How much ammonia needed to support biofilter until I get fish??

[shasla]

Hi All.
Just setting up my first tank in years and FINALLY it's cycled and can easily process 4ppm ammonia in 24 hours. I'm getting fish in a few days and am wondering if I need to keep dosing 4ppm daily until water change the day before I get fish or more like 1ppm for maintenance? Info online seems to indicate 1ppm, but that doesn't seem like enough to keep the amount of bacteria I've grown going. Thanks.

ps - Fishless Cycling Guide on this site was a huge help to me! Thanks eco23!

 

[sinibotia]

Hi All.
Just setting up my first tank in years and FINALLY it's cycled and can easily process 4ppm ammonia in 24 hours. I'm getting fish in a few days and am wondering if I need to keep dosing 4ppm daily until water change the day before I get fish or more like 1ppm for maintenance? Info online seems to indicate 1ppm, but that doesn't seem like enough to keep the amount of bacteria I've grown going. Thanks.

ps - Fishless Cycling Guide on this site was a huge help to me! Thanks eco23!

Honestly, you don't have to do anything if they're arriving in a few days. When I was hunting around for my multifasciatus, my tank was set up for 2 months empty and I only dosed up to 2ppm once or twice a week. They can go a solid week without feeding before they start to die off.

You also don't need to keep the amount of bacteria you've grown going- 4ppm in a day is way more than you'll ever need unless you're planning on cramming so many fish into that tank that they can't even swim.