joannde
Aquarium Advice Addict
Whew, great ! Are you using the ammonia or the shrimp method ? If you're using ammonia make sure its PURE ammonia (ammonia and water, nothing else) - shake the bottle like crazy. If there's ANY foam do NOT use it. If you're in the states most people use ACE Hardware Janitorial ammonia.
Personally I started with ammonia and once it started to drop and turn to nitrites I switched to a shrimp. After 3 wks of that I got VERY impatient and bought Bio-Spira (which is "good bacteria in a bag", a little difficult to find, a little expensive, but for the impatient worth every ounce of energy and penny spent - assuming you get a good batch). The Bio-Spira finished off the cycle in 4 days so that I could finally add fish.
If you have any questions on how to do the fishless cycle just come back and ask - we're here for ya !
Personally I started with ammonia and once it started to drop and turn to nitrites I switched to a shrimp. After 3 wks of that I got VERY impatient and bought Bio-Spira (which is "good bacteria in a bag", a little difficult to find, a little expensive, but for the impatient worth every ounce of energy and penny spent - assuming you get a good batch). The Bio-Spira finished off the cycle in 4 days so that I could finally add fish.
If you have any questions on how to do the fishless cycle just come back and ask - we're here for ya !