What I learned from Fishless Cycling

[Masha]

I've just gone through the Fishless Cycling process recently and wanted to note down what I learnt before I forget the details - maybe others can benefit.

I'm talking about tips that are not mentioned here: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

* Don't set a date by which the cycle must be finished. It will take its own time and you'll just get frustrated.

* Keep a record of your readings. You think you'll remember how much of what you added and what the levels were, but it's super easy to get confused.

* Don't just chuck in a tea-spoon of ammonia. Measure an exact amount by counting drops, or using a syringe or some such method. It can drive you crazy if you think you've added x amount and actually there's a lot more or a lot less ammonia in the tank.

* Don't dose up to 4ppm ammonia. The nitrite spikes are dreadful and yes, it does stall the cycle. If I ever have to do this again, I'd probably dose up to 2 or even 1ppm and then increase the amount once the cycle is complete - and allow the bacteria to grow even more.

* Seeding from an existing cycled tank is not that straight-forward. Sponge squeezing probably don't contain enough bacteria to instantly cycle another tank, although it does speed things up. Transferring an entire sponge probably works a lot better. A scoop of gravel seems to work well as well - but only to speed things up, not to instantly cycle.

* Temperature makes a huge difference. I accidentally switched off my heater and I could see the difference in the speed of the cycle quite clearly. Cranking up the heater works.

* When testing, make sure your rinse the tube with tankwater first to avoid contamination from your previous test.

Anyone have additional tips they figured out that are not mentioned in that article?

(And yes, I agree there's nothing wrong with fish-in cycling if done right, that's not what I'm asking about though )

 

[gd007]

* Don't dose up to 4ppm ammonia. The nitrite spikes are dreadful and yes, it does stall the cycle. If I ever have to do this again, I'd probably dose up to 2 or even 1ppm and then increase the amount once the cycle is complete - and allow the bacteria to grow even more.

Interesting.... I had not thought about this. I am about to start a cycling program myself and was looking to start at 4ppm. You've given me something to mull over.

 

[Masha]

Interesting.... I had not thought about this. I am about to start a cycling program myself and was looking to start at 4ppm. You've given me something to mull over.

I think it's a bit controversial as advice. But I'd say you can't go wrong dosing lower at first. Thing is, when the nitrites start spiking you have to do so many enormous water changes and if your tank is large, that's not a joke!

At one point I had to do three back to back changes over 70% to get nitrites down to a readable level, and that was dosing up to 4ppm.

I would say that if you want the filter to handle that much, first get the cycle established, then gradually up the amount of ammonia, still testing till you are cycling your target amount. Others will disagree!

 

[gd007]

I like your idea. I reference that after you successfully finish the cycle most threads also caution "keep feeding the bacteria you just built up until the night before you add fish".

I'm thinking to myself - well, i'm only going to get a few small fish in the beginning (for several reasons, perhaps i'll get from different locations - online versus lfs - and to quiet the kids down after waiting weeks through the hopefully successful cycling) and i'm certainly not going to add ammonia when the fish are in the tank.

I might 'meet in the middle' and start with 3 ppm


As for water changes - my water source is literally 3 feet away from the tank so i'm not hauling water a great distance.


I am trying to balance patience with the fishless cycle routine against the reality that I only have so much time to devote to this new project/hobby... and the kids "can we get fish yet" questions (which have started - tank is still bone dry)...

 

[Masha]

Yep - the empty stage must drag if you have kids
Why not get them involved in researching fish? Also good if they learn that not all fish can go together, or that some fish need certain kinds of tanks etc.

 

[gd007]

they are 4 & 6 .... so we'll see.

 

[Masha]

they are 4 & 6 .... so we'll see.

Ah! That will be more of a challenge then

 

[gd007]

FYI - I started my fishless cycle today and went a bit lower than 4ppm. I did my calculation for 3.85 because that ended up only requiring 8ml of the ammonia fluid I have. I figured it was easier to go with a nice round number (for chemical addition).

Lets see how this goes. I plan to start a thread chronicling my experience as it unfolds...

 

[Masha]

Well good luck gd007, hope it's a smooth process

 

[monaro_gto]

keep a good eye on PH. I was focused on ammo, nitrite and nitrate and stopped testing ph. I didnt know this at the time but my PH crashed and stalled the cycle. Probably added an extra 2 weeks to my cycle.

 

[FrankoQ]

My cycle ended about a week ago.
Track your water test readings by date.
Set a recurring event on your phone calendar to remind you.
be patient.
When nitrates show up, start planning stock and where to get it from.
Your LFS might not have what you want. what do you do then?
so, plan ahead.

 

[Masha]

keep a good eye on PH. I was focused on ammo, nitrite and nitrate and stopped testing ph. I didnt know this at the time but my PH crashed and stalled the cycle. Probably added an extra 2 weeks to my cycle.

Ah, that's a good point. By chance I did not have that problem, but I've seen others mention it.

 

[threnjen]

My pH also crashed and stalled my cycle. The moment I fixed it with baking soda, everything jumped into place.

 

[flyfishfan1966]

I am cycling a 180 gal.
I am 1 day in.
I totally hear you on the water changes.
Close or not it's a lot of water to Prime.
I was thinking about a dechlorinator.

 

[1998golfer]

During my fishless cycle, I added 4ppm of ammonia every time it went under 1ppm. I never had any nitrite reading at all throughout the entire cycle, which amazes me. What's also weird is that after having fish in there for over a month, nitrate is still 5ppm (yes I do 50% weekly waterchanges with a python) do you think the wcs are making the nitrate that low? Or is it something else? I'll be adding plants soon so I need some nitrate... I've only been feeding my fish every other day, could that also be contributing to low nitrate? I've got a gourami, 6 albino Cory catfish, 1 albino bn pleco, 3 black kuhli loaches, 6 serpae tetras, and 2 mystery/Apple snails.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[venymae]

they are 4 & 6 .... so we'll see.

Well, they could "build a house for the fish" let them help put in the gravel, plants, etc. Worked for my 2yo. (At least for a day!)

 

[Caliban07]

Interesting.... I had not thought about this. I am about to start a cycling program myself and was looking to start at 4ppm. You've given me something to mull over.

Dosing lower amounts of ammonia is something that I've always advocated. I just think it's better all round.

1) less chance of stall due to high nitrites

2) less chance ph crash

3) less back breaking water changes.

4) less unnecessary use of test kit.