Fishless Cycle Ammonia Question

P

Pellegrino

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Nov 5, 2004
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Okay, I am finally about to get my tank stand and start my cycle after having the tank for almost a month! Still trying to be ready for fish at Christmas.

I can get some bacteria from an established tank that my neighbors have so I should be good there.

I've been looking around for ammonia to feed the cycle and so far I have been able to find a bottle labeled "Clear Ammonia" at a grocery store, but when I shake the bottle a little it does foam slightly. According to Chris Cow's article (http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html ) that means the ammonia has surfactants. The label states that there is no phosphorus but does not have a list of ingredients. Should I keep looking or is this ammonia going to be OK?
 
If you can get some bacteria from your neighbor....then there really isnt a need for amonia....you will just need to increase your fish load slowly......


I would get the filter media from the established tank...add it into your filter and the same day I would add one or 2 small fish (like 1" fish) then every 3 or 4 days you should be safe to add one or 2 more fish....that will be the safest for your fish.

Technically you could add all your fish the same day as you add the established media into your filter....you just need to keep an eye on your amonia and nitrite because the amount of bacteria that you will be adding into your filter will not be sufficient to handle your complete fish load...so you will get a spike but as long as you do a water change every day maybe every other for the first week, that should keep the amonia and nitrites in check till the bacteria have enough time to colonize your filter (once you have the bacteria this doesnt take THAT long)

I would reccomend the "add fish slowly method" but the other method is eaisly doable, either way you could have your tank set up by christmas easy. :)
 
I'm pretty partial to getting the tank really well cycled before we put any fish in. I would hate to face both the monetary and emotional issues of having fish die on us after a few days. I guess we'll see how it goes. If I can find some decent ammonia it shouldn't be an issue.
 
Hi there,

I did a fishless cycle with ammonia (the foamy kind.. mistake on my part) for a few days. Then, once I realized the problem, I did a huge water change, etc. and fed my cultures with fish food until my tank stabilized. I wouldn't recommend this ammonia though.

Anyhow, my tank has been established for several mths now. All is good. I used the filter media from my old tank to cycle my new 5 g one. I let it run fishless for a few day but kept adding fish food. I did have some real plants there.

I checked my levels and added fish when thing looked stable. I wouldn't worry about getting the right ammonia when you have an old media. Feed fish food cause it will rot and produce the same results. Keep an eye on your readings and you'll know when it is time to add fish.

:)

SP
 
if you're getting established media from another tank there wont really be a "cycle". Cycling is the process of the bacteria "appearing" and if you can allready get them into your filter, then you will only have a very small short cycle...if even that. I did that on my 20g, added established media...the same day I added 2 kribensis and then a week later I added 6 H Raspboras, and 3 pygmy cories...and I never saw any amonia or nitrItes....FWIW
 
You can always buy some Hagen Cycle Water Treatment. Most fish stores carry this product. Here is a link to some to get an idea of what it is and does!

Good luck!

Mark
 
I'll probably get something more along the lines of a squeezing from an established tank, or maybe some gravel. They have a small tank with a penguin mini filter, so unless they have an extra sponge in it I won't be getting much from their filter. I did manage to find some good ammonia yesterday so I'm covered in that respect. We're going to have to maintain the tank without fish till around Christmas so I'd rather not use fish food. The ammonia is only 42 cents for a 32oz bottle... so it is a lot cheaper. I'll get the thing all started on tuesday I think, so I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks for the advice!
 
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