TO FISHLESS CYCLE OR NOT?

[happyadd]

Hey, I am torn between whether or not to start my tank off with a "fishless cycle". I have a 15 Gallon tank and it has be up and running for 5 days. I've added a chemical to increase the rate of bacteria growth but do I start adding ammonia?

The guy at my local store said not to bother as fishless cycling isn't as effective as using hardy fish. However, i'm not sure whether to believe him as I do not want to harm the fish in any way.

I've read the articles posted on this site and fishless cycling does seem like the way forward. Has anyone else done a fishless cycle on a tank of this capacity after five days, or have I left it too late?

Also, what type/s of testing kits should I be looking to purchase.

I thank you!

 

[breezer40]

Adding any fish to a tank that is not cycled is always a risk. Even hardy fish like Danios can become ill so I prefer to do fishless cycling..others may disagree. If you choose this way forward then add the ammonia asap to get the cycling in full swing. The full cycle should take around a month..some take a little longer in smaller tanks others can be faster. Patience and testing is the key to getting it right.

There are amny test kits on the market but I use the API one and find it very good.

 

[leafs]

When I started out I had 3 Danios, which I still have. They're very hardy fish. I didn't know anything about fishless cyclying. Some people think it's cruel to expose fish to high ammonia and nitrite, but maybe in the long run, they won't live as long as they should.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have fisless cycled a number of my tanks and will never cycle with fish again. The cycle will go faster if you have seed material from a cycled tank and if you raise the tank temp during cycling.

Test kits you should have for this process are ammonia and nitrite- in the future you may also want a nitrate test kit but it is not essential. You should also have a pH test kit. The three tests mentioned (and even the hitrate) can come in very handy when you have problems in the tank.

 

[happyadd]

Two days into the fishless cycle, I have a NH3 reading of 2 and a nitrite reading of 0 so it hasn't peaked yet but still waiting!