Fishless cycle information

[afullerton]

I started a fishless cycle 5 days ago on a 65 gallon tank. Could not find any ammonia without additives. I decided to use fish food. My ammonia readings are 4.0ppm. Nitrites are 0. Temp is at 80 degrees. I was wondering how long it takes before I start getting nitrite readings.
I've read it could take some time. I'm trying not to be impatient, but I was wondering if there is a time I should be concerned if nitrites still read 0.

 

[Mebbid]

It commonly takes up to a month or more to fishless cycle a tank.

If you go to your lfs and ask for some filter squeezings it will help speed up the process by quite a lot.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

If you can find a PigglyWiggly or Ace Hardware store in your area, their store band ammonia didn't have additives (not the last time I checked... which was a few years ago).

But even with ammonia, it can easily take 4 to 8 weeks to fishless cycle a tank.

 

[Laeris]

Confirmed, got a bottle at Ace a bit over a month ago.

 

[ScotJudd]

I started a fishless cycle 5 days ago on a 65 gallon tank. Could not find any ammonia without additives. I decided to use fish food. My ammonia readings are 4.0ppm. Nitrites are 0. Temp is at 80 degrees. I was wondering how long it takes before I start getting nitrite readings.
I've read it could take some time. I'm trying not to be impatient, but I was wondering if there is a time I should be concerned if nitrites still read 0.

Hi. The problem with cycling a brand new squeaky clean tank is that there is hardly any bacteria in it. You have to wait for nature to take its course and naturally seed the tank. This time scale is usually weeks, but can be months. What it needs is some help and the help is a good dose of muck (containing loads of bacteria) from an established tank. It really is the best short cut.


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