Really confused about cycling a tank???

[mandy2936]

I'm very confused and frustrated because I thought I understood how to cycle a tank until I was told otherwise. Here's what I thought:

The point of cycling a tank is to grow good bacteria that will eat the toxic Ammonia that fish produce.

I have been cycling my tank for 13 days, and my readings are:
Ammonia- 0.25
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- Around 20

I asked someone why my Nitrate was so high, and how to lower it, so it's safe for my fish. I also asked how to lower my ammonia to 0 so I can start adding fish.

They told me that I'm not even cycling my tank at all, you have to add ammonia.

????
What? Why would I want something toxic?
What am I doing wrong?

Please help!


P.S I have done nothing to tank besides run it for 13 days. I thought the cycling process what supposed to take place and over time my Ammonia and Nitrite would go to 0, and my Nitrate would be low, 0-10 or something. Then it would be safe for my fish.

So now that I'm told otherwise, I'm confused.

 

[neilanh]

I'm assuming you're doing a fishless cycle, meaning you have nothing in the tank right now but decorations, water, maybe a heater and a filter.

In our articles section is a really good article on fishless cycling, there's a link in my signature, check it out and it might answer your questions.

in short, however, you do need to add an ammonia source to fuel the cycle. This is because you have no fish to produce waste, which then decomposes and basically turns into ammonia. You can use a pure ammonia source, some people use fish food, raw shrimp etc. The point is to build up a toxic environment, without any fish that can be harmed in this environment, so that the beneficial bacteria can grow to a healthy colony that can then consume the fish waste without allowing the toxic levels to harm the fish.

 

[mandy2936]

OK so I just need to add some fish flakes. How often and how much should I add?

Do I just let the food float to the bottom? Do I ever clean it up, or what?

 

[meegosh]

If you can find pure ammonia that would be the best bet. Fish food can lead to algae outbreaks due to excess phosphates. Ace hardware sells some "Janitorial Strength" ammonia that is pure ammonia and surfactant free. You can shake the bottle and if it bubbles that is not the right stuff.

I'd recommend reading some articles to familiarize yourself with the nitrogen cycle. I have listed a few below:

Nitrogen Cycle

Tips and tricks for your fastest fishless cycle!

 

[mommytron]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

this is a great thread about how to fishless cycle. i'll try to explain it best i can in simple terms.

you are correct about the reason you need to cycle--to build up good bacteria that will process ammonia into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates.

in order to build up that bacteria though, you need to first have ammonia present in the tank. think of ammonia as the good bacteria's food. the bacteria will eat the ammonia and turn it into nitrite. then more bacteria will grow and turn the nitrite into nitrate.

i'm guessing your ammonia is at .25ppm right now because it is present in your tap water. before you start your cycle it is a good idea to test your tap water to see what you are dealing with.

in order to build up enough bacteria, you will need to "dose" your tank with more ammonia than that. 4ppm is what most people like to dose to. although it is possible to use fish food, it is highly unpredictable and very messy. it takes at least a couple of days for fish food to decompose and start producing ammonia, and it doesn't do it all at once, instead it will produce ammonia gradually, making it very hard to test and to control the amount in your tank. also, having to leave all sorts of fish food in your tank makes it incredibly messy. it will start molding in your tank, but you don't want to clean it out all the time because you need that ammonia there to feed the bacteria.

the easiest and cleanest source of ammonia, IMO, is pure ammonia. it can be found at almost any hardware store, and some drug stores. most people on this forum have found theirs at Ace hardware. whatever ammonia you get, you want to make sure it is labeled "clear" ammonia or "janitorial strength" ammonia or "100%" ammonia, or something similar. it must NOT contain any perfumes, surfactants, dyes, etc. the easiest way to tell is if you shake it, no bubbles form in the solution. (trust me, make sure it is pure, or else you will be throwing out your filter media and tearing down your whole tank to scrub everything and start over like i did!!)

so make sure you have your test kit handy, and a notebook and pen (or other recording device) because it will surely help. read as much as you can about it until you understand it--the nitrogen cycle is incredibly important to keeping a successful aquarium.