Please note, I am in no way a expert, I just want to share my 2 cents on fishless cycling. Items needed at bottom.
I started out small, with a measly 10 gallon. I had no idea about cycling, all my fish (2) died, one survived. After a long, sad 2 months without knowledge, my tank was cycled ( unknown by me at the time). Now, fast forward 1 year. I am currently cycling my 45 gallon!! My 10 gallon is thriving, and my one fish is still there .
Anyway, to the cycling.
Step 1) (Optional, but highly recommended!)
Find yourself some seeding material. Gravel (what I used) in a plastic baggy with holes or panty hose works fine, filter media works even better. Get this from an old tank. Put your seeding material in the tank/filter. Do NOT remove seeding material for 2+ weeks after your tank is cycled!!
Step 2) Get yourself some ammonia. PURE ammonia and water. No dye, or scents, or any other additives.
Step 3) Find the appropriate amount of ammonia needed.
Add 1 ml (or drop, or whatever amount you want) to 1 gallon of water. Let it settle for an hour. Test the water, and some simple math should tell you your dosage. The ideal amount is 3-5 ppm ammonia.
Step 4) Dose your tank
Simply add the amount of ammonia you added for the 1g, X ___ amount of gallons in your tank.
Step 5) Wait. Add a small pinch of fish food to speed up the process. Plants also thrive in these conditions... Remember do NOT add fish! Your seeding material (If you have it) should greatly decrease the waiting time.
While waiting, test at least 2 times a day.
First, your ammonia should spike (the 3-5 ppm you added.) Now, after a couple of days, (Or weeks, it varies!) nitrites should start to show up. In a few days, they will be off the charts. NitrAtes should not be present yet. (Low amounts from tap water does not count.) Now, give it some time, and your NitrAtes will be OFF THE CHART. You can do a water change to get it back to a readable level. When you reach this point, continue monitoring your water parameters.
All the while, your ammonia should be steadily dropping. This is because it is becoming nitrItes, the nitrAtes. Dose it up back to 1 ppm when needed.
*****Items needed*****
Heater (Keep at 80ish degrees f)
Seed material (Optional)
Pure ammonia (Try looking on amazon!)
Liquid test kit
Extra test tubes (Optional)
Test tube rack (Optional)
Pipettes (Optional)
Of course your tank too!
Buckets and siphon for water changes
How did I do? I'm sure I made some mistakes, but hopefully this can give any newbies a rough idea of what cycling is like.
Comment any questions or suggestions and I'll be happy to help!
Cycling 45 Gallon. ???
I started out small, with a measly 10 gallon. I had no idea about cycling, all my fish (2) died, one survived. After a long, sad 2 months without knowledge, my tank was cycled ( unknown by me at the time). Now, fast forward 1 year. I am currently cycling my 45 gallon!! My 10 gallon is thriving, and my one fish is still there .
Anyway, to the cycling.
Step 1) (Optional, but highly recommended!)
Find yourself some seeding material. Gravel (what I used) in a plastic baggy with holes or panty hose works fine, filter media works even better. Get this from an old tank. Put your seeding material in the tank/filter. Do NOT remove seeding material for 2+ weeks after your tank is cycled!!
Step 2) Get yourself some ammonia. PURE ammonia and water. No dye, or scents, or any other additives.
Step 3) Find the appropriate amount of ammonia needed.
Add 1 ml (or drop, or whatever amount you want) to 1 gallon of water. Let it settle for an hour. Test the water, and some simple math should tell you your dosage. The ideal amount is 3-5 ppm ammonia.
Step 4) Dose your tank
Simply add the amount of ammonia you added for the 1g, X ___ amount of gallons in your tank.
Step 5) Wait. Add a small pinch of fish food to speed up the process. Plants also thrive in these conditions... Remember do NOT add fish! Your seeding material (If you have it) should greatly decrease the waiting time.
While waiting, test at least 2 times a day.
First, your ammonia should spike (the 3-5 ppm you added.) Now, after a couple of days, (Or weeks, it varies!) nitrites should start to show up. In a few days, they will be off the charts. NitrAtes should not be present yet. (Low amounts from tap water does not count.) Now, give it some time, and your NitrAtes will be OFF THE CHART. You can do a water change to get it back to a readable level. When you reach this point, continue monitoring your water parameters.
All the while, your ammonia should be steadily dropping. This is because it is becoming nitrItes, the nitrAtes. Dose it up back to 1 ppm when needed.
*****Items needed*****
Heater (Keep at 80ish degrees f)
Seed material (Optional)
Pure ammonia (Try looking on amazon!)
Liquid test kit
Extra test tubes (Optional)
Test tube rack (Optional)
Pipettes (Optional)
Of course your tank too!
Buckets and siphon for water changes
How did I do? I'm sure I made some mistakes, but hopefully this can give any newbies a rough idea of what cycling is like.
Comment any questions or suggestions and I'll be happy to help!
Cycling 45 Gallon. ???