Methods of cycling!
- Thread starter edmcq198
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jgranata13
Aquarium Advice Regular
If you know someone who has a cycled tank, see if you can get some of their cycled media to seed your own (I usually take media from one of my established tanks to cycle a new one).
Joseph Granata
Joseph Granata
fish wrangler
Aquarium Advice Addict
I did a fishless cycle. I redid my tank, and didn't have ammonia for the BB for 10 days. Cycle only took 10 days(i think some of the BB survived the time with no food)
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Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
There are two basic ways to cycle. Fish in or fishless, Fish in means using live fish, and it is doable, though personally I think it's not fair to risk the fish, because if you don't do the water changes properly, they may be damaged by ammonia buildup. But if you take care it can be done. Fishless uses either ammonia, to feed naturally occurring beneficial bacteria, [BB] or as has already been suggested, by seeding a new filter with the bacteria, or BB, from an established filter.
I prefer that last fishless method, since I run more than one tank, I always have at least one filter I can clean and use the rinsings from it to seed a new one. You can also put used media into a new filter. I like pouring in the rinsings, but both ways work.
I prefer that last fishless method, since I run more than one tank, I always have at least one filter I can clean and use the rinsings from it to seed a new one. You can also put used media into a new filter. I like pouring in the rinsings, but both ways work.
Tolak
Aquarium Advice Activist
Cloning FTW. Never cycle again.
BBradbury
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- May 24, 2011
- Messages
- 5,011
Fish In Tank Cycling
Hello ed...
I cycled with a hardy fish. 3 to 4 medium sized fish for every 10 gallons of water. Female Guppies or Platys if you like livebearing fish and Danios or White Clouds if you like egglayers.
Set up the tank and add a good floating plant like Hornwort or Anacharis. Just drop in some stems to help maintain a bit better water conditions.
Feed the fish a little every couple of days and have a good water testing kit to test every day for traces of ammonia or nitrite. If you have a positive test for either, change 25 percent of the water and replace it with treated tap water.
Just test every day and remove the water when needed. In a month or so, you'll have several tests with no traces of either ammonia or nitrite. The tank is cycled. From this point on, you change half the water every week to maintain safe water conditions.
Pretty easy.
B
Hello ed...
I cycled with a hardy fish. 3 to 4 medium sized fish for every 10 gallons of water. Female Guppies or Platys if you like livebearing fish and Danios or White Clouds if you like egglayers.
Set up the tank and add a good floating plant like Hornwort or Anacharis. Just drop in some stems to help maintain a bit better water conditions.
Feed the fish a little every couple of days and have a good water testing kit to test every day for traces of ammonia or nitrite. If you have a positive test for either, change 25 percent of the water and replace it with treated tap water.
Just test every day and remove the water when needed. In a month or so, you'll have several tests with no traces of either ammonia or nitrite. The tank is cycled. From this point on, you change half the water every week to maintain safe water conditions.
Pretty easy.
B
Coyne
Aquarium Advice Addict
There are articles in the "Getting Started" section that can help you. I'd suggest reading them and making a choice based on what seems best for your situation.
Using fish to cycle your tank requires you to keep a much closer eye on water parameters and many more water changes in order to keep things safe for the fish (often more than one in a day). The amount you'll need to change will be in direct relation to the amount of ammonia and/or nitrite present (not just a flat 25% as mentioned above).
Using something other than fish for an ammonia source (Fishless cycling) takes less effort, since you don't have to worry about the water getting too toxic. The down side is that you'll have a boring, empty tank until the cycle is complete. Also, using fish food, raw shrimp, etc as the ammonia source can have inconsistent results that tend to confuse new hobbyists. I suggest using the 10% ammonia cleaning solution if you go this route. There are online calculators that will tell you how much to dose.
I've cycled tanks both ways without out any problems. I have my preference, but they both work as long as you do them correctly.
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Using fish to cycle your tank requires you to keep a much closer eye on water parameters and many more water changes in order to keep things safe for the fish (often more than one in a day). The amount you'll need to change will be in direct relation to the amount of ammonia and/or nitrite present (not just a flat 25% as mentioned above).
Using something other than fish for an ammonia source (Fishless cycling) takes less effort, since you don't have to worry about the water getting too toxic. The down side is that you'll have a boring, empty tank until the cycle is complete. Also, using fish food, raw shrimp, etc as the ammonia source can have inconsistent results that tend to confuse new hobbyists. I suggest using the 10% ammonia cleaning solution if you go this route. There are online calculators that will tell you how much to dose.
I've cycled tanks both ways without out any problems. I have my preference, but they both work as long as you do them correctly.
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Aliray
Aquarium Advice Freak
I did three fish in cycle, one for each of my three ten gal tanks. My first tank was done because my husband wanted neon tetras. I filled the tank with dechlorinated water then let the tank run for three days to make sure the heater was okay. Then I went and bought 6 neons and left them in the bag to warm up for an hour. I put a bottle of tetra safe start the one that says Start Up on the outside while the fish were warming up. Then I netted them out of the bag and turned the lights back on. I did nothing for 2 weeks except feed them 2 times a day and do twice a day head counts. At the end of the two weeks I checked the water and all the levels were fine and the tank was cycled. Then every week or two I would add one or two small fish. All the neons were fine and are still fine. I did the same thing for each of the other two tanks. One tank with 5 harlequin rasboras and the other tank with my male betta. I also put in a few plants in each tank the first day I set each one up. All the fish that I used are fine and were part of my stock plan for each tank....Alison
jgranata13
Aquarium Advice Regular
While the fish may appear fine, ammonia usually affects the gills. On something as small as a neon tetra, the gills really aren't visible, so you have no way of knowing what damage was actually done.
For example, they may be fine in fully oxygenated water, but let's say they did sustain some gill damage during the cycle. If your filter goes out/whatever event is necessary to stop surface agitation in your tank, they could be at a greater risk of suffocation because of their reduced ability to extract oxygen from the water on top of the fact that the oxygen concentration in the water is decreased.
That's why I wouldn't recommend this method.
Joseph Granata
For example, they may be fine in fully oxygenated water, but let's say they did sustain some gill damage during the cycle. If your filter goes out/whatever event is necessary to stop surface agitation in your tank, they could be at a greater risk of suffocation because of their reduced ability to extract oxygen from the water on top of the fact that the oxygen concentration in the water is decreased.
That's why I wouldn't recommend this method.
Joseph Granata
jgranata13
Aquarium Advice Regular
Edit: Oops, I don't know what happened there. I meant to just add the "edit" at the end of my previous post.
Joseph Granata
I also like doing it with fish in. A couple of fish plenty of water changes and eventually the filter cycles, simple as that. Don't over feed and of course temp is important.
Even faster if you get a piece of an established filter into yours.
Good luck!
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Even faster if you get a piece of an established filter into yours.
Good luck!
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PNWaquarist
Aquarium Advice Addict
I prefer to do fishless cycles, but doing a fish-in cycle makes sense if you're going to stock that tank with something really hardy like Zebra or Leopard Danios.
