I am ready to start my 'fishless' cycle. I was going to use the above product - with a little fish food also added to 'kick start' the process as instructed - but have heard these 'dry' bacteria additives aren't really up to the job. What does everyone else think? Should I forget this method and go the ammonia 'add and wait' method, as described by forum member 'rdd1952'? I don't have any ammonia yet and won't be able to get any for a few days but my tank is already filled with de-chlorinated water, substrate, bogwood and 'live' plants. Will my tank be ok for a couple of days like this before I start the cycle with the ammonia - or will it cause problems being 'up and running' without the ammonia in there? BTW, without the added 'dry' bacteria additive, where do the bacteria come from with the ammonia 'add and wait' method?
Nutrafin Cycle...
- Thread starter bogwood
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Cycle is a good product. It is bottled in a different way so that the bacteria survive longer (shelve life of 3 years). Using cycle on a daily basis at the highest dose on the bottle will actually remove ammonia completely. Its not so great a providing the bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate but still better than other startups and certainly better than adding nothing at all. If you want to cycle your tank with ammonia then add cycle as well daily to speed things along.
I can say now, that those products are officially crap.
Meant to add something like two caps per 15 gallons? I put in a whole bottle (about 6 caps) and now 12 days into the cycle, the ammonia hasn't budged (although the lovely PH spike dropped in 7 days.)
Im away to get some live plants at the weekend from a store tank as a better source of the bacteria. The bottles are pure bull**** (bullplop for those wondering what the stars stood for)
Plants are the easiest option by far - some lists of sources state the plants as the number 2 source (next to established filter media) however seeing as a number of people wont have access to established tank media, I say the plant is the good ole number 1.
Meant to add something like two caps per 15 gallons? I put in a whole bottle (about 6 caps) and now 12 days into the cycle, the ammonia hasn't budged (although the lovely PH spike dropped in 7 days.)
Im away to get some live plants at the weekend from a store tank as a better source of the bacteria. The bottles are pure bull**** (bullplop for those wondering what the stars stood for)
Plants are the easiest option by far - some lists of sources state the plants as the number 2 source (next to established filter media) however seeing as a number of people wont have access to established tank media, I say the plant is the good ole number 1.
I'm glad you have read my thread and hope it cleared up any questions you had about fishless cycling. I'm not a believer that the "bacteria in a bottle" products do any good but I don't think they will do any harm either. If you want to start cycling with fish food and the Cycle until you can get ammonia, that will be fine. The flakes work fine except it is hard to figure how much to add to raise the level to the 5 to 6 ppm range but you can add soem and they will definitely add some ammonia to your tank. If you want to just leave the tank as is to you get the ammonia, that is ok too. I wouldn't add the Cycle to the tank until you're ready to start adding an ammonia source though. If it indeed does contain bacteria, they will not have food to keep them fed.
As for the plants that dgwebster mentioned, I don't think they actually are a source of bacteria per se but they do help process ammonia and nitrite. Most things I have read say that you can add fish (not the full stock but some just as you would do in a cycle with fish) immediately to a moderately to heavily planted tank and not have any problems with ammonia or nitrite as the plants will help process it until the bacteria colony can form. You may not ever even get a reading for ammonia or nitrite.
The pH spike mentioned is probably just where the ammonia started to drop. The addition of ammonia will raise the pH quite a bit but since there aren't any fish in the tank, it doesn't matter. I don't even check my pH while I'm doing a fishless cycle.
As for the plants that dgwebster mentioned, I don't think they actually are a source of bacteria per se but they do help process ammonia and nitrite. Most things I have read say that you can add fish (not the full stock but some just as you would do in a cycle with fish) immediately to a moderately to heavily planted tank and not have any problems with ammonia or nitrite as the plants will help process it until the bacteria colony can form. You may not ever even get a reading for ammonia or nitrite.
The pH spike mentioned is probably just where the ammonia started to drop. The addition of ammonia will raise the pH quite a bit but since there aren't any fish in the tank, it doesn't matter. I don't even check my pH while I'm doing a fishless cycle.
hmm pity this wasnt in the cycle details. It was part of a small "trial" start pack, only contained 30ml.
If the car is back on the road this weekend, will be visiting a store nearby for a look around, will pick up a larger bottle. yes its a few quid, but hey, lets find out. If it helps the pockets of thousands of others (or myself in future tanks) all the better.
I think it may have been slightly over loaded on the ammonia (sitting aroung 6ppm) though, which is why its taking longer to see any result - the little beggers cant multiply and work quick enough for the volume to make a noticable difference.
I was recently conferring with another fish keeper here. App our water is that bleeding good, you can do a 75% daily water change with fish in it as long as you ensure you dont drop/raise the temp massively during the first 4 weeks of a tank.
I asked about the obvious stress that this massive disturbance would cause but it seemed lost.
If the car is back on the road this weekend, will be visiting a store nearby for a look around, will pick up a larger bottle. yes its a few quid, but hey, lets find out. If it helps the pockets of thousands of others (or myself in future tanks) all the better.
I think it may have been slightly over loaded on the ammonia (sitting aroung 6ppm) though, which is why its taking longer to see any result - the little beggers cant multiply and work quick enough for the volume to make a noticable difference.
I was recently conferring with another fish keeper here. App our water is that bleeding good, you can do a 75% daily water change with fish in it as long as you ensure you dont drop/raise the temp massively during the first 4 weeks of a tank.
I asked about the obvious stress that this massive disturbance would cause but it seemed lost.
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