Ack, Ammonia.

[Hooked Newbie]

Just for an example - I started a 55G with 5 juvie cichlids, 2 juvie striped raphaels, and 1 chocolate albino pleco. I never really showed anything on my tests. The cycle was slow but it went without a hitch. You should be fine doing a fishy cycle.

Fishless would be better, but...

I agree with the others that the bioload was so low it most likely allowed only a very minimal colony to establish and that was probably obliterated with the 8 ppm. If you must do a fishy cycle, I'd do a 90% change and then be ready to commit to daily 50%+ changes (been there, not fun) to keep it under .25. The plants won't consume ammonia and the bacteria that develops on them will be minimal at best. Do you know anyone else with an established filter? If so, you can get some of their old media and drastically speed the process. Even someone relatively close that could mail you some? I'd offer, but shipping to Canada is pretty expensive.

 

[CoreyMac]

35 gallons and a small fish. I would be shocked if you had to do daily water changes.

 

[Hooked Newbie]

35 gallons and a small fish. I would be shocked if you had to do daily water changes.

I was referring to the stocking you listed which I quoted. If ammonia goes above .25, water change. Regardless of how many fish are in there. A cycle will probably take forever with that low of a bioload, but to increase it is to commit to doing a full on fishy cycle.

 

[DarkSoul]

im considering getting some kind of cleanup crew going.... possibly a pleco, and/or maybe something that will eat the shedding hornwort leaves on the gravel, without eating the rest of the actual live plants.