Shrimp vs Fish Food? Fishless Cycle

[ICoolGuy]

Hi! So I just set up my 40 Gallon tank and was wondering what is better to do a fishless cycle a shrimp or fish food.

I know that shrimps smell and I don't want that but if it is alot faster than fish food than I might consider it. Moreover, I have fish food in my house so can you guyz tell me what is the faster way and less smelliest.
Some advice on reducing the smell is also appreciated

PS: I live in UAE and checked every place here and they don't sell ammonia here. Anywhere

 

[Thrills22]

I would try local lfs' for media or import ammoina via ebay/amazon or some international retailer that ships to the UAE. The levels of food needed to raise your 40gal to 4-5ppm daily is perhaps worth the wait of importing.

 

[ScotJudd]

Personal opinion here, but in your circumstances, if ammonia is not an option, then I would go for fish in tank cycling. Not my first choice but using flake or shrimp is not easily controlled. You shouldn't have too much trouble using a few fish to cycle a 40g tank, it would be quite stable and take a while for the resulting toxins to run out of control. Just keep testing regularly and water changing as needed to protect your fish. Once cycled then slowly add more fish, waiting for the filter bacteria to catch up to the additional bio-load before adding any more fish.
So, my choice of cycling method is 1. Ammonia 2. Fish 3. Flake and lastly Shrimp.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice