Using cocktail shrimp to get the cycle going

As i am aware, there is no hard and fast rule about what ppm the ammonia will rise too, but you will know when the ammonia has peaked because your tank tests will show it starting to drop rather than increase...

Hope this helps mate..I will remove mine when i have confirmed that my ammonia is dropping and Nitrites start shooting up..

Niko
 
Yash said:
THANKS! That makes sense and is sort of what I thought the cycle would end up being like. My only question is ... when you say ammonia has peaked, is there a certain ppm level that you would look for before removing the shrimp?
Click to expand...

Hi there,

I've done many fishless cycles using king prawns. I can outline my technique for you. I've cycled 50gal tanks in just over a two weeks.

I used king prawns, raw ones. Get a pair of ladies tights/stocking and place the prawns/shrimps into this. This helps keep them contained. As when they decompose they get very messy.

Bump up your aquarium heater to about 27 celcius / 80 degree Fahrenheit. This will speed up the bacteria growth. Let the amonia spike between 3-5 mg/l. In my tanks I let it spike to 5mg/l.

Once it has spiked to that level reduce the amonia source. In this case I remove the tights/stokings with the prawns and add a fresh batch. About a third of the original amount. From then on keep this amount constant
replacing them every 3-4 days. This will keep supplying a constant source of
amonia till the cycling is complete.

NB If your Nitrite NO2 reading is over your test kit reading range then perform a water change untill it is within the reading range. The advantage with this method of cycling is you can fully stock you tank once it is complete. As with all cycling perform a large water change when the tank has cycled, about 50%.
 
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