Fishless Cycling

[mike45]

I just set up my 10 gallon tank. The amonia that I have bubbles and it says that the ingrediants are ammonia and soft water. Now I have a few questions. Can I use that ammonia? If not, where would I get pure ammonia? And, I have gravel from my 29 gallon tank..can I put some in my tank to help start the cycling before I add the ammonia?

Thanks

 

[Yenko]

If you have an established tank, just attatch the 10-gallons filter to the 29 gallon for a week or two. It helps if you put some filter media from the 29-gallon filter in the 10-gallon's filter. Of course, leave both filters operating on the 29-gallon. Thats what I do. I always have a bit of activated carbon in there for the first 2 weeks of tank establishment, but after that I don't bother with it.

 

[mike45]

Thanks, but would about my ammonia questions, anyone?

 

[modernhamlet]

What he's saying is you won't need ammonia if you cycle the filter for the 10g on the 29g. I'd agree, but urge you not to stock too heavily at first.

 

[cutecotton]

you know, i've been wondering where you got that ammonia too. I heard fish food can also release ammonia so im planning to use that when i cycle my tank, as i've not seen any products that contain just ammonia...

can someone give me some examples please? are they cleaning products or waht?

 

[tstenback]

Clear ammonia is usually a household cleaner(at least in Canada). If you use fish food the process will take much longer than using ammonia. First you need to put in the fish food. Then you have to wait until it rots sufficiently to get an ammonia reading and then you have to judge how much to add to keep the ammonia level up. You have to do all this without running into the cloudy water that rotting food causes and all the problems and panic that go along with it. If you can get ammonia it will speed the process and limit the problems. Where do you live perhaps someone will be able to tell you exactly where to get the ammonia in your town. HTH

 

[cutecotton]

i live in ontario, canada, and i've never seen pure ammonia in my life...will it be weird if i go into a grocery store and ask if they have cleaning products of pure ammonia?

 

[cutecotton]

while w'ere on teh topic of fishless cycling, i have another question (dont' want to start another thread), i'm jut wondering, i have a 10 gallon tank and i want to take live plants inot it, at which stage of the fishless cycling should i add them? after hte nitrite spike (meaning i have a high concentration of nitrate) or what?

and btw, when is the cycling considered "over"? is it whne the nitirate spike goes down? that's when you can start adding fish?

 

[heresmike]

will it be weird if i go into a grocery store and ask if they have cleaning products of pure ammonia?

I don't know if pure ammonia is available in Canada, but it is in the US, so that wouldn't be a weird question here! We also can get it at hardware stores... do you have Menard's, Home Depot, Lowe's... anything like that? That might be worth a try!

 

[heresmike]

while w'ere on teh topic of fishless cycling, i have another question (dont' want to start another thread), i'm jut wondering, i have a 10 gallon tank and i want to take live plants inot it, at which stage of the fishless cycling should i add them? after hte nitrite spike (meaning i have a high concentration of nitrate) or what?

and btw, when is the cycling considered "over"? is it whne the nitirate spike goes down? that's when you can start adding fish?

I always add my plants at the beginning of the cycle.

The cycle is done when ammonia and nitrite both return to zero and stabilize there. Nitrates are then reduced by doing a large water change.

 

[Sky042]

if your ammonia says it contains ONLY ammonia and soft water you should be fine. And when they say bubbles its not one of two an ammonia with a surfactant in it will froth when shaken.

 

[cutecotton]

cool, so i can buy the live plants and platn them in soon yay, i still gotta find the ammonia though...we do have Home Depot up here, is that where i should check? woudl palces in walmart have pure ammonia?

 

[Sky042]

cool, so i can buy the live plants and platn them in soon yay, i still gotta find the ammonia though...we do have Home Depot up here, is that where i should check? woudl palces in walmart have pure ammonia?

Wal-Mart is the PERFECT place to get it. You'll find it with the other cleaning products. It'll be in a clear bottle with a purple label and say "Clear ammonia" on it. I could even take a picture of the bottle if you want it. Thats what I used and it's ideal for doing this cost was $0.97 USD and while it's not ultra strong it took 2Tbsp to get my 46 to 8ppm.

 

[cutecotton]

wow th'ats great news do you think you can take a photo of it for me? i'm stupid when it comes to buying things and knwoing me i'll probably pick up the wrong item and mess up my tank

so if i put that ammonia in (assuming i get it and it's here in my walmart) how long do i have to wait beforei can put fish in? if i fill up the tank with water, add plants, and then add ammonia, will the plants die from the ammonia/nitrite?

Just really wanan make sure i get it right for my 3 bettas

 

[Sky042]

wow th'ats great news do you think you can take a photo of it for me? i'm stupid when it comes to buying things and knwoing me i'll probably pick up the wrong item and mess up my tank

so if i put that ammonia in (assuming i get it and it's here in my walmart) how long do i have to wait beforei can put fish in? if i fill up the tank with water, add plants, and then add ammonia, will the plants die from the ammonia/nitrite?

Just really wanan make sure i get it right for my 3 bettas

You should spend a few mins and read the pinned arcticle Avoiding new tank syndrome. Specifically the 2 links in it that pertain to HOW to fishless cycle. It'll make things much clearer then.