Starting my cycle again!

[guppymonkey]

Well I went up to my parents house today and found my old fish tanks from when I was a little kid. So I took home a ten gallon and a twenty gallon. The twenty gallon is supposed to be for my girlfriend's little brother for a lizard. So I have fallen prey to having multiple tanks! I also found out that what I thought was a twenty gallon (a tank I am borrowing from my gf's brother) is really at least a 30. Thats a bonus!

Anyways, I am now trying to do a fishless cycle on my little ten gallon. I am trying to figure out how long it should take to cycle. A few weeks? A month? I want to use this tank for my guppy fry so I can take them out of the breeding net.

 

[UM3R]

hello gup

Mines was done in 48 hrs.. i bought a new 10 gallon UK tank and i just used the gravel from my big mature tank as well as did 25% W/C on the big one and used that water in the new tank. Kept the heater and the filter on for 48 hrs and now I have my fish swimming in it happily.

Remember, a lot of ppl say that u should put some live plants in the fish tank before the fish but i disagree.

Plants feed on nitrates and if u do not have any fish to produce nitrate as an end product the roots of ur plants will die. indroduce them after at least a couple of days after ur fish are in.

Hope this helps!

 

[wolfie]

Just cycled a 20 gal in 10 days using the fishless cycle method...longest bit was tracking down the ammonia source

Used filter and plants from another tank to seed it first tho ;-)

 

[Kossy]

Yes if you can take some of the gravel from a established tank and maybe some filter floss it really quickens the cycling. That's because the bacteria are in the tank and can start mitosis. However they still need a source of ammonia.

 

[mrV]

Mines was done in 48 hrs..

How did you managed do it so quickly? About those bacteria...

24h / bacteria
0 / 1
9 / 512
15 / 32768
18 / 262144
21 > 2 milj

(Taken from Aquainfo) So, those NO2- -bacteria seems to increase slowly, real slowly.

There is also pic of cycling. y-axis = concentration and x-axis = time (24h, days)

Usually it takes about 3-4 weeks, when tank is cycled by using "ammonia-method".

In english: http/www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html

 

[Alien Anna]

Mines was done in 48 hrs..

How did you managed do it so quickly? About those bacteria...

24h / bacteria
0 / 1
9 / 512
15 / 32768
18 / 262144
21 > 2 milj

(Taken from Aquainfo) So, those NO2- -bacteria seems to increase slowly, real slowly.

There is also pic of cycling. y-axis = concentration and x-axis = time (24h, days)

Usually it takes about 3-4 weeks, when tank is cycled by using "ammonia-method".

In english: http/www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html

Great links and figures!

However, you've forgotten something: those figures are from a standing start i.e. assuming no beneficial bacteria in the tank, which would be the case if it was a brand new set-up, of course.

But, if you have an established filter and gravel from another tank, plus matured water perhaps, you can "cycled" in 48 hours or less. This is cheating really, IMHO - not true Fishless Cycling at all, but actually a kind of "tank cloning". It is the method that most breeders and traders use, as far as I know. Although many of them would be amazed to hear it called "cycling a tank", as it's probably just something they've always done and never thought about it.

Maybe we should mention to newbies that once they've cycled their first tank (fishless cycling or otherwise) they never actually need to do it again, provided their next tank isn't significantly larger.

 

[mrV]

However, you've forgotten something: those figures are from a standing start i.e. assuming no beneficial bacteria in the tank, which would be the case if it was a brand new set-up, of course.

Nope, there is bacteria taken from another tank or flower-bot for a seed. Atleast I think so, because in the text it is mentioned about taking "seed" from flower-pot (or another tank, but you can get some disease with).

"24h / bacteria" was only to showing how slowly nitrification bacteria increase their mass.

plus matured water perhaps

Don't take water from another tank; there is nothing useful, only bad bacteria and harmful compounds.

they never actually need to do it again, provided their next tank isn't significantly larger.

Im not sure, because if you take gravel or filter from another tank you get also those bacteria which are in that tank. And sometimes those bacteria can be dangerous - like fish-tuberculous.

 

[Alien Anna]

However, you've forgotten something: those figures are from a standing start i.e. assuming no beneficial bacteria in the tank, which would be the case if it was a brand new set-up, of course.

Nope, there is bacteria taken from another tank or flower-bot for a seed. Atleast I think so, because in the text it is mentioned about taking "seed" from flower-pot (or another tank, but you can get some disease with).

For a start, if you were "seeding" one tank from another you would of course make sure the first tank was healthy. Wouldn't be much point otherwise.

Secondly, "seeding" a tank by using a flower-pot is nowhere near the same as "seeding" a tank by using half the gravel and an entire filter from another tank. In the first case, you have a few bacteria which need to colonise the whole tank and filter; in the second, you'd have millions of bacteria and the filter and half of the gravel would be colonised. Big difference.

"24h / bacteria" was only to showing how slowly nitrification bacteria increase their mass.

I'm aware of that, and its a very good point. However, if you've transfered a whole heap of bacteria it's not going to take that long to colonise your entire tank.

plus matured water perhaps

Don't take water from another tank; there is nothing useful, only bad bacteria and harmful compounds.

What is useful is that you have the correct pH, correct nitrate levels and whatever for your new tank. For instance, if you're setting up a hospital tank or breeding tank for a fish in your main tank, and you want to have exactly the same parameters. You take a matured filter from the main tank, some gravel or rocks (possibly) and some water. That way, when you move the fish it doesn't have the stress of adjusting to different water conditions.

I know it works because it's something I've done often.

they never actually need to do it again, provided their next tank isn't significantly larger.

Im not sure, because if you take gravel or filter from another tank you get also those bacteria which are in that tank. And sometimes those bacteria can be dangerous - like fish-tuberculous.

The beneficial bacteria should keep harmful bacteria at bay if the tank is well cared for and you simply wouldn't seed your new tank from an old one when there have been fish diseases. I'm not only speaking from theory, I've done this a few times and my local LFS does it all the time.

 

[guppymonkey]

I have been looking over other posts about Fishless Cycling and in people's signatures with links. All of them mention having to have ammonia. Do I have to go out and find ammonia somewhere to do a fishless cycle? I really have no clue about how to find it in my area and wouldn't really want to buy some considering how little of it I would need.

 

[Alien Anna]

I have been looking over other posts about Fishless Cycling and in people's signatures with links. All of them mention having to have ammonia. Do I have to go out and find ammonia somewhere to do a fishless cycle? I really have no clue about how to find it in my area and wouldn't really want to buy some considering how little of it I would need.

It can be tricky to get clear ammonia but it is the best stuff for fishless cycling. Try hardware stores or printing shops. It's really cheap so you don't need to worry about the cost. It's generally used as a cleaning stuff and solvent. Some people in UK discovered it being sold in those discount stores.

 

[guppymonkey]

So I have to buy ammonia to do a fishless cycle? I don't want to buy ammonia. I would have no other use for it besides the cycle and I use bleach a lot and isn't ammonia and bleach a very very bad combination? As in poisonous gas death? I know that it would be hard for that to happen if I was paying attention but I don't like to chance it.

 

[Alien Anna]

So I have to buy ammonia to do a fishless cycle? I don't want to buy ammonia. I would have no other use for it besides the cycle and I use bleach a lot and isn't ammonia and bleach a very very bad combination? As in poisonous gas death? I know that it would be hard for that to happen if I was paying attention but I don't like to chance it.

You don't have to use ammonia if you don't want to, of course, but if you did it has a bottle clearly labelled "Ammonia", usually a glass bottle, so it would be pretty difficult to confuse with bleach!