Fishless Cycle

[kris-b-]

Hi all!

I am going to be performing a fishless cycle on my new tank. But just have a few questions before I start....

I have read the pinned topic on the fishless cycle but is this out of date? Or is it ok to follow?

I have also read this article: http/www.badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html as suggested by wilder on another thread.

My main issues are:

1) how much ammonia to add each day?
2) Do I still add dechlorinator?
3) Once my levels are ok (ammonia and nitrites at 0) and I dont want to add fish yet do I still need to add ammonia every so often?

Thank you

 

[kathleen]

Well, since I am in the middle of a fishless cycle and have read about it until my eyeballs hurt maybe I can answer a few of your ?'s

1 - initially add enough ammonia to get a reading of about 5 ppm (this will depend on the concentration of your source of ammonia). Let your ammonia level drop close to 0 (takes several days) and then start to add about 1/2 the amount you did on day 1. Do this daily.

2- yes, add dechlorinator

3 - I think you need to add ammonia every day and then when you are ready to add fish do a large water change and add fish within 24 hrs.

Good luck with your cycling!

 

[kris-b-]

I'm just unsure how much I should add to get it to about 5ppm though

 

[kathleen]

Hmm, how big is your tank? I have a 10g and a 50g both fishless cycling at the moment. For the 10g I had to add close to 3 teaspoons of household ammonia to get a reading close to 5 ppm. I started with 1 teaspoon as I was unsure how much to add. Then waited about 45 mins, tested ammonia level then kept adding small amounts ie. less than 1/2 teaspoon until I reached close to 5 ppm.
For the 50g I added a total of 4 Tablespoons initially.
Now that my ammonia levels have reached 0 I add 1 teaspoon to the 10g and 2 Tablespoons to the 50g daily.
The whole teaspoon/Tablespoon measure probably isn't the most accurate but it seems to work fine (easier than counting drops).
I have no idea what the concentration of your bottle of ammonia is (it's mostly water) so you'll just have to add small amounts at first to reach 5 ppm roughly.

 

[kris-b-]

It's for a 10 gallon too so I'll add as many as you did

Thank you

 

[kathleen]

No problem! Just add a small bit each time, that way you won't add too much. My ammonia here in Canada probably isn't the same as yours in the UK. If you do add too much just do a water change to adjust it back to close to 5 ppm.
Good luck and happy cycling!

 

[modernhamlet]

The amount you must add will depend on two things:
1. The amount of water (tank size)
2. The concentration of ammonia in your ammonia. (Ammonia is almost always sold diluted in water, at between 1% and 10% concentration. Pure ammonia is very dangerous.)

It may take a little bit of trial and error, but you should soon know how much ammonia to add to raise the level by a set amount.

The key to fishless cycling as far as I'm concerned is to get the ammonia to 4ppm or 5ppm and KEEP IT THERE. Don't add ammonia everyday. Add ammonia when the ammonia drops... and only enough to bring levels back to 4ppm or 5ppm. This way ammonia levels are always at an optimal point for cycling. Not so little as to starve the bacteria, but not so much as to inhibit growth, which will almost assuredly happen if you add ammonia daily.

Hope that helps.

 

[kris-b-]

The amount you must add will depend on two things:
1. The amount of water (tank size)
2. The concentration of ammonia in your ammonia. (Ammonia is almost always sold diluted in water, at between 1% and 10% concentration. Pure ammonia is very dangerous.)

It may take a little bit of trial and error, but you should soon know how much ammonia to add to raise the level by a set amount.

The key to fishless cycling as far as I'm concerned is to get the ammonia to 4ppm or 5ppm and KEEP IT THERE. Don't add ammonia everyday. Add ammonia when the ammonia drops... and only enough to bring levels back to 4ppm or 5ppm. This way ammonia levels are always at an optimal point for cycling. Not so little as to starve the bacteria, but not so much as to inhibit growth, which will almost assuredly happen if you add ammonia daily.

Hope that helps.

I'm confused now! So if I keep adding ammonia to keep it at approx 5ppm when will it ever drop to 0? or do I try to keep it at this level for about 2 weeks?

 

[kathleen]

kris you will initially add enough ammonia to reach ~5ppm, then test your levels every day until you notice it starting to drop. For me this took only a few days. I let it drop to 1.2 - 2.4ppm and then I started dosing daily half the initial amount and at this point my nitrite levels were measurable. This brings my ammonia levels to 2.4 - 3.7ppm each day which is then 0 the next morning.
I think your ammonia levels should depend on your expected bioload. I am only planning to add a few fish at a time after my tank is finished cycling so I only bring my ammonia levels to about 2-3ppm each day.
If I am only adding to your confusion just say so and I'll back out and let someone more knowledgeable reply.

 

[kris-b-]

Your not confusing me at all Kathleen I'm starting to understand it now Thank you!

 

[SkiFletch]

you got it spot on there Kathleen, thats exaclty what needs to be done in a nutshell