fishless cycle complete??

[DanS180]

Okay so Im finally done setting up my 180g freshwater, I have 2 Fluval fx5's on it right now and 1 of them has filter media that was used from another tank in it already. I added a bottle of prime just to jump start it a little faster, I let it sit for a day and a half and after testing the water nitrite, nitrate, & ammonia are all at 0. Is it done? Or has it not even begun it's cycle??

 

[jlk]

You need to add an ammonia source to start your cycle. Please read the link below. Ill also post the ammonia calculator so you can figure out the correct dose. Please ask if you have any questions!!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Calculator

 

[DanS180]

I'd still have to add ammonia even tho I have a filter on there full of bacteria?? Someone told me that should be good enough?

 

[jlk]

One filter may have bacteria but the other filter (and the rest of your tank) doesnt. You can either do a fishless cycle to establish your entire tank/other filter and then fully stock it or you can start off slowly with a few fish and gradually stock it to allow your other filter/tank to time to establish itself as the bioload increases. Its really up to you on how you would to proceed.

 

[librarygirl]

As JLK said, you have some bacteria, but probably not enough to sustain a full tank load. You can either add ammonia and follow the fishless cycle guide or you can add a few fish, test and check daily, add a few more, etc. But the bacteria need an ammonia source to feed off of -- either you adding ammonia or some fish -- otherwise they'll die off.

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

Yes you do have some bacteria but they need to eat, without any source of ammonia the bacteria you do have would die off. Also only that filter media has the bacteria so it would need to spread to the other filter and the rest of the tank. Basically it sounds to me you haven't even started your cycle yet, when it is done if you are doing a fish less cycle you will have to do a massive 75%+ pwc to bring down your nitrates. Basically your cycle will be done when you show nothing but nitrates.

 

[DanS180]

Now I'm just confused lol i heard instead of using ammonia you could just use prime, and you would be okay. But if that's not enough then I guess ill have to get ammonia. How long would it take to completely cycle?? And if i went the other way with just adding a few fish, how long should I wait in between adding them? I have about 12 fish going into this tank

 

[jlk]

Quite the opposite! Prime is a water conditioner that detoxes ammonia & nitrite as well as dechlorinates the water. Your tank should cycle fishless reasonably fast because you already have established filter to jump start everything. I can't offer an exact time frame though because everyone's tanks & cycles are different. Fish-in, it will take awhile because fish need to be added slowly so your bb can adjust to the increasing bioload. If you add 12 fish at once, expect to be doing frequent water changes until your tank is fully established.

 

[DanS180]

Quite the opposite! Prime is a water conditioner that detoxes ammonia & nitrite as well as dechlorinates the water. Your tank should cycle fishless reasonably fast because you already have established filter to jump start everything. I can't offer an exact time frame though because everyone's tanks & cycles are different. Fish-in, it will take awhile because fish need to be added slowly so your bb can adjust to the increasing bioload. If you add 12 fish at once, expect to be doing frequent water changes until your tank is fully established.

Lol okay, I guess ill just add a few at a time n see what happens. Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[DanS180]

Okay just got home and tested it again, some changes. From left to right:
Ph 7.6
High range Ph 7.8
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate between 0-5ppm

Does this seem like its going on the right track??

 

[Brox]

Add stability it gives BB to your tank

 

[DanS180]

I'm guessing BB means biological bacteria? Lol

 

[Brox]

Beneficial
bacteria

 

[DanS180]

Gotcha haha, well I added a few fish in yesterday evening, all of them r still up n swimming around today so that's a good sign

 

[librarygirl]

Okay just got home and tested it again, some changes. From left to right:
Ph 7.6
High range Ph 7.8
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate between 0-5ppm

Does this seem like its going on the right track??

View attachment 98285

Hm, where is the ammonia coming from? Does your tap water have ammonia? Or did you add fish prior to testing? Also it can be hard to tell the difference between 0 and .25 on the test kit; to be sure you can test some spring or distilled water and compare it to the tube from the tank. If they match, the tank is really 0.

I see you have fish in there now; keep an eye on the levels; if ammonia rises anymore you'll want to do a water change. I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[DanS180]

Hm, where is the ammonia coming from? Does your tap water have ammonia? Or did you add fish prior to testing? Also it can be hard to tell the difference between 0 and .25 on the test kit; to be sure you can test some spring or distilled water and compare it to the tube from the tank. If they match, the tank is really 0.

I see you have fish in there now; keep an eye on the levels; if ammonia rises anymore you'll want to do a water change. I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

Good thinking with testing the sink water! Ill check it out when I get home, yeah I was actually gonna retest after work today, I'm gonna have to do a water change regardless, some left over sand that didn't settle seems to be making a film on the top of my water :/

 

[librarygirl]

Normal, it'll happen. It might be easier to skim the top of the water with a net to get the floating sand out.

 

[DanS180]

Normal, it'll happen. It might be easier to skim the top of the water with a net to get the floating sand out.

Yeah I had to skim to get a lot of black stuff that came out of one of the bags of sand. Should be good soon tho