cycling question ?

[MICEY]

in a larger tank would it be better to half fill the tank so I can do a 75% water change easier ( my canister filter works fine with half a tank )
or fill the whole tank so the nitrites and ammonia gets more deluded but it takes much longer to do the wc s

 

[Gibberwatt]

Well, first, are you doing a fishless cycle, or a fished cycle. If it is fished, do a full tank, to protect the fish from high concentrations of ammonia. You won't have to do a 75% change every day, but you should atleast do a 25% each day. If it is fishless, then you can do either way, but the half will require more attention, because it will be more easily effected by outside elements.

hope that helps.

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Cycling

in a larger tank would it be better to half fill the tank so I can do a 75% water change easier ( my canister filter works fine with half a tank )
or fill the whole tank so the nitrites and ammonia gets more deluded but it takes much longer to do the wc s

Hello MIC...

Fill the tank, add some floating plants and fire up the filter and heater. Cycling takes 3 to 4 small to medium sized, hardy fish for every 10 gallons of water. Platys are as hardy as any, so you can do the math on how many you need.

Let everything run for a day or two and then, using your liquid water testing kit, you test every day for traces of ammonia or nitrite. If you have a positive test, change out 25 percent of water and replace it with pure, treated tap water.

Keep testing daily and feed the fish a little every couple of days to maintain a steady source of ammonia. Just change the water when needed. In a few weeks, your tests will show no traces of ammonia or nitrite. The tank is cycled. From this point on, you change half the tank water every week or so to maintain safe water conditions for the fish and plants.

B

 

[MICEY]

I cycle with fish and have done it hundreds of times over the years , just thought there might be a easier way
never liked fishless always worried that there might be something mixed in the ammonia that would hurt the fish
I will be using giant dinios to cycle becaues they will stay in the tank as dither fish platies or mollies would get eaten by the cichlids
after its well cycled I want to put in 2 severum and after an other month 4-5 small clown loachs or yo yo loachs