Fishless Cycling Questions...

[Avra]

I'm on day 4 of my fishless cycle, using fishflakes that came with the tank. It's a 5 gallon. Well, yesterday or the day before the water became cloudy. Is this a good sign? I tested for ammonia today and it's .25. I was hoping it would be higher after four days, but maybe I'm being impatient.

So I guess my questions are is the cloudy water normal, and how long should it take for the ammonia to rise? Would it be faster to get some straight up ammonia to add to the water? Also, since my water conditioner (Prime) says it removes ammonia, is it hurting the cycle to have it in the water?

 

[librarygirl]

I'm on day 4 of my fishless cycle, using fishflakes that came with the tank. It's a 5 gallon. Well, yesterday or the day before the water became cloudy. Is this a good sign? I tested for ammonia today and it's .25. I was hoping it would be higher after four days, but maybe I'm being impatient.

So I guess my questions are is the cloudy water normal, and how long should it take for the ammonia to rise? Would it be faster to get some straight up ammonia to add to the water? Also, since my water conditioner (Prime) says it removes ammonia, is it hurting the cycle to have it in the water?

Hi and welcome! You can cycle with fish food but it could take quite a bit to get the ammonia up to a decent level. There's no way to really measure how much to put in and at what rate it decomposes and how much ammonia that will produce. Plus it's messy At the very least I'd put a LOT in a mesh media bag or clean (never washed with detergent or soap) stocking/pantyhose and let it decompose in the tank; it'll be easier to pull it out then too and make less of a mess. If you can get some pure ammonia that's a more reliable way to cyle.

Is the water milky whitish? If so it's likely a bacterial bloom. Could also be the fish food, either way it's nothing to worry about.

Prime doesn't remove ammonia, it just converts it into a less toxic form (for fish) but it does still keep it avaiable to the bacteria, so no worries, it's great stuff.

 

[Avra]

Thank you very much for the advice!
Is ammonia sold in most pet stores? I've been looking online and haven't been able to find any. Also, I'm curious about Tetra SafeStart. Does that actually work like it says it does?

 

[jlk]

You wont find ammonia in petstores. They will probably look at you like you have three heads for asking... If you are in the US, check the Ace Hardware store locator to see if theres one in your area. They carry Ace Hardware 10% janitorial strength ammonia. You can also try Dollar Tree & Amazon. The bottled bacteria products are debatable- some swear by them, others think they are only good at emptying your wallet. Mother Nature will still do her job either way.

 

[Pton46]

Thank you very much for the advice!
Is ammonia sold in most pet stores? I've been looking online and haven't been able to find any. Also, I'm curious about Tetra SafeStart. Does that actually work like it says it does?

I used Safestart and also Seachem Stability both were in situations where...(one was an Emergency Tank Transfer...a leaking tank transferred to another Safe start)

I currently use Stability as an Additional Step in my PWC process and Cycled a tank with it as an Experiment. I found IMO Stability does work in jump starting the Cycle....I got Nitrates in 15 days and continue to use it.
Nothing is better than nature (and Cheaper) of course but if you are in a bind I found Stability to work.

 

[Avra]

Thank you guys so much. I think what I'll do is get some ammonia, empty my fishtank and start again. The water's looking rather icky.

Is the Ace 10% the best brand/product to use, more or less?

 

[Stephen Rollins]

I use the ace brand ammonia. And it's working great

This is the stuff

 

[Avra]

Alrighty, I've got my ammonia. I read that I should aim for 4ppm. Does anyone happen to know about how much I should add for that?

 

[jlk]

I'm on cell & my links are on my computer. I think I know the link but if doesn't work, just do a search for ammonia calculator & it should pop up.
Calculator

 

[Avra]

The link worked! Thanks!

 

[Stephen Rollins]

The link worked! Thanks!

She knows her stuff