CYCLING:I'M Going Fishless...what are the best steps

Great... I need the same info..
I tried the cycle Sticky post but it more for people who have an idea of what’s going on.. Plus the link does not work to the guide on cycling..
If some could also provide a link to step-by-step instructions of fishless cycling..
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Kamla

Try these articles.
http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycling.html
http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html

I just started a fishless cycle a couple weeks ago and it has been going well, but like you the post at the top was a bit vague for me and the tomgriffin link has constantly been down.

I found this one on a google search and it has been simply enough for my noob needs. Hope it'll help.

http://www.aquamaniacs.net/cyclingsafelyfishless.html

edit: I found the Ammonia I'm using at Super WalMart in the cleaning supplies section of the grocery area and it was called Sea Mist.

You are doing things the exact way I did mine.
Just make sure to keep adding the ammonia to maintain levels of around 4 to 5 ppm. You do NOT want to take the chance of letting your bacteria starve for a day or so as they will quickly die off.

Please do not be pursuaded by the skeptics at the LFS. What you are doing has been done thousands of times by members on these boards.

Yes, you will want to add your full bioload once you are cycled. You can add fewer fish, but the bacteria will quiclly die off to reacha level that will sustain with the amount of bioload you have. If you add more fish from that point forward, it will need to be done slowly as not to send your tank into cycle again.
Before adding ANY fish though, make sure you do a MASSIVE water change of about 80% or so to flush the tank of the higher nitrAte levels. Also, keep monitoring your water daily after adding fish for about a week, then drop to once a week or every 2 weeks as needed.

mrmcmasty said:

The guys at the lfs think im nuts... they are not familar with fishless cycling and are convinced that pouring amonia into the tank is a bad idea and that most likely I will kill all my fish... i have explained, but they skeptics... I believe it is working but want to make sure I am doing things right.

Thanks again for everyones help.

Click to expand...

They won't think your nuts when you report back with the results. They may even ask you to give them direction in how to do it themselves.

Just so you know, expect more then a couple more days... your ammonia HAS to go back to 0... 1 to 1.5 are high levels.

After that your Nitrite levels ALSO MUST go back to 0.

Yes, the suer way of knowing it is cycled is when the 4-5 ppm ammonia and any visible nitrites are at zero within a 24 hour period. Some folks suggest just to be on the safe side to get 2 or 3 days of that, which isn;t bad advice when you're talking about adding a full bio-load to a tank. Patience is one of the toughest things in this hobby, but still, all of your fish after a month or more of an empty tank versus fishy cycling and adding two fish every two weeks is no contest. Especially when you start talking about big tanks.