Can"t cycle my tank

[Hholly]

The bacteria are found in our environment in small numbers. They will find their way into your tank and munch on the ammonia and multiply. That's why getting seed material from an established tank can speed things up so much.

 

[Autumnsky]

Ammonia is available with no surfactant and no perfumes colors additives! Others have said Ace hardware has it, others said dollar store but I am always nervous about if their labels are actually accurate.

 

[jlk]

I have one last question before I get started. This is going to sound noobish, but I have obviously never done a fishless cycle before. How are the bacteria supposed to get introduced to the tank, if I don't use anything to seed it?

Bacteria are everywhere- everything we see, touch, breathe, etcetc. Once your water has been dechlorinated, they will find their way into your tank & start to grow. It wont happen overnight but it will happen! Ammonia will provide their food source so they keep growing. Seeding your tank just makes it happen faster.

 

[phin]

lots of random info on this thread

Some points:

• The nitrifing bacteria are everywhere. They don't get into your tank when you add ammonia. Ammonia doesn't eat anything.
• If the bottle of ammonia says: "Contains: Water, Ammonia" only then you can rely on it. If you are still unsure, look at it. If it is colorless and when you shake it, it doesn't foam up you can rest assured that all it is is ammonia and water.
• If anyone does want to try that bacteria in a bottle, the best (most reliable) are (in no particular order) Nite-Out by MicrobLift, Stability by Seachem, and MicroBacter7 by Brightwell Aquatics.
• Get the API liquid test kits, worth the money and cheaper in the long run. As well as the fact that they are more accurate.
• You could always throw some feeder fish in there and do a fish-in cycle, but that appears to be frowned upon.
• 85-86 degrees is too warm for most tropical fish. 76-80 is more common.

 

[jlk]

85-86 is for a fishless cycle. It's ideal temp for bacterial multiplication.

 

[phin]

85-86 is for a fishless cycle. It's ideal temp for bacterial multiplication.

Gotcha. I was wondering where a random suggestion to keep the water temperature was coming from. This makes more sense.