New Tank / Cycling

[normd]

what are good fish for cycling a new 29 gal tank, and how many are needed?

 

[Soulcoffr]

Most aquarists here recommend against cycling with fish and recommend fishless cycling. (See "fishless cycling" under the "archived help" sticky post above.) This is due to the damage done to the fish by ammonia and nitrites during the process.

There is also Marineland's Bio Spira which you add with the fish you'd like to have. It is supposed to bypass much of the cycling issues by innoculating the tank with nitrifying bacteria...

 

[normd]

My tank has been filled since tuesday I am not planning on introducing fish until Sunday. The water is nice and clear and i am taking samples to the Aquarium shop tonight for testing.

 

[Harlock]

Please read the the thread near the top of this very forum's index that says "Sticky: Cycle". It will tell you about the process, why it is ill-advised to use fish to do it, how long it will take etc.

I will tell you a fishless cycle is the best way to go, in my opinion. First of all, no fish are harmed. Secondly, you're not stuck doing huge water changes every day. Third, after a fishless cycle you can go buy all the fish for your proper bioload in that tank, unlike with a fishy cycle where you can only add a few fish every two weeks or so. Fourth, it's easy to do and did I mention you can stock the tank all at once? Do yourself, your water bill and your fish a favor; follow this link or find the thread at the top of this forum. Good luck.

 

[Dangerdoll]

The water is nice and clear and i am taking samples to the Aquarium shop tonight for testing.

If you are saying that you simply added water Tuesday and left it alone (with or without filter running) and that's it, bringing the water to the LFS to test is really going to be a waste of time. The water needs to go through it's cycling process (ammonia/nitrites/nitrates) to build up it's bacteria colonies which will help in processing the water correctly before you are ready for adding fish to the environment. As with the everyone else, I strongly suggest reading through the cycling sticky at the top of thr forum before anything else.

 

[normd]

No i added the water, gravel, filter, heater, rocks, blah, blah, blah on Tuesday and the temp at been steady at 76/78 degrees. Filter is running.

So what would be a good next step to take?

 

[Dangerdoll]

ok, you have merely set your tank up...... now you're ready to cycle but I see the one link in the cycle thread isn't working. I found Happy's post to be helpful in bringing you to understand what's needed.

If you don't add ammonia, you're not cycling.

Cycling is the growing of nitrifying bacteria colonies. One strain converts ammonia (NH3/NH4) secreted from your fishes' gills to nitrite (NO2). Another converts NO2 to nitrate (NO3). If these colonies are sufficiently large then your fish will not suffer from ammonia or nitrite poisoning.

These bacteria require 3 things: a surface to adhere to, a source of NH3 for food, a source of O2 to respire. Nitrifiers use NH3 and NO2 in the same manner as we use carbohydrates: energy. In an oxygen rich environment NH3 has more potential energy than NO2 and NO2 more than NO3. The bacteria use NH3 or NO2 and O2 to get energy, with which they carry out their life processes.

So what can you do for them? Well, the higher the surface area, the more bacteria can colonize, so anywhere with a high surface area can potentially hold large colonies. Finally, they need constant water flow. Flowing water carries new NH3/NO2 and O2 to the colonies, in stagnant water these would have to diffuse which is much slower.

Stress Coat, to my knowledge does nothing to grow bacteria, other than dechlorinate. I've stopped using it, personally, because other, cheaper dechlorinators work just as well (for me, no chloramines) and don't add unneeded stuff (like aloe) to my water. If you're on a well, better for you, no need to add anything.

To sum up:
To cycle you need a source of bacteria, a sponge from the filter of an established tank is best, NH3 and O2 (flowing water). If any of these is missing, you're not cycling. You can run your tank w/o fish for as long as you want, if you're not adding ammonia (or a source of ammonia), you're not cycling.

 

[normd]

Just printed off the fishless cycling info and will take into consideration. The main thing is that i want to do this the right way. Thanks for all the help, i will keep the forum updated on my progress.

 

[gsk177]

To do it the right way as you say you want to do, you need to COMPLETE the FISHLESS cycling BEFORE you add fish.

A tank sitting with water and running a heater and filter will do nothing to cycle itself, as there is nothing present in the tank to start a bacteria colony.

The idea behind fishless cycling is that the ammonia you add yourself simulated a tank full of fish. The ammonia causes bacteria to grow. The bacteria eat the ammonia. You keep adding ammonia to the tank as the bacteria grow and eat some of it off. When the amount of bacteria grow to a level that is large enough to eat off all the ammonia you add in a 24 hour period, then you are cycled.

PLEASE read and re-read the fishless cycling sticky you say you printed off. Follow it to the letter. You should be able to complete the cycle within a week or two. Crank that heater up and make sure you have a test kit to test for pH, NO2, NO3, NH3, Gh, and Kh.