via bottled ammonia because since you have no fish in the cycle, there are no fish to poo and create the ammonia for you.
Test for ammonia and nitrites every day and keeping adding the ammonia until you see no ammonia and nitrites(nitrites are very important not to see) at all, then you will know that the bacteria that livesin your filter has grown enough to break it down .
Fishless cycling should just take a couple of weeks as you can add unlimited amounts of ammonia without the fear of killing any fish(since you don't have in the tank while doing the process) and can get it over and done with much faster, while a cycling with fish can take months as you can't let the ammonia levels rise very high with fish as it kills them, the same is also true for nitrites.

 

[Warr40]

were can i get good pure amonia how much do i add

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You should be able to get it from any decent local fish store, set the tank up normally and add 4-5 drops of ammonia per 10gallons a day until you see nitrites, when you see the nitrites cut the ammonia back to 2-3 drops per 10gallons a day until the nitrites disapear- when you have a 0ppm nitrite reading you have cycled the tank and can add fish .

 

[Warr40]

ok thanx alot

 

[Warr40]

would this work as ammonia(is it) http/thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/ammoni...0/Itemdy00.aspx
link to ammonia that i can buy none of the online pet stores that i no have it

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I've never used it, but as long as you have dechlorinator(like Aquasafe or Stress coat) in the water to remove chlorine and other bacteria harmful chemicals present in tap water to allow your good bacteria to grow, that and the ammonia is all you need to get the good bacteria growing in your filter .
EDIT: i don't think that is bottled ammonia, its just another bottled bacteria product but it won't work unless it has been refrigerated at the lfs and during its journey...

 

[Warr40]

have u ever seen it on an online pet store

 

[Warr40]

can i use amonian that u use to clean that can be bought at a super market

 

[Warr40]

should i do a big water change after i have ammonia and nitirtes at zero

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Don't worry about doing a water change if the ammonia and nitrite is zero, you do water changes to help lower ammonia and nitrites and nitrates although any tank whatever size it is with fish should have at least a 20% water change with dechlorinator done in it once a week.
Never clean out the filter media in tap water or clean it sparkling clean as you'll kill off the good bacteria in it, you should only have to clean it out once a fortnight in water from water changes just to remove the gunk off it to keep i running .
If you have gravel in the tank, it would be a good to invest in a gravel vac as it cleans the gravel easily in the tank without having to remove it, you should aim to clean your gravel at least once every 10days- if you don't have a gravel vac, stirring up the gravel with your hands and then doing a water change once every 5days will help keep it clean- the same is also true for sand

Nitrites and ammonia should be 0 in a cycled tank but nitrates are fine as long as they are under 40, water changes with dechlorinator can lower all of these and adding live plants to the tank can help lower nitrates as well.

Im not sure about cleaning ammonia, as long as it is just pure ammonia i don't see why it would be a problem but if it has any other chemicals in it, stay well away from it.

 

[Warr40]

ok

 

[Teelie]

There is of course Biospira but it's kind of expensive to use though it will cycle your tank overnight, literally.

 

[Mike&Diana]

Biospira has been discontinued in my market (NE Ohio). The guy at the LFS said that Marine Land is going to re-introduce it in the "future." Weird. Anyways, I am using pure ammonia from the grocery store for my fishless cycle. Make sure it is PURE ammonia with no colorants, surfacants (spelling?), dyes, perfumes, etc. If the ingredients say "ammonium hydrodixe" and that only, you should be fine. Mine actually says "water and ammonium hydroxide" which I am assuming means that it is simply diluted. Oh, and in conjunction with the ammonia, I add the "bacteria in a bottle" stuff.. I don't know if it works, but maybe, just maybe it will make the cycle go faster. Hope this helps!

Mike

 

[Teelie]

Biospira turned out to be immensely popular and has become "seasonal" I think so they're definitely going to keep making it. I did a fishless cycle with ammonia too and it worked out fine. I've done the same with another tank but went too long without fish so I might have to recycle it.