The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[Bettababe1011]

ok im confused? ur dog is how big?? lol last i heard u had shrimp in ur tank right?

Maybe the dog decided to take a swim... Lol. I am sorry about the shrimp Eco.

 

[Irish.OG87]

Maybe the dog decided to take a swim... Lol. I am sorry about the shrimp Eco.

ok if im correct his tank is the same height mine is, which means is little dog jumped like 4 feet into the tank and pulled out some shrimp went to the bedroom and had a margarita and came back like nothing happened lol....thats wat im picturing in me head lol

 

[Irish.OG87]

btw betta..em...em...ur fish is em...in transit lol

 

[eco23]

Nah, the Amanos can climb out up the air tubing. It could have been worse, if my girl had seen it on the floor...you would have heard a scream and a squish!

 

[Bettababe1011]

btw betta..em...em...ur fish is em...in transit lol

Lol. Well, if it's taking this long, then how good of shipping could it be?! I'll probably get the poor Betta in worse condition than the Walmart bettas!!!

Okay... Off topic... Sorry.

 

[eco23]

Ammonia = Ammonium Hydroxide. Gotcha. Sorry, I'm just used to the word meaning something slightly different. Anhydrous Ammonia is what I'm used to hearing the gaseous form referred to, but it's all good.

The powdered Baker's Ammonia? I can't imagine it not mixing, I read that there are some cookie recipes that can't do without it.

I'd have to research them to make any type of conclusion, but for newbies I'd recommend sticking with the hardware liquid ammonia. I'll check into it sometime, thanks!

 

[Bettababe1011]

Nah, the Amanos can climb out up the air tubing. It could have been worse, if my girl had seen it on the floor...you would have heard a scream and a squish!

:O

Wow... Woulda thought it was a spider? Or something else that crawls and is icky?

 

[eco23]

Yes two HOB filters, the left is the penguin bio-wheel 150B and the right is the one i got to start this campaign lol which is an aqueon quietflow 50, when i do finally complete this cycle im going to remove one of them to my QT and put the canister.

Dude, I'd get the canister up and running now. Just move the media from the HOB you're removing into the canister. Then just stash the one intended for QT and you can break it out and stuff media into it to instantly cycle it when you need it.

 

[eco23]

:O

Wow... Woulda thought it was a spider? Or something else that crawls and is icky?

Yeah, her first thought would have been squish first, ask questions later, lol. Hopefully I just didn't see them and they're still in there. Still don't know what the dog was chewing on then, lol.

 

[Irish.OG87]

Dude, I'd get the canister up and running now. Just move the media from the HOB you're removing into the canister. Then just stash the one intended for QT and you can break it out and stuff media into it to instantly cycle it when you need it.

ok im really confused, in my canister u can put the 3 different kinds of media, how do i know which goes where??? and also which media is best to use??

 

[Irish.OG87]

there is 2 ways i can do it, this way
suggestion #1: http://www.f3images.com/IMD/fl_ecco_media1.jpg
suggestion #2 http://www.f3images.com/IMD/fl_ecco_media2.jpg

 

[eco23]

ok im really confused, in my canister u can put the 3 different kinds of media, how do i know which goes where??? and also which media is best to use??

My girl is yelling at me cause she's trying to watch tv, and I keep reaching for the iPad. I'll be back in like 10 but we can talk about the canisters. I just hooked up my Fluval yesterday.

 

[eco23]

there is 2 ways i can do it, this way
suggestion #1: http://www.f3images.com/IMD/fl_ecco_media1.jpg
suggestion #2 http://www.f3images.com/IMD/fl_ecco_media2.jpg

One thing I haven't fully grasped yet with the canister filters is the flow direction. In the Fluval, its arranged differently and the actual filter pads are on the side. I think it comes in and down the side, and first through the filter pads (to remove particles like solid poo, leftover food). Then, my understanding is it's supposed to next hit chemical filtration (carbon if you use it, peat, CC, etc...). Last it should hit the biofilter (ceramic media...the awesome stuff!) so the cleanest water hits it last. It makes sense that you would want the physically cleanest water hitting the bio-media because you want to absorb the ammo and no2 with it, not get dirty with fish poo and plant leaves. So, figure out the flow direction and put mechanical filter first, chemical filtration second and biological filtration last. God I type a lot, lol.

 

[Irish.OG87]

One thing I haven't fully grasped yet with the canister filters is the flow direction. In the Fluval, its arranged differently and the actual filter pads are on the side. I think it comes in and down the side, and first through the filter pads (to remove particles like solid poo, leftover food). Then, my understanding is it's supposed to next hit chemical filtration (carbon if you use it, peat, CC, etc...). Last it should hit the biofilter (ceramic media...the awesome stuff!) so the cleanest water hits it last. It makes sense that you would want the physically cleanest water hitting the bio-media because you want to absorb the ammo and no2 with it, not get dirty with fish poo and plant leaves. So, figure out the flow direction and put mechanical filter first, chemical filtration second and biological filtration last. God I type a lot, lol.

In the images...the flow direction is goin down the sides not touching anything...and the water doesnt touch anything until it start to come back up like in the images.

 

[eco23]

In the images...the flow direction is goin down the sides not touching anything...and the water doesnt touch anything until it start to come back up like in the images.

Yeah, I didn't pay attention to the arrows, lol. I think Fluval just recommends a different technique because they suggest the biomedia should be the last thing , which kinda makes sense to me(unless I misread something).

 

[eco23]

Whatever you do, make the bio-media (ceramic) the biggest part of your filter. Mine is broken into 4 trays with 8 compartments, and ceramic media is in 4 of my 8 compartments. Catching debris with a filter is easy, building and maintaining an awesome bio-filter is more important. BTW, stick the seeding media in with the ceramic, not the filter pads.

 

[Irish.OG87]

Whatever you do, make the bio-media (ceramic) the biggest part of your filter. Mine is broken into 4 trays with 8 compartments, and ceramic media is in 4 of my 8 compartments. Catching debris with a filter is easy, building and maintaining an awesome bio-filter is more important. BTW, stick the seeding media in with the ceramic, not the filter pads.

will do compadre lol

 

[rexless]

Did we get you sorted out? Did I understand your question?

yes you did thank... well i left the hang on filter from my 55 Gallon on all day and night yesterday on my 150, planning to add the 2en one and leave it for a few hrs and than start switching ova the fish. hopefully things work out

 

[rexless]

someone told me rock or sand are not need it in a fish tank IS THIS TRUE?

 

[eco23]

someone told me rock or sand are not need it in a fish tank IS THIS TRUE?

I've seen some fish stores that have bare bottom tanks, but never someone's display tank. I honestly have never researched it, but I think the fish would enjoy having substrate. The bare bottom tanks are most likely just to keep the tank cleaner in the stores. I'll research it a bit.

As for this relating to cycling, I believe having gravel or sand will help keep your tank balanced because there is more surface area for the bacteria to cling to.