Fishless Cycling

[Joel]

I've been reading up on cycling and I heard about fishless cycling. I looked further into it and I just have a few questions

Is it worth it?
Is it a hassle?
Have you had success?
Do you reccomend it?

Im sort of feeling wierd about it because the directions given in the article I read were sort of hard to follow, and the chemical I need to buy to replace the fish ammonia costs $44 dollars on a chemical website. What are your thoughts on this? should I just stick to the traditional cycling with fish?

Thanks

oh and I apologise if this topic has already been started

- Joel

 

[tttnjfttt]

Is it worth it? -- Yes. It is alot easier on you and on your fish. Many fish die in the cycling process, and others often become sick. This can also have a big impact on their future health and growth. Plus, its cheaper than buying countless fish.

Is it a hassle? Not really...Here is what I'm doing. Getting ready - buy a test kit (ammonia, ntirIte, nitrAte) and pure ammonia from a store. Make sure it is not scented or colored. If you shake it and there are bubbles after, don't use that brand. I found mine at a grocery store. Day 1 (phase 1)- set up the tank, including the heater. Add enough ammonia to get the level in the tank up to 5 ppm. Make sure you measure this amount. Phase 2 - test your nitrites daily. When you begin to see a nitrite spike (i'd say around .5 ppm) test your ammonia, and add enough to get back to 5 ppm. Don't worry about this being exact, just approximate. Phase 3 - When your ammonia drops to zero, add half the amount off ammonia you did innitially. Do this daily until your nitrIte is at 0. Phase 4 - Do a water change and add fish!

Have you had success? Partially - the tank I had taken bacteria out of had a disease outbreak a few days after I started the cycle. Because I lost two fish, both of whom were the only sick ones, I restarted the fishless cycle. Before I restarted it, my ammonia was going down, and nitrites were rising.

Do you reccomend it? - Yup!

 

[Joel]

Thanks for the information tttnjfttt

just 1 question, where in the grocery store would I find the pure ammonia? and how much is it?

 

[tttnjfttt]

I honestly didn't buy it, someone else did. I would look for it in the cleaning or laundry section. I looked online, and I found it at a local grocery store for less than $2 for 64 oz. It was labled "Pure Ammonia", but it was a generic brand.

 

[Joel]

Ok thanks again for the help!

 

[vantgE]

If you want another opinion
yes
no
yes
yes
mine was bought at a grocery store cleaning section

 

[Sky042]

You live in arizona.
Go to wal-mart

Costs $0.97

 

[Sky042]

I've been reading up on cycling and I heard about fishless cycling. I looked further into it and I just have a few questions

Is it worth it?
Is it a hassle?
Have you had success?
Do you reccomend it?

Im sort of feeling wierd about it because the directions given in the article I read were sort of hard to follow, and the chemical I need to buy to replace the fish ammonia costs $44 dollars on a chemical website. What are your thoughts on this? should I just stick to the traditional cycling with fish?

Thanks

oh and I apologise if this topic has already been started

- Joel

Worth it: yes since you can almost fully stock without the associated water problems.

No it's not a hassle. It's MUCH easier than having to do daily water changes if you were doing a fish cycle.
I've cycled 5 tanks this way with zero problems.
I reccomend it to everyone I can.

 

[Joel]

Thankyou SO MUCH for the help everyone!!! im definately going with a fishless cycle now.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Good for you! I did, and it was really easy, cheap and a lot less worrying than having stressed-out fish in the tank. My bottle (local hardware store) cost 1.59 (pounds) and there's enough there to cycle a whole fish shop and leave some for the spring cleaning! I liked it because I could then add the fish I wanted rather than the very few species considered hardy enough for cycling. Also, having done the ammonia testing etc during the fishless cycle, I felt a lot more confident once I did have fish, I understood more of what was going on in the tank.