Fishless Cycling

[waterdrop]

this is brilliant! i am new to fish keeping, and so confused about cycling tanks! you've cleared up the problems for me so thankyou very much!

Hello annaw123 and Welcome to TFF!

Yes, rdd's Fishless Cycling article, together with the Nitrogen Cycle article and the Fish-In Cycling article and Miss Wiggle's tank startup article are a really good set of things to form a baseline of learning about the NitrogenCycle/Cycling topic. I highly recommend that beginners start their own cycling thread and enjoy the interaction with the large number of interesting and fun fellow-members as they proceed through a cycle and other new-tank topics. There are lots of ways the members can make things easier or at least more understandable. The ability to commune with other people interested in the same hobby/activity topic out of all the many people out there in the world is really quite a revolution in how one used to experience these things!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[ghent_3rd]

I really want to do a fishless cycle and sue the mentioned "add and wait"methid but I am not at home everyday. Is that going to be OK as long as I still test for ammonia and nitrites when I am at home and the times that I am at home for 48/72 hours on the trot can be the days that I really check properly to make sure the cycle is complete?? If this is not possible then it does not really matter as I want to make sure I get everything right as I am going to be cycling at least 3 tanks in this fashion and as of May/June I will be at home all the time and would be happy to wait that long to do things properly!

 

[waterdrop]

Interesting, I'm not sure whether it would just not work or whether it could be made to work but just more slowly. The problem would be that once the A-Bacs are a decent sized colony near the end of the first of the three phases, they'd want to be fed every day.

It's possible you could do a variation where you also dosed fish food in addition to ammonia before you left for the 2 or 3 days of each trip. The fishfood takes time to be broken down by heterotrophs and be turned in to ammonia, so some of that ammonia might happen on days 2 and 3.

It would be an interesting experiment. You would need to start your own fishless cycling thread for it once you were ready (here in the freshwater beginners section.) I'm sure the members would pitch in with comments and advice once it was going and I'd try to look in on it too.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Aqua Tom]

During phase one you just add 5ppm ammonia then monitor it without adding more, so in theory you could leave this bit alone for a few days.
The problem will arise after phase 1 of the cycle when you will have to dose everyday so the fishfood option makes sense then.

I would dose with just ammonia untill the day before you hade to go, then add ammonia & fishfood so the food breaks down when you are out.

It may well take a lot longer to cycle because you cant controll the dose very well but it should work.

 

[Falling Ash]

Sorted

 

[kretalina]

I just started cycling my tank today and got instruction from my lfs to put STRESSZYME+ a filtration booster with live bacteria and STRESS COAT+ with aloe vera and leave it for a week and then add the fish, none of these contain ammonia. Should I be doing something else?

 

[BigbruiserAl]

I just started cycling my tank today and got instruction from my lfs to put STRESSZYME+ a filtration booster with live bacteria and STRESS COAT+ with aloe vera and leave it for a week and then add the fish, none of these contain ammonia. Should I be doing something else?

yeah and without trying to be funny, read the 1st page and ignore your LFS

 

[Skins]

I just started cycling my tank today and got instruction from my lfs to put STRESSZYME+ a filtration booster with live bacteria and STRESS COAT+ with aloe vera and leave it for a week and then add the fish, none of these contain ammonia. Should I be doing something else?

You will need some household ammonia in order to fishless cycle. In my signature you will see a link to an article on fishless cycling which will give you step by step advice.

Keith.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with bigbruiser and skins, you have already posted within the fishless cycling article itself kretalina, so it would be a good idea to start your own new topic within the "Your New Freswater Tank" section so that the members can know it's you and help you with getting started. The things the store has you doing are designed to help them sell more things to you and you will really get a better understanding by allowing the hobbyists here to share their experience. They are all really friendly, I've found

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Warehouse]

NOTE FOR API TEST KIT USERS: When you add the drops, if they immediately turn purple in the bottom of the tube, your nitrites are off the chart high. You do not need to shake the tube and wait 5 minutes. If you do, the color will turn green as the nitrites are so high that there isn't a color to measure them with.

This line appears to be causing an issue with one new tank owner, and I can see why. Other logs have said it can take up to 5 minutes for the purple to turn blue. Perhaps it's worth reconsidering this particular line?

 

[Ifti]

Has anyone used the Tetra testing kits?? I was going to buy these since it tests everything on the same strip??
Will start my new tank this weekend!

 

[Little_Nemo]

Has anyone used the Tetra testing kits?? I was going to buy these since it tests everything on the same strip??
Will start my new tank this weekend!

These dip tests usually provide inaccurate results, your better off getting yourself the API Freshwater Master Test Kit - you'll find that most members on here use that (including myself) Ebay - MASTER TEST KIT You can pick them up for around £20 on ebay - but instore your looking at around £30
The kit tests Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, and High Range pH !!

 

[Aqua Tom]

Has anyone used the Tetra testing kits?? I was going to buy these since it tests everything on the same strip??
Will start my new tank this weekend!

Not ever used them & probably will not ever use them. From data collected they are very inaccurate.


A~T

 

[Ifti]

cheers - will get one of them
How long should it last me - how many tests?

 

[waterdrop]

Strips are worse than useless, they can lead you to make bad decisions. The test tube kits we use are much better (still crude by laboratory standards, but better.) WD