How to cycle faster

[Hungriee]

I've been cycling my new 6.6 G tank for about 1 month.

Current readings today are .25 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5.0 nitrate , 81 degree, 6.5 pH

How can I cycle faster and have it completed? I want to put fish into the tank.

[THE V]

Find someone who has an clean established tank and have them give you some filter drippings. Or if you want to have plants in your tank buy some plants and put them in now. Both will drastically speed up the process.

[livingword26]

Your ammonia is not high enough. You need to keep it up to around 2 or 3 ppm until your nitrites rise. You should be well into your nitrite spike by now.

[Mgamer20o0]

you using ammonia?

[charlie4486]

if it's a fishless cycle kick up the temp and get some mature media.

[Cory Keeper]

Your ammonia is not high enough. You need to keep it up to around 2 or 3 ppm until your nitrites rise. You should be well into your nitrite spike by now.

:confused:

Ummmm, any amount of ammonia will cause a tank to cycle, even small amounts. Now in a fishless cycle, it sure won't support a huge bio-load, but this is a small tank, should be fine as is.

Add a little bit of ammonia if possible though, don't want the bacteria to starve.

With Nitrates of 5ppm though, you may be cycled.

[livingword26]

Ok. I guess we need more info. Did you use anything to start the cycle. Has your ammonia and nitrites been high, and have now fallen? Or has your ammonia always been low, and have you not had any nitrites yet?

[chinnp]

Find someone who has an clean established tank and have them give you some filter drippings. Or if you want to have plants in your tank buy some plants and put them in now. Both will drastically speed up the process.

That is the best way to do it. The way I do it is to run a new filter in an established tank for a few weeks.

[root81]

I did a fish cycle in 6 days with my 3.5 gal, and instantly with my new 20 gal by adding plants, gravel, and filter media from established tanks to the new one.

[Coler]

how much ammonia are you dosing and what rate of increase do you see in Nitrates, Nitrite ?

nitrates are a really good sign that the cycle is almost finished - you should be almost there.

[excuzzzeme]

For a hurry-up fishless tank cycling I added a 1/3 capfull of ammonia and some established substrate. Took less than a week.

Now will add fish slowly to let bacteria catch up to bio load.

[Hungriee]

I didn't add any ammonia. Where do I get this?

Today, I continued monitoring my tank and it looks much clearer than last week. But, I've noticed a cloudy milk film developing on the walls of the tank. Is this normal?

[Coler]

if you didn't add ammonia with what are you cycling ? you say you want to have fish in the tank so I presumed this was a fishless cycle...

[Hungriee]

Yep it has no fish. i did the fish food method.

[Star_Rider]

For a hurry-up fishless tank cycling I added a 1/3 capfull of ammonia and some established substrate. Took less than a week.

Now will add fish slowly to let bacteria catch up to bio load.
just an FYI,

if you use media from an established tank you don't have to do a fishless cycle.
if you have a good source of media you can add the fish the same day.