Hi everybody. I first want to say that I did extensive reading on tank cycling withOUT fish and I'm still so confused. So I figured I'd come here and give it a shot.
My question:
Is there any way a new tank can be "cycled" without using either fish or ammonia? I read that I can just add some fish food and that will produce the stuff needed to get this bacteria cycle going. But is that enough?
We are willing to be as patient as it takes for this, absolutely no rush here..... probably one of the reasons I don't want to use "disposable fish" if it isn't truly necessary. Also, may be a bit odd, but I don't want to use [bottled] ammonia either.
Any and all advice will be truly appreciated!! Thanks!
(specifics)
- We got a 29 gallon saltwater tank -> added the water+salt mix -> used hydrometer. etc etc
- Added sand on the bottom (its crushed coral).
- A week later we bought 25 lbs of "cured" live rock form local pet store.
- The rock has been sitting in the tank for 5 days now.
- We have a filter hanging on the top and one powerhead (so far) that have also been running for the whole time (since day one). The water temperature has been at a constant 75~ degrees.
- We did a test on the water on 9/24 for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and PH. Ammonia + nitrite were at 0, and the other 2 were within basically perfect ranges... So am I still waiting for a spike? Do I have to do something to make that spike happen? LOL My gosh I am so lost at this point. lol
My question:
Is there any way a new tank can be "cycled" without using either fish or ammonia? I read that I can just add some fish food and that will produce the stuff needed to get this bacteria cycle going. But is that enough?
We are willing to be as patient as it takes for this, absolutely no rush here..... probably one of the reasons I don't want to use "disposable fish" if it isn't truly necessary. Also, may be a bit odd, but I don't want to use [bottled] ammonia either.
Any and all advice will be truly appreciated!! Thanks!
(specifics)
- We got a 29 gallon saltwater tank -> added the water+salt mix -> used hydrometer. etc etc
- Added sand on the bottom (its crushed coral).
- A week later we bought 25 lbs of "cured" live rock form local pet store.
- The rock has been sitting in the tank for 5 days now.
- We have a filter hanging on the top and one powerhead (so far) that have also been running for the whole time (since day one). The water temperature has been at a constant 75~ degrees.
- We did a test on the water on 9/24 for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and PH. Ammonia + nitrite were at 0, and the other 2 were within basically perfect ranges... So am I still waiting for a spike? Do I have to do something to make that spike happen? LOL My gosh I am so lost at this point. lol