The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[Deckape]

Hm, if nitrites rise and fell your tank should be cycled. Did you test the PH of your tap water and again after leaving it out for 24 hours? It's possible your normal PH is 6.8 which is fine, just want to make sure it isn't dropping. Did ammonia ever fall to 0 after dosing from 3-4 or has it always just fallen to 1 even when nitrites were showing? You could try dosing to 2 ppm of ammonia for a few days instead of 3-4 and see what happens. If the ammonia clears to 0 and nitrites stay 0 I'd say you could start adding some fish slowly. Dosing to 3-4 is designed to be overkill; fish won't produce 4 ppms of ammonia in a tank unless you grossly overstock it. So if you can get 2 ppm of ammonia to clear to 0 in 24 hours for a few days I'd say you could start adding fish slowly.

I completely agree. Sound advice. Good job sticking with the cycling. Your fish will thank you for it.

 

[Clausura]

Hm, if nitrites rise and fell your tank should be cycled. Did you test the PH of your tap water and again after leaving it out for 24 hours? It's possible your normal PH is 6.8 which is fine, just want to make sure it isn't dropping. Did ammonia ever fall to 0 after dosing from 3-4 or has it always just fallen to 1 even when nitrites were showing? You could try dosing to 2 ppm of ammonia for a few days instead of 3-4 and see what happens. If the ammonia clears to 0 and nitrites stay 0 I'd say you could start adding some fish slowly. Dosing to 3-4 is designed to be overkill; fish won't produce 4 ppms of ammonia in a tank unless you grossly overstock it. So if you can get 2 ppm of ammonia to clear to 0 in 24 hours for a few days I'd say you could start adding fish slowly.

During the nitrite spike and when it was coming down, the ammonia only dropped to mostly 0.5ppm - 1ppm. I have never seen it go to zero. Dont really know why. I will try your suggestiion librarygirl, thanks for the advice. Although I will be going away for about a week or so in 2 days time. Will the BB die off totally and is there anything I can do to keep it from recycling again?

 

[librarygirl]

During the nitrite spike and when it was coming down, the ammonia only dropped to mostly 0.5ppm - 1ppm. I have never seen it go to zero. Dont really know why. I will try your suggestiion librarygirl, thanks for the advice. Although I will be going away for about a week or so in 2 days time. Will the BB die off totally and is there anything I can do to keep it from recycling again?

I''m not sure why it isn't going to 0, but as I said if you can dose to 2 and get a consistent 0 reading then I'd say you'd be OK to start adding fish slowly. How large a tank and what fish are you thinking of getting?

As for your vacation I''m not entirely sure how long bacteria can go without food but I'd say a week is pushing it. You could get a mesh media bag or clean nylon stocking and put a few pinches of fish food in there which will decay and release ammonia. You'd want to put it in something though and not just in the tank or there will be a big mess when you get back. This way you can just pull out the bag or stocking when you return and start dosing ammonia again.

 

[Clausura]

Hi there again! I have taken librarygirl's advice and have been dosing ammonia to 2ppm. Even then after 24 hrs, there was 0.25ppm of ammonia still present in the tank. So I did a 90% WC yesterday and vacuumed brown stuff off the top of the gravel as I saw too many nematodes and planaria around so went around removing them also. Again, I dosed ammonia to 2ppm again.

It seems that I can never see 0ppm of ammonia after 24 hrs. I can only see the coveted yellow colour liquid only after 36 - 48 hrs. My biofilter is very slow to convert the ammonia. However, the nitrite level is consistently 0ppm and is a clear blue. Nitrate level after cleaning the tank is 15ppm.

So my query is, I will be going overseas again for 4 days, be back for a day and travelling overseas again for another 4 days. Again, during the trip, no one will be helping me dose the ammonia. It seems so far that my tank can convert 1.75ppm of ammonia in 24 hrs and nitrite bacteria is working well. Is it possible that I let the ammonia level to go to 0ppm, and then add some danios and neon tetras to my tank, since it is not a new tank and bacteria is converting the ammonia, but still not experiencing a 0ppm in 24 hr result? At least when I am away, there is a source of ammonia from the danios, rather then a smelly piece of shrimp left in the tank that will attract planaria and worms.

So what do you guys think? If it is possible, how many danios and neons should I get or should I just get danios since from what I read neon tetras are not as hardy as they used to be.

It is a 64 gallon tank and I would like to stock it with danios, neon tetras and harlequin rasboras.

Opinions and replies are most appreciated! =)

 

[librarygirl]

Hi there again! I have taken librarygirl's advice and have been dosing ammonia to 2ppm. Even then after 24 hrs, there was 0.25ppm of ammonia still present in the tank. So I did a 90% WC yesterday and vacuumed brown stuff off the top of the gravel as I saw too many nematodes and planaria around so went around removing them also. Again, I dosed ammonia to 2ppm again.

It seems that I can never see 0ppm of ammonia after 24 hrs. I can only see the coveted yellow colour liquid only after 36 - 48 hrs. My biofilter is very slow to convert the ammonia. However, the nitrite level is consistently 0ppm and is a clear blue. Nitrate level after cleaning the tank is 15ppm.

So my query is, I will be going overseas again for 4 days, be back for a day and travelling overseas again for another 4 days. Again, during the trip, no one will be helping me dose the ammonia. It seems so far that my tank can convert 1.75ppm of ammonia in 24 hrs and nitrite bacteria is working well. Is it possible that I let the ammonia level to go to 0ppm, and then add some danios and neon tetras to my tank, since it is not a new tank and bacteria is converting the ammonia, but still not experiencing a 0ppm in 24 hr result? At least when I am away, there is a source of ammonia from the danios, rather then a smelly piece of shrimp left in the tank that will attract planaria and worms.

So what do you guys think? If it is possible, how many danios and neons should I get or should I just get danios since from what I read neon tetras are not as hardy as they used to be.

It is a 64 gallon tank and I would like to stock it with danios, neon tetras and harlequin rasboras.

Opinions and replies are most appreciated! =)

It's a large tank so adding some fish to start with should be OK, however I'd be a bit worried that you won't be around for 4 days to test the water just in case something spikes and you need to do a water change. Or is there someone there who can test and do water changes if needed (and feed the fish ). If you were going to do it I'd add a small school of one species, say 6 danios. They shouldn't produce anywhere near 2 ppm of ammonia a day and it's a large tank, so I conservatively say it's OK, although I'm not an expert, it's ultimately up to you. Then watch them for a couple of weeks and do regular water tests (if everything stays at 0 and nitrates don't climb higher than 20 I'd do a 50% per week maintenance water change). If everything is OK after the second week, then you can add another school. Let us know what you decide and how things go.

 

[Clausura]

Hi there librarygirl, an update here. I did a 90% WC before I seeked the advice of the guys here. Now, instead of processing 1.75ppm of ammonia a day, it has dropped to 1ppm per day. It seems that everytime I do a WC, it slows down the cycling process. But sometimes I am forced into it as my pH keeps dropping, now it is currently 6.6 - 6.4. I am in a catch 22 situation here, if I dont do a water change, the cycle will stall because of the low pH, if I do, the cycle will slow down. Really, is it just my tank or does everyone face such a situation. I dont know how many times I have mentioned being frustrated by this fishless cycle. Now what I,ll be doing is that I will dose up to 5ppm before I leave for my trip. When I get back after 4 days, it should be 0. Then I will dose again to 5ppm and come back 4 days later. I think by leaving my tank alone, it will move faster. Everytime I fiddle or change anything, it slows down. I think my cycle is jinxed =(

 

[librarygirl]

Hi there librarygirl, an update here. I did a 90% WC before I seeked the advice of the guys here. Now, instead of processing 1.75ppm of ammonia a day, it has dropped to 1ppm per day. It seems that everytime I do a WC, it slows down the cycling process. But sometimes I am forced into it as my pH keeps dropping, now it is currently 6.6 - 6.4. I am in a catch 22 situation here, if I dont do a water change, the cycle will stall because of the low pH, if I do, the cycle will slow down. Really, is it just my tank or does everyone face such a situation. I dont know how many times I have mentioned being frustrated by this fishless cycle. Now what I,ll be doing is that I will dose up to 5ppm before I leave for my trip. When I get back after 4 days, it should be 0. Then I will dose again to 5ppm and come back 4 days later. I think by leaving my tank alone, it will move faster. Everytime I fiddle or change anything, it slows down. I think my cycle is jinxed =(

What's the PH of your tap water directly from the faucet? Water changes shouldn't be stalling the cycle and I'm suspecting the PH drops are what's stalling it as a PH of low 6's can definitely slow the cycle. Have you added any crushed coral or argonite to the tank yet to buffer the water? If not I''d try it. Most pet/fish stores sell a bag of it in the saltwater section (unfortunately it comes in a larger bag and you're only going to need a small amount). Also get some mesh media bags or a clean nylon stocking. Add a few pinches of the coral or argonite to the stocking or media bag and put it into your filter. Then test PH over the course of a day or two. If levels are still in the low 6's, add a pinch more and keep dong this until PH can stay stable at somewhere above 7. If it goes too high (over 8) then remove some. Once the PH raises some and stays there the cycle should kick-start. PH crashes are very common during cycling as the bacteria are using up the buffers in the water. Once the cycle is completed the PH should even out and stay stable on its own but if your water is very soft it isn't a bad idea to keep the coral or argonite in the filter even with fish (I have some in mine). Try adding it and let us know how you do.

 

[dktms1]

I need some help or maybe need to be more patient, I`m doing a fishless 125 gallon tank cycle, I`m stalled on week 3 right now, Started out week 1 @ 4 ml ammonia, stayed like that for 8 days till my first nitrite reading of .025 which rised slowly each day to maxing out a 1 mil for 2 days then started to lower to were I`m at now .50mil for over 1 week with no change, I have been adding ammonia thru out entire process when ever it has dropped below 1 mil back to 2mil, when I add ammonia now it knocks it out in 12 hours, my nitrates have been at 5.0 thru out never changing, I added old filter media from other tanks i have @ the start, My ph is still fine @ 7.8, I`m using the API test kit, my tank is stalled @ this for a week now ? Do larger tanks stall more often ? Tank is aerated and heated to 82 degrees, running a sump and hob penguin bio wheel filter, any help Thank you David Garner

 

[Deckape]

I need some help or maybe need to be more patient, I`m doing a fishless 125 gallon tank cycle, I`m stalled on week 3 right now, Started out week 1 @ 4 ml ammonia, stayed like that for 8 days till my first nitrite reading of .025 which rised slowly each day to maxing out a 1 mil for 2 days then started to lower to were I`m at now .50mil for over 1 week with no change, I have been adding ammonia thru out entire process when ever it has dropped below 1 mil back to 2mil, when I add ammonia now it knocks it out in 12 hours, my nitrates have been at 5.0 thru out never changing, I added old filter media from other tanks i have @ the start, My ph is still fine @ 7.8, I`m using the API test kit, my tank is stalled @ this for a week now ? Do larger tanks stall more often ? Tank is aerated and heated to 82 degrees, running a sump and hob penguin bio wheel filter, any help Thank you David Garner

Hi David. Just add a little pinch of ground up flake food. Sometimes that helps. Keep up the faith, you're defiantly making progress

 

[librarygirl]

I need some help or maybe need to be more patient, I`m doing a fishless 125 gallon tank cycle, I`m stalled on week 3 right now, Started out week 1 @ 4 ml ammonia, stayed like that for 8 days till my first nitrite reading of .025 which rised slowly each day to maxing out a 1 mil for 2 days then started to lower to were I`m at now .50mil for over 1 week with no change, I have been adding ammonia thru out entire process when ever it has dropped below 1 mil back to 2mil, when I add ammonia now it knocks it out in 12 hours, my nitrates have been at 5.0 thru out never changing, I added old filter media from other tanks i have @ the start, My ph is still fine @ 7.8, I`m using the API test kit, my tank is stalled @ this for a week now ? Do larger tanks stall more often ? Tank is aerated and heated to 82 degrees, running a sump and hob penguin bio wheel filter, any help Thank you David Garner

Hi David. So is ammonia dropping to 0 within 24 hours of dosing each time? And nitrites rose and then fell and are at .5? You could try doing a large water change which might kick-start things. The water might just need to be replenished of minerals and buffers. After the large water change be sure to dose ammonia back up and you could add a small pinch of ground up fish food as well. Keep us posted.

 

[dktms1]

Yes ammonia is dropping prolly in 12 hrs, Doing a large water change now, it was still all the same readings this morning, 0 ammonia, .50 nitrite, 5.0 nitrate, I`ll keep ya posted Thanks again David Garner

 

[librarygirl]

Yes ammonia is dropping prolly in 12 hrs, Doing a large water change now, it was still all the same readings this morning, 0 ammonia, .50 nitrite, 5.0 nitrate, I`ll keep ya posted Thanks again David Garner

OK great, do as large a water change as you can, drain the tank and refill if it's possible. Redose ammonia to 4 after and then check again in 24 hours and let us know what nitrites read. If after 2-3 days nitrites are still stuck we'll have to troubleshoot further. Oh, and only dose ammonia once in 24 hours, even if you test at the 12 hour mark and its zero. Have you been dosing more than once per day? If so that could be the issue.

 

[dktms1]

No only once a day on the ammonia, I did a 90% water change, thank you very much so far

 

[pamelarowley57]

Thanks!

Great info and it finally made sense to me. Thank you so much! I am headed to ACE right now!

 

[dktms1]

Good morning well at least I have some action now in the tank, Ammonia 0, (Nitrites moved up to 1.0). Nitrate 5.0, Seems as tho the nitrites stalled and the water changed help to get em back to moving, wasted a week but o`well, thanks for the help to all so far, So I have added more ammonia this morning, more of the waiting game now, David Garner

 

[librarygirl]

Good morning well at least I have some action now in the tank, Ammonia 0, (Nitrites moved up to 1.0). Nitrate 5.0, Seems as tho the nitrites stalled and the water changed help to get em back to moving, wasted a week but o`well, thanks for the help to all so far, So I have added more ammonia this morning, more of the waiting game now, David Garner

Glad to hear it. Keep us posted!

 

[dktms1]

Back again I have the same readings as yesterday again, 0 ammonia, 1.0 nitrites. Nitrates 5.0, ph 7.6, dosed back up with ammonia will wait till tomorrow again. Thanks David Garner

 

[Kharrnn]

Cycle problem

I'm new to the aquarium hobby and I'm running into a problem with my tank and unfortunately I found this thread after it was too late for me to do a fishless cycle. I'm hoping you can help me though.

I have a new 10g that has Eco-Complete substrate, 8 live plants, driftwood and after about a week of using the Nutrafin cycle on it I added 5 red cherry shrimp (3 berried) and 4 clown loaches to get rid of the snails. Since then, the loaches have all died (don't know why and I did remove them as soon as I saw they were dead), one of the female berried shrimp has hatched (I've seen a few of the babies around). The problem is this: My nitrItes are exploding every night. I did a 50% water change yesterday which brought me down to 1.0. I check it this morning and it's back up to 3.0. I have 0 nitrAtes and I can't test the ammonia. I've bought Stability and started using it yesterday. I also got some filter material from the fish store and added it to my filter a few days ago.

My water parameters are:
pH: 7.2
temp: 78
chlorine: 0
GH: 75
KH: 80


What could be causing this problem and how can I fix it?

 

[egynoor]

Well the clown loaches cant be used to cycle yr tank. so their death is expected. Am not a cycling expert but i think yr only way now.is.to do frequent water change.. Dont try to miss with temperature or ph... So as not to stun the developing bacterial colonies. U can use something like seachem stability, sera nitrivic, ....etc. Anything wiyh " live bacteria" though lots of people would.tell u that u shouldnt!!!! Anyway.... Yr probl will be solved by time and accepting some casualities...the poor things

 

[librarygirl]

I'm new to the aquarium hobby and I'm running into a problem with my tank and unfortunately I found this thread after it was too late for me to do a fishless cycle. I'm hoping you can help me though.

I have a new 10g that has Eco-Complete substrate, 8 live plants, driftwood and after about a week of using the Nutrafin cycle on it I added 5 red cherry shrimp (3 berried) and 4 clown loaches to get rid of the snails. Since then, the loaches have all died (don't know why and I did remove them as soon as I saw they were dead), one of the female berried shrimp has hatched (I've seen a few of the babies around). The problem is this: My nitrItes are exploding every night. I did a 50% water change yesterday which brought me down to 1.0. I check it this morning and it's back up to 3.0. I have 0 nitrAtes and I can't test the ammonia. I've bought Stability and started using it yesterday. I also got some filter material from the fish store and added it to my filter a few days ago. My water parameters are:
pH: 7.2
temp: 78
chlorine: 0
GH: 75
KH: 80


What could be causing this problem and how can I fix it?

Hi and welcome,

How long has the tank been running with fish? If it's less than 4-6 weeks then you're in the midst of cycling the tank and you're probably in the nitrite phase where nitrites spike for a few weeks before they come down on their own. Nitrites in high amounts are dangerous to tank inhabitants just as ammonia is so either or both of those things could have killed your loaches without large frequent water changes to keep the toxin levels low. Clown loaches are not suitable for a 10 gal tank so sorry about that.

Seeded media should help. I'd stop adding the Stability; it's up to you but most times the bacteria in a bottle products aren't very reliable.

What do you have left in the tank now? A few shrimp? You probably have two options now if no fish are left: 1) continue with a fishless cycle using ammonia. The problem is that the shrimp (and probably snails if you have them) aren't going to do well with ammonia so moving them to a temporary tank if you have one would be best for them. 2) You could get one or two small suitable fish for your tank and continue cycling with them but with nitrites that high you'll need to do daily water changes for a while.

There's two links in my signature: new tank with fish (fish-in cycle) and new empty tank (fishless, which is this guide). It's up to you how you want to proceed but the bacteria you're growing in your filters require some sort of ammonia as food.

Let us know what you decide. We can help choose proper fish for your tank if you need it. Good luck.