Cycling with ammonia

[AquaGal]

My dad bought a 29 gallon aquarium today and we would like to try fishless cycling. (Not to mention, this is going to be great practice for my 55 gallon tank that I'm planning on - it will be for African cichlids.)

I understand that I need to put in ammonia daily, and this basically takes the place of fish food/waste creating ammonia. Where do I get "pure ammonia" from? I saw ammonia in the grocery store, but there's "surfactant" in it.

I'd really like to give this a try!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Ace Hardware sells their own brand of pure ammonia. Most hardware stores sell a version of it.

That's great to hear that you are going fishless, I hope it works out for you.

 

[7Enigma]

AquaGal,

Welcome to the forum and glad to hear your going fishless. IMO it is much faster and MUCH less work than cycling with fish. Get the ammonia at Ace like Fishyfanatic says, and dose to between 2-5ppm. You will need a liquid reagent test kit (I'm partial to Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Fresh Water Test Kit). This has tests for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, and pH. The strips are not near as accurate as the drops, and they are more expensive in the long run.

Also the reason why the fishless cycle is so easy is that you won't be dosing every day, you probably won't dose any more ammonia for the first 2 weeks or more. You'll simply dose enough ammonia to get to ~5ppm and then every couple days check the nitrIte levels. When you start to get a positive level of nitrIte, you then monitor the ammonia level until it gets low again (1ppm or under). Then you add enough ammonia to keep the level above 1ppm until you have built up a good amount of nitrAte in the tank. It's that simple. You'll love it when thinking how many water changes and possible fish deaths you might have gone through if you chose to start with fish.

Another great advantage is that if you build up a really big amount of bacteria during the fishless cycle you can FULLY stock your tank without worry. Before doing that check back here in the forum so we can make sure you have enough bacteria.

Here's a couple quick easy things you can do to speed up your fishless cycle:

1. Most important! Try to get some media/gravel/decorations from an established tank. Ask your LFS, any friends with fish tanks. The best thing to get would be some used filter media, followed by substrate (sand, gravel, etc), followed by decorations. All of these have a good amount of bacteria on them. Just make sure you keep them wet or else you'll kill the bacteria, and make sure your tank your fishless cycling with has had a dechlorinator added such as Prime. A good amount of media from an established tank can GREATLY shorten your cycle (my 20gallon cycled in 17days with some gravel from a friends tank).

2. Bump up the heat in your tank. Since you have no fish, you don't have to keep the tank temp at the fishes optimal temp (most tropicals like 78-82F, not sure exactly what cichlids like). Aim for 85-88F. This will speed up the metabolism of the bacteria so they will multiply faster.

3. Check your pH every so often. If it drops too low (close to 6.0-6.2) I'd recommend a water change. Obviously this only applies if your tap water is higher than this (most likely). At ~pH6 the bacteria seriously slow down or even stop reproducing (this will stall your cycle).

4. If you get filter media from another tank, put it in your filter, if you get gravel put it in a filter bag (or panty hose) and put it in your filter. If you have some left over, put it in another bag in the tank and periodically reach in and squish it around (it will cloud the tank with bacteria).

5. KEEP YOUR TANK LIGHTS OFF! There is nothing to see other than a possible white cloudiness (bacteria). When nothing else is in the tank, algae can get a foothold since it LOVES ammonia and there are no plants/bacteria to compete for the food.

HTH and congrats. We want to see pics once its setup!

justin

 

[AquaGal]

Thank you. How long after I add the ammonia would I check the levels to make sure it's between 2-5?? I already have the testing kit you suggested - I started a small 10 gallon tank the other day WITH fish, and did have one casualty.

 

[rich311k]

give it at least two hours before you test a whole day is optimal.

 

[7Enigma]

Like Rich says I'd dose the ammonia at night and then the next morning would check the levels. 2-5ppm is just a range that is the optimal amount for the fastest growth, but as long as there is some ammonia in the tank the bacteria will grow (just don't OVERDOSE) or you will have to do a PWC.

 

[TomK2]

Or slow down and spread out your tank starting. Because, once you get the 10 gal cycled and established, you can run the 29 gal filter on it (simultaneously with the 10 gal filter, if the flow isn't excessive) for a few weeks, then have little or no cycle when you put fish in. Can't do this if the larger tanks filter causes excessive flow when run simultaneously with the established filter. Then, when you have the 29 gal established, run the 55 gal filter on the 29 gal for a few weeks before set up, and you would have another jump started tank.

Or take half the biomedia from the 10 gals filter once it is established (2 months?), and put it in the new filter on set up for a jump start. But this probably doesn't get as much colonization as running the filter on the tank.

Or have them all cycling at once if you don't mind.

 

[crazyred]

The perfect fishless cycle with ammonia article: http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/misc/fishlesscycling.html

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Just remember that once you see a nitrite spike, when your ammonia reaches 0ppm, you dose it only to 1ppm, but no more than 2ppm. And once you see that both your ammonia and nitrite both go to 0ppm in less than 24 hours, you are cycled.

 

[AquaGal]

Thanks - you guys are awesome!!

The article looks very helpful and explains things very well. As far as running the filters on an established tank, my 10 gallon isn't established yet but I'll keep that in mind. I especally like the idea of running the 55 gallon filter on the 29 gallon once it's established! I was planning on buying the filter (and heater, etc.) early anyway, so I have everything ready when my beautiful 55 gallon tank comes home.

 

[AquaGal]

Okay, so we dosed with ammonia and the level is 4 ppm. We should just sit back and wait now, right? Test again tomorrow, make sure it's still between 2-5?

The tank is all set up, with an air curtain and all. I think it's beautiful! All set up except the fish. I'll have my dad take a picture.

 

[rich311k]

Yep all you can do now is test and wait, in a few days you will see the ammonia number start to come down and you will be off and running. Good luck and be patient.