It all depends. The bacteria that are going to reproduce and break down ammonia need ammonia to feed on...without it, no cycling occurs. So you need a source of ammonia.....some type of fish or living thing that excretes waste OR my personal fav., pure ammonia. You can buy it at Walmart, grocery store, etc....costs 99 cents for a 3 lifetime supply. ( pure ammonia does NOT fizz or bubble, and will say it is pure...it's also 99% of the time the generic cleaner kind. )
Anyways, you add the ammonia in a small amount until you see 5 ppm of ammonia. Then you let it go.....check your levels everyday if you want, or every three days. Whatever works for you.... you'll notice your ammonia dropping, then you'll get nitrItes.... when ammonia gets low, go ahead and boost it a LITTLE. Not back to 5 ppm, but like 1/2 of what you used before. Anyways, give it time....I did this from scratch once and it only took 4 or 5 weeks.
If you want to speed it up, add heat and oxygenation.... let the water splash on the surface from the filter, and raise the heat to around 85. If you can find a healthy, cycled aquarium: borrow some gravel and put it in a sock or nylons. Or get the filter pad....these should have a pretty good bacteria colony on them to boost yours.
about the soap - the bacteria can probably handle that....your fish may not. Nature can overcome some baby shampoo, I'm sure of that. The problem with the bathtub idea is that
a) soap may be a problem.
b) your body odor may be a problem
c) it's a hassle and innefective
Like I said before, it's all about surface area and heat/oxygenation..... a smaller container will in fact be better in all aspects.
Anyways, you add the ammonia in a small amount until you see 5 ppm of ammonia. Then you let it go.....check your levels everyday if you want, or every three days. Whatever works for you.... you'll notice your ammonia dropping, then you'll get nitrItes.... when ammonia gets low, go ahead and boost it a LITTLE. Not back to 5 ppm, but like 1/2 of what you used before. Anyways, give it time....I did this from scratch once and it only took 4 or 5 weeks.
If you want to speed it up, add heat and oxygenation.... let the water splash on the surface from the filter, and raise the heat to around 85. If you can find a healthy, cycled aquarium: borrow some gravel and put it in a sock or nylons. Or get the filter pad....these should have a pretty good bacteria colony on them to boost yours.
about the soap - the bacteria can probably handle that....your fish may not. Nature can overcome some baby shampoo, I'm sure of that. The problem with the bathtub idea is that
a) soap may be a problem.
b) your body odor may be a problem
c) it's a hassle and innefective
Like I said before, it's all about surface area and heat/oxygenation..... a smaller container will in fact be better in all aspects.
