Cycling 55 gal fishless tank - few questions - Aquarium Advice

punky · 08-20-2006, 04:16 AM

Hi, just added water and setup filter. Should I change water everynow and then or leave it for the bacteria to settle? How long approx. does it take to cycle?

Thanks.

maxwell1295 · 08-20-2006, 06:30 AM

There is really no need to change water during a fishless cycle.....not until you are at the very end of the cycle and nitrates are really high. At that point, you do one big PWC to bring the nitrates down to a reasonable level. Until then just keep your ammonia in the 2-4 ppm range.

SCFatz · 08-20-2006, 08:03 AM

4-6 weeks.You will need an ammonia source to get it started and a test kit to test the progress (liquid test kits are better).

punky · 08-20-2006, 10:08 AM

What ammonia source do you recommend? I have a test kit no worries.

SCFatz · 08-20-2006, 10:19 AM

An uncooked shrimp will do it to start...get a raw one from the store and drop it in there ...as it decays the ammonia will level wil rise...

Pure ammonia (zero detergents) from a hardware store will work great too....I've read shake it and look for no surface bubbles as well as read the label.Pure is the key here....but it works great (same difference as the shrimp without the decay).

rich311k · 08-20-2006, 10:52 AM

You can also use fishfood. Takes a little longer to get ammonia but it is easy to lay your hands on and doesn't look as ugly as a decaying shrimp. i did by last one by throwing in a bunch of tubifex cubes. Fish dont like them anyway thought I might as well get some use out of them.

punky · 08-20-2006, 10:57 AM

Thanks for the replies

Do products like tetra safestart work?

08-20-2006, 04:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
punky Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 93	Cycling 55 gal fishless tank - few questions Hi, just added water and setup filter. Should I change water everynow and then or leave it for the bacteria to settle? How long approx. does it take to cycle? Thanks.

08-20-2006, 06:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
maxwell1295 Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 887 Images: 7	There is really no need to change water during a fishless cycle.....not until you are at the very end of the cycle and nitrates are really high. At that point, you do one big PWC to bring the nitrates down to a reasonable level. Until then just keep your ammonia in the 2-4 ppm range. __________________ 125G Mostly Malawi Tank 75G Malawi Mbuna 7G Office MiniBow 125 Gallon Mixed African Thread, 75 Gallon Mixed Malawi Thread

08-20-2006, 08:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
SCFatz Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 813	4-6 weeks.You will need an ammonia source to get it started and a test kit to test the progress (liquid test kits are better). __________________ Fatz 90g SW FOWLR 50g tall fw planted at .6wpg 29g fw planted at 1.2 wpg 10g fw planted at 3 wpg cf

08-20-2006, 10:19 AM	#5 (permalink)
SCFatz Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 813	An uncooked shrimp will do it to start...get a raw one from the store and drop it in there ...as it decays the ammonia will level wil rise... Pure ammonia (zero detergents) from a hardware store will work great too....I've read shake it and look for no surface bubbles as well as read the label.Pure is the key here....but it works great (same difference as the shrimp without the decay). __________________ Fatz 90g SW FOWLR 50g tall fw planted at .6wpg 29g fw planted at 1.2 wpg 10g fw planted at 3 wpg cf

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08-20-2006, 10:08 AM	#4 (permalink)
punky Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 93	What ammonia source do you recommend? I have a test kit no worries.

08-20-2006, 10:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
rich311k Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 8,746 Images: 35	You can also use fishfood. Takes a little longer to get ammonia but it is easy to lay your hands on and doesn't look as ugly as a decaying shrimp. i did by last one by throwing in a bunch of tubifex cubes. Fish dont like them anyway thought I might as well get some use out of them.

08-20-2006, 10:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
punky Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 93	Thanks for the replies Do products like tetra safestart work?

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