I want some fish!

[Sploke]

Do you know what effect measurable ammonia or nitrite levels in the water does to fish? It burns the tissue in their gills, making them less effective in removing oxygen from the water. Just because some fish will stand up to the abuse better than others, does not make it ok to submit them to it in my opinion, especially when there is an equally effective and less harmful alternative.

 

[Sploke]

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/water/ammonia.htm

Thats a good explanation of how ammonia acts on fish gills.

 

[jtburf]

On one side we have the people that say it is extremly cruel, while the other side says it practical, I am on the practical side because would you add something with a huge bioload to a tank right After cycling, because I wouldn't which is why When I start my 240g frontosa colony i am going to use feeders to raise the Bio load capabilities of the bacteria to an above safe level for the frontosa.

 

[Sploke]

You can accomplish the same thing with fishless cycling. I've fishless-cycled a tank to the point where if I dose 8ppm of ammonia, its down to zero within 2 hours. That would allow me to not only add my full stock, but probably double the normal stocking levels and still not see a spike in ammonia and nitrite.

 

[jtburf]

and how long did this take you? Plus i mean like adding 7 or 8 6 inch fish at one time.

 

[Sploke]

It took as long as a normal cycle takes, about 5-6 weeks (when not using seeded filter media). The number of fish is not important...once the bacteria gets established, its only a matter of a few extra days to build up the colonies. You could probably cycle it to the point of being able to process 20ppm of ammonia in a few hours if you had the filter capacity.

 

[jtburf]

well for me it is just peice of mind.

 

[tarheels910]

It took as long as a normal cycle takes, about 5-6 weeks (when not using seeded filter media). The number of fish is not important...once the bacteria gets established, its only a matter of a few extra days to build up the colonies. You could probably cycle it to the point of being able to process 20ppm of ammonia in a few hours if you had the filter capacity.

Dude, I could do a fish cycle in 2 weeks and add 8- 6 inch fish.

 

[Sploke]

Unless you're adding cycled filter material from another tank, are possibly using bio-spira, or have some sort of magic wand, you can't fully cycle a tank in 2 weeks. Fish or no fish.

Look, I'm not going to keep arguing merits of fishy vs. fishless cycling with you. People have their preferences and I will never be able to change that.

What I am trying to do is prevent the spread if misinformation like "danios can cycle a tank fine, it won't burn their gills" or "I can cycle a tank with fish in 2 weeks." The facts against these statements are measurable, repeatable, and, well, factual. People can make informed decisions for themselves, but they should do it using true information, not a bunch of opinions presented as truth.

 

[BrkD]

you add ammonia everyday to bring it back to 5ppm. how much ammonia is in the water the next day before you dose any? you dont get any nitrites maybe cause the tank has already finished cycling. have you tried testing for nitrate?