Another thread about Cycling...

[evalmore]

Hey everybody,

I've posted so many threads in the past couple of days and I just wanted to thank this awesome community for being so welcoming and helpful to new fish owners like myself.

You've all probably seen hundreds of threads about cycling tanks so I'm really sorry for adding another one. I've read every thread, sticky, google article, and anything else I can find on fishless cycling and it seems so painfully complicated to me! I've seen post after post where people who are much more experienced than me are basically banging their heads against the wall because their water is out of wack in one way or another. I haven't started my tank yet, but this cycling thing seems so difficult that it's actually starting to make me reconsider pursuing this hobby. I don't want to be detoured by cycling! It just seems so intimidating and I don't want to mess anything up when I'm setting up my new tank. I want my fish to be as healthy and happy as they can be and I know they won't be healthy or happy with an improperly cycled tank. With all of the contradicting advice I've heard, can someone please throw me a lifeline? I need someone to explain how I can cycle my tank in the simplest terms possible. Thank you so much to anyone who read this and gives me any type of advice!

 

[jlk]

It doesn't need to be complicated! Yes, the amount of info is a bit daunting at first but theres no need to make things harder than they need to be. First things first, have you decided if you want to fishless or fish-in cycle your tank? Theres pros and cons to both methods and various opinions. Silent cycling is also another option but you need to be prepared for plants (lots of them!). Let us know and we can help walk you through everything!

 

[evalmore]

It doesn't need to be complicated! Yes, the amount of info is a bit daunting at first but theres no need to make things harder than they need to be. First things first, have you decided if you want to fishless or fish-in cycle your tank? Theres pros and cons to both methods and various opinions. Silent cycling is also another option but you need to be prepared for plants (lots of them!). Let us know and we can help walk you through everything!

Thank you so much for the support. I'm way beyond overwhelmed! I'm leaning towards fish-less cycling but I really want whatever gives me little to no chance of messing things up. I don't think I've even read about silent cycling yet!

 

[jlk]

Well, it simply breaks down to this- either you cycle fishless (and look at an empty tank for awhile) or cycle fish-in (stocked very minimally) and expect to do frequent water changes for quite a awhile (as in daily or more often). Some people do not have the patience for fishless while others can not make the time and effort commitment of fish-in. If you know anyone with a healthy, established tank that can donate some cycled media, it will make any cycling method a zillion times easier and faster. I don't believe silent cycling is really mentioned very much on here but its basically a fish-in method using lots and lots of fast growing plants to minimize toxin spikes.

 

[shellieca]

Cycling sounds very daunting but its really quite simple as JLK as explained, you just have to have patience which can be difficult at times. I have not done a fish LESS,

 

[shellieca]

Oops accidentally hit sent. I have not done fish LESS only fish IN, it took up to 8 wks for one tank, daily water testing & lots of water changes. It gets a little old forwards the end.

 

[evalmore]

I think I'm definitely leaning towards fish-less cycling. I have plenty of time to let the tank cycle, but doing water changes so frequently with the fish-in cycle won't fit into my schedule...

 

[harleycodr]

You know what...my first fish tank, over 30 years ago, the Internet wasn't available and I knew NOTHING about setting up a tank....but I bought a 20 gallon tank, got everything in one fell swoop and set it up one night, and the next day I put fish in it. Angel fish. Neon tetras. All of the WRONG choices for a totally unestablished tank....the weird thing - was it beginner's luck - the tank took off fine and I switched to salt water some two years later and I was exchanging my angel fish (yes, the same ones) for credit for salt water fish! I just set up a tank today and used some of that start up bacteria stuff and I've got some hearty fish in it right now to be cautious. I don't know what I did RIGHT 30 years ago, but it seems all wrong now. I did dechlorinate my water and that, but I didn't test the water (or even own a test kit until I switched to salt water). I don't want to discourage anyone from being cautious; but I just think this is interesting that I flew by the seat of my pants 30 years ago and had a very stable tank pretty quickly.

 

[Catfish Lover]

Hey everybody,

I've posted so many threads in the past couple of days and I just wanted to thank this awesome community for being so welcoming and helpful to new fish owners like myself.

You've all probably seen hundreds of threads about cycling tanks so I'm really sorry for adding another one. I've read every thread, sticky, google article, and anything else I can find on fishless cycling and it seems so painfully complicated to me! I've seen post after post where people who are much more experienced than me are basically banging their heads against the wall because their water is out of wack in one way or another. I haven't started my tank yet, but this cycling thing seems so difficult that it's actually starting to make me reconsider pursuing this hobby. I don't want to be detoured by cycling! It just seems so intimidating and I don't want to mess anything up when I'm setting up my new tank. I want my fish to be as healthy and happy as they can be and I know they won't be healthy or happy with an improperly cycled tank. With all of the contradicting advice I've heard, can someone please throw me a lifeline? I need someone to explain how I can cycle my tank in the simplest terms possible. Thank you so much to anyone who read this and gives me any type of advice!

Put a CRAP load of plants in your tank to start with and you never even have to go through the so called cycle. Just make sure you get something fast growing. Floating water sprite works the best. Now you still have to add fish slowly but you should NEVER see ammonia in a heavily planted tank. I hope this eases your worries