Fishless cycle question
- Thread starter Twistersmom
- Start date
I've wondered about that, especially the possiblity that one of the fish could be right in the inflow of tap water that may not be acted on by the dechlorinator immediately. The possiblity of chlorinated water hitting my fish worries me.
This is my first fishless cycle using clear ammonia. I have read that it is best to do a big water change before adding your fish. Im still waiting for my nitrites to drop. (THEY ARE OFF THE CHART) Maybe if my nitrate reading is not that high after the cycle is complete, I could get away with a smaller water change. That ammonia is some nasty stuff, I have to hold my breath when adding more to the tank. The thought of putting fish into a tank after using that ammonia scares me a little.
Are you keeping the filter running or turning it off? Are you treating for the entire tank or just the amount you are refilling? What brand of dechlor are you using and are you sure it treats specifically for the things found in your tap water?
I would imagine, based on my own observations, that a fish exposed to pain (chlorine burning their gills, for example) would move to try and get away from the discomfort. My fish often play in the new water coming from the python with no ill effects, likely because of the combination of proper dechlor use and dilution of the water.
Well, the point of a cycle is that there ISN'T any ammonia in there anymore, so stop worrying about that part, lol. Second, there is no need to go and do one huge water change and have that be it. You can certainly do as many small or medium sized changes as are necessary, the main point is that in the end the nitrate needs to be very low. It's just easier and faster to do one or two super large changes - but you don't have to do it that way. If it takes you a couple days to do all the water changes though, you'll need to continue dosing ammonia to keep the bacteria fed.
Im using Blue Ribbon clear ammonia. At this point, I am adding a little a couple times a day to bump it back up to 1ppm. Ammonia goes back to zerro fast now, so I am trying to keep the cycle fed. I use stress coat as my dechlorinator. All the fish I want for the tank are going to be ordered on line, my lfs does not sell what I want. So, inorder to save on shipping, I will be adding 8 OR 10 new fish to the tank at one time. I want to make sure the cycle can carry the load. My plan is to add 4 OR 5 knight gobies and 4 OR 5 orange chromides at the same time.
Try adding enough ammonia to get it up to 5ppm at a time to increase its capacity. Usually that is the amount guides say to add.
Quite, but removing the water doesn't in and of itself upset the bacteria; it must be something about the water coming back in.
I started out at 4ppm, then did not add any till it dropped down to .25 ppm. Thanks Temeraire, I will start adding more. I just tested my nirites. Last night, using my API tester, it was a very dark purple. Today it is at zerro. I took the test twice, thought the first reading was to good to be true! Cant believe it dropped that fast!
