The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[eco23]

nop no way anythin else got in there and i dont have any where i can get seeded materiial from as my local pet place doesnt even support fishless cycling as a viable method of setting up a tank. the only other thing iv noticed is sorta like a brown residue which is on one of my ornaments, the top part of my air tube and the plastic parts of the heater, cud tht be anything funny?

That's probably just diatoms which are normal with a newly set up tank. They'll take over the tank, you'll want to throw your aquarium out the window because they're so ugly, and then they'll magically disappear about a month later.

I don't know the AA rules on advertising (so sorry to any mods or admins who see this), but this is the site that sells the seeded sponges-
http://www.angelsplus.com/FiltersSponge.htm
Like I said, I've heard good things and it's worth a shot. Just make sure it's one of the "active" sponges if you get one.

Some people have also had good luck getting things started by adding a bunch of plants. You can buy really cheap, almost impossible to kill plants like Anacharis. If they come out of an established tank at the lfs, they'll contain plenty of beneficial bacteria which can be like seeded media. Lots of plants like Anacharis can simply be floated on top of the water if you don't want to plant them in the substrate. You can just toss them out when the cycle is complete if you don't want to keep them.

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot else I can tell you to do at this point. The most I can offer is to try to rule out possibilities why things aren't moving, but since I revised the guide last week (it's an updated version if you didn't see), pretty much everything is included. As long as all the steps are followed and there's not some other crazy variable (like the soap idea), pH levels arent at some extreme range, etc...it's really hard to say what the issue is without actually being there. Some tanks seem to have a mind of their own, but there's always a cause when things don't go according to plan.

Another big pwc with a healthy dose of quality dechlorinator, as many hardy plants as you can buy, and maybe one of those sponges is your best bet at this point.

 

[Irish.OG87]

I think it's okay to use them as long as you really rinse the heck out of it to make sure you've removed any traces of the bad stuff. I'm not familiar with the bio-wheels though, so anyone else is free to chime in with their opinions.

Haven't been keeping up on this thread lately (shame on me). Been keeping track on Royta's a lil bit. Also Ive been readin a lil bit of FishShack's cycling, I'm sorry you have to take everything apart and clean your tank of the old ammo you were using.
But i wud like to add a about the bio-wheel that eco doesn't know much about, if fishshack is only using biowheels for the filtraiion and nothing else i wud thoroughly clean the bio wheels, they are much better at colonizing BB imo, so you dont want to jeopardize cycling again with the Ace ammo.

Eco just for you lol: The BIO-Wheel Story

 

[Ruth87]

ok, thanks eco will try that.

 

[royta]

Haven't been keeping up on this thread lately (shame on me). Been keeping track on Royta's a lil bit.

Thanks pigeonfood. I've got fish in the tank now. Ammo and nitrites have remained at 0 and nitrates have been slowly climbing. Even had to do a 35% PWC last night. All is well. Thanks for the help everybody. I'll have to post a picture one of these evenings.

 

[FishShack]

Thank you for the feedback Pigeonfood!

The 55 gallon tank - I just ended up throwing out all the filters including the bio-wheels and the gravel. I went ahead and broke everything down and rinsed everything. I have replaced everything and tonight I have refilled the tank with water and added Prime. I have also started with adding the ammo. So here we go again!! Using the ammo from ACE hardware this time.

The 20 gallon tank - I have been doing PWC 25% to 50% everyday for about two weeks now, because the nitrites (1 to 2ppm) are high when I test everyday when I get home from work. The ammo is always 0 and the nitrates are around 5ppm. Trying to make sure I don't lose any fish so I can transfer over to the 55 gallon tank. This process is getting tiresome. It just won't cycle.....

I'll keep you guys in the loop.

 

[eco23]

Thank you for the feedback Pigeonfood!

The 55 gallon tank - I just ended up throwing out all the filters including the bio-wheels and the gravel. I went ahead and broke everything down and rinsed everything. I have replaced everything and tonight I have refilled the tank with water and added Prime. I have also started with adding the ammo. So here we go again!! Using the ammo from ACE hardware this time.

The 20 gallon tank - I have been doing PWC 25% to 50% everyday for about two weeks now, because the nitrites (1 to 2ppm) are high when I test everyday when I get home from work. The ammo is always 0 and the nitrates are around 5ppm. Trying to make sure I don't lose any fish so I can transfer over to the 55 gallon tank. This process is getting tiresome. It just won't cycle.....

I'll keep you guys in the loop.

Just think of the last time as practice for this fishless cycle

The 20 gallon will cycle soon. You're in the nitrIte spike phase, and just like a fishless cycle it will suddenly drop and stay at zero. Keep fighting through it, and you'll see baby blue in the test tube really soon. The Prime will buy you time between the pwc's, so as long as you're changing the water in a 24-36 hour period...your fish should be fine . You're doing a great job.

Keep us updated.

 

[FishShack]

LOL I think the 20 gallon finally cycled, I checked at 11:30am today and the nitrites were 0 and the nitrates were 5ppm. I will check later in the evening but this is a great sign.

For the 55 gallon I have the CC and the mesh bags, how much do I put in and how long do I leave it in? Do I change it out and refill the bag everyday\week? Or just fill the mesh bag and leave it alone?? Should I put it in the tank now?
The 55 gallon is at 4ppm right now and this is day 2 of fishless cycle.

Thanks
FishShack

 

[cichlidpaul]

I will check out that link for sure mate here are some pics just added another 4 fish today and ordered 11 more for tuesday , It was a long long long road but worth every bit of it mate and a big thanks to you keeping me going and yes im glad we done it together mate you are a good friend in my eyes to mate
Watch my tank more now than the tv lol im glad the football has finish i would be in a right old pickle lol

 

[cichlidpaul]

more pics

Few more lol

 

[cichlidpaul]

last two for now lol

lol

 

[tlkng1]

I have to admit I caved somewhat. The cycle had started oh so very slowly after two weeks of no changes and then after a week of constant 4 ppm Ammonia, trace Nitrites and trace Nitrates, I bought two activated sponges (cycling two freshwater tanks) from Angels Plus. I had previously added some Anacharis but the cycle still wasn't kicking up.

The sponges have been running since Thursday night and this morning, the tank with the 4 ppm Ammonia only had .5 ppm Ammonia, no Nitrites and no Nitrates. The other tank that was running 2 ppm Ammonia and no Nitrites or Nitrates was zero across the board this morning.

The fishless cycling is a good thing but it takes forever to get the cycle to kick up if you don't have some sort of seeding material first.

 

[cichlidpaul]

I have to admit I caved somewhat. The cycle had started oh so very slowly after two weeks of no changes and then after a week of constant 4 ppm Ammonia, trace Nitrites and trace Nitrates, I bought two activated sponges (cycling two freshwater tanks) from Angels Plus. I had previously added some Anacharis but the cycle still wasn't kicking up.

The sponges have been running since Thursday night and this morning, the tank with the 4 ppm Ammonia only had .5 ppm Ammonia, no Nitrites and no Nitrates. The other tank that was running 2 ppm Ammonia and no Nitrites or Nitrates was zero across the board this morning.

The fishless cycling is a good thing but it takes forever to get the cycle to kick up if you don't have some sort of seeding material first.

It took me close to nine weeks dude i was pulling my hair out but well worth it good luck with yours i hope it starts to move soon

 

[eco23]

LOL I think the 20 gallon finally cycled, I checked at 11:30am today and the nitrites were 0 and the nitrates were 5ppm. I will check later in the evening but this is a great sign.

For the 55 gallon I have the CC and the mesh bags, how much do I put in and how long do I leave it in? Do I change it out and refill the bag everyday\week? Or just fill the mesh bag and leave it alone?? Should I put it in the tank now?
The 55 gallon is at 4ppm right now and this is day 2 of fishless cycle.

Thanks
FishShack

A good handful in a mesh bag will do it. It will last for the entire cycle, and you can just pull it out and trash it once your cycle is done before your massive pwc at the end.

Congrats on your 20 cycling

 

[eco23]

I will check out that link for sure mate here are some pics just added another 4 fish today and ordered 11 more for tuesday , It was a long long long road but worth every bit of it mate and a big thanks to you keeping me going and yes im glad we done it together mate you are a good friend in my eyes to mate
Watch my tank more now than the tv lol im glad the football has finish i would be in a right old pickle lol

Paul....it looks absolutely gorgeous! Honestly man, I'm jealous. I'm super happy for you, and even though it was a pain in the butt for you to get through...I made a good friend in the process. Congrats bro

 

[eco23]

I have to admit I caved somewhat. The cycle had started oh so very slowly after two weeks of no changes and then after a week of constant 4 ppm Ammonia, trace Nitrites and trace Nitrates, I bought two activated sponges (cycling two freshwater tanks) from Angels Plus. I had previously added some Anacharis but the cycle still wasn't kicking up.

The sponges have been running since Thursday night and this morning, the tank with the 4 ppm Ammonia only had .5 ppm Ammonia, no Nitrites and no Nitrates. The other tank that was running 2 ppm Ammonia and no Nitrites or Nitrates was zero across the board this morning.

The fishless cycling is a good thing but it takes forever to get the cycle to kick up if you don't have some sort of seeding material first.

It can definitely be a test of patience without seeded media. I've heard good things about the sponges...I'm glad you went that route instead of bottled stuff. Keep us posted

 

[cichlidpaul]

Paul....it looks absolutely gorgeous! Honestly man, I'm jealous. I'm super happy for you, and even though it was a pain in the butt for you to get through...I made a good friend in the process. Congrats bro

Thanks dude you know your the man

 

[FishShack]

With the 20 gallon now cycled should I use the seeding media from that tank to push along the 55 gallon tank (fishless cycle)? The 20 gallon has 2 marineland 150 kits on it, 2 bio-wheels and 4 carbon filters total. Could I use maybe one of the carbon filters and place it in the 55 gallon tank? Maybe use more than one? My main concern if I do this will the 20 gallon tank cycle again. Or should I just be patient and just keep going as is....? Could moving some of the decorations to the 55 gallon tank help?

 

[eco23]

With the 20 gallon now cycled should I use the seeding media from that tank to push along the 55 gallon tank (fishless cycle)? The 20 gallon has 2 marineland 150 kits on it, 2 bio-wheels and 4 carbon filters total. Could I use maybe one of the carbon filters and place it in the 55 gallon tank? Maybe use more than one? My main concern if I do this will the 20 gallon tank cycle again. Or should I just be patient and just keep going as is....? Could moving some of the decorations to the 55 gallon tank help?

Since it just cycled I'd be nervous about pulling media. If you wanted, you can SLOWLY start donating media from the 20 to the 55, but I wouldn't do entire filters at once. Your best bet would be to take a pair of scissors and cut out about 15-20% of a piece of filter to move over at a time. Watch the 20 gallon very closely for a few days to make sure it stays stable, and cut out another 15-20% to move over. You can cut a slit in the side of your carbon filter and shake the granules into the trash so the pad itself is available to be cut and donated.

 

[Deckape]

Nice looking tank Paul.

 

[FishShack]

Another question, once the 55 gallon cycles and the fish are moved over from the 20 gallon to 55. Would it also be possible to add freshwater shrimp to the tank with the fish that I have?

2 Red Wag Platy
1 Red Minor Tetra
3 Jumbo Neon Tetra
1 Lamp Eye Tetra
1 Orange Von Rio Flame Tetra