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Fishless Cycling
By angelhologram from the Shell department, Section Ask Guppylog Posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 12:31:42 PM PST

I posted this information on another site and it has been posted here a few times but I realized it can be hard to find in the Immediate Help section as it is usually only added to post rather than directly addressing the how to's of fishless cycling.

I'm pretty sure I'm not violating any copyrights by quoting myself so I'll just copy and paste this from the posts/e-mails that I've sent dealing with this subject. Most people who have heard the term "fishless cycle" think that all you have to do is put water in a tank and wait a day or two and then add fish. That is not cycling a tank, that is what we refer to as "seasonong your water" and is only the first step in setting up your new tank. So first set up your tank and fill it with water and let it sit for about 3 days, this will help get rid of some of the extra carbon dioxide and nitrogen and allow some of the free oxogen to be absorbed. While you are doing this go to your LFS or pet store and buy the following test kits: AMMONIA, NitrIte, NitrAte. We won't even worry about PH, TDS etc for now because most people can get along without them.
On your way home stop at the grocery store and on the cleaning aisle pick up some clear ammonia. Make sure it is pure ammonia without any additives(pure cleaning ammonia that is). One way to check is to shake it up. Ammonia with additives will foam up. While you are there pick up an eyedropper (should be on the medicine aisle or if there is a pharmacy you may be able to get one of those plastic kinds from the pharmacist for free or a small fee). Go home and unload all your kits, ammonia, and eyedropper and follow these directions.

Step one::: Add 4-5 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons to your tank until NitrItes start registering on the test kit.

Step Two:::Once the NitrItes begin to register, lower the amount of ammonia added daily to 2-3 drops per 10 gallons.

Step Three:::Continue adding 2-3 drops daily until Ammonia and NitrItes are 0 again and NitrAtes have begun to register.

Congratulations! Your tank is now cycled. Do a 25% water change and add 2-3 small fish. You can add more 2-3 more fish in about 2 weeks for best results.

Tanks can be cycled in as little as 7-10 days depending on temperature. Higher temps (not above 80 though) will help your tank cycle faster. "Seeding" your new tank by using filter media, gravel, or decorations from an already established healthy tank can also help speed up the process.

::CAUTION:: Do not use AMQUEL or PRIME or anything that says on the package that it lowers/binds ammonia, ONLY USE A SIMPLE DECLORINATOR!!

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Fishless Cycling | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)

Re: Fishless Cycling (none / 0) (#6)
by gupgupguppy on Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 05:31:23 PM PST

umm maybe all the books i read put me wrong crap I had my tank run for 2weeks it had been my friends tank with old gravel plants and cleaned but used filter system its the eclipse system six tank and I used prime uhoh is that bad and now the chemicals I have are ph up, ick out, and prime balancer thingy grr I shouldnt listen too books did I do it wrong also Im hoping to get a bigger tank for christmas "hint hint to daddy" hahaha so how do I cycle and move the fish from one to another help email me @ kissacarebear2@yahoo.com asap thanks sooo much

Re: Fishless Cycling (none / 0) (#5)
by angelhologram on Sat Aug 05, 2006 at 07:32:11 PM PST

Is there a way to delete the gobbledygook in comment #3 please? And then you can delete this one as well. Thanks.
*BEFORE you buy fish make sure you understand what "Cycling" a tank means <- quoted from miskaral* ~Trying to make a difference one fish at a time~

Re: Fishless Cycling (none / 0) (#4)
by angelhologram on Sat Aug 05, 2006 at 07:29:53 PM PST

Using gravel, plants, rocks, water and filters from an already established tank at the same time as using the fishless cycle recipe is by far the most ideal situation! If you are going to use this method then set the tank up with all of the above and then take a measurement of the ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte in the new tank. Depending on how much gravel, filter media, decorations, and water you use you may be able to skip step # 1 completely and just continue to add 2-3 drops of ammonia per ten gallons a day for 1-2 weeks. Make sure to closely monitor all levels in the tank during this time for any fluctuations! An example would be if I wanted to start another 10gal and decided to use only gravel and decorations from my 55gal (no new gravel or ornaments) and then added used water and filter media from my 55gal. I would basically be importing the entire cycle to the new tank but it would still need the drops of ammonia to feed on. I would wait the 1-2 weeks just to make sure all levels were stabile and then I would do a 25% water change before adding the new fish. Any time you do any kind of fishless cycle make sure to continue adding ammonia until you are ready to add the fish. If you have a tank that cycles in 3 weeks and you aren't going to add the fish for another 2 weeks keep adding 2-3 drops of ammonia daily and do 25% water changes in the tank weekly just as you would if the tank contained fish.

*BEFORE you buy fish make sure you understand what "Cycling" a tank means <- quoted from miskaral* ~Trying to make a difference one fish at a time~

"Most people who have heard the concept (none / 1) (#1)
by unclescott on Sun Feb 19, 2006 at 06:40:16 PM PST

"fishless cycle" think that all you have to do is put water in a tank and wait a day or two and then add fish."

How very, sadly, true! And almost as important is your observation that we want to pace ourselves in adding fish. (Of course that is AFTER a 2-3 week quarantine period, maybe where an anti-parasite treatment is applied.) Adding fish which are progressively a little larger is more of a trick associated with establishing a marine aquarium (because reef fish are quite territorial). And adding a larger or slightly smaller Cory is not going to be a big deal in a FW tank. However that does force us to plan ahead (and learn about the potential residents then rather than later asking "will this snakehead get along with my guppies?) Ok, maybe an exact calculation of what we would want in a community tank is not realistic. But we should have a pretty good idea of what they are like, even taking into consideration how big they will get, their social and dietary habits and how long those fish could live.

No one should try and set up tanks like some of the shops do. Aquarists have a much greater commitment to keeping all of the fish alive and letting them live long and comfortable existences. Leave the "stupid pet shop tricks" to David Letterman. ;)

And miskairal, would you please, when time permits, post a link to this log in Immediate Help - New Tank/Cycling/Setting Up/Water Changing pretty high up in the list. :)

Thanks and all the best!
unc;e scott

Re: "Most people who have heard the concept (none / 0) (#2)
by miskairal on Sun Feb 19, 2006 at 11:42:12 PM PST

Angel that was brilliant! I too have noticed that people think fishless cycling just involves setting up a tank with no fish for up to a month.

Unc - I fully intend for this to be in the Immediate Help but I can't post a link to it until it's out of the queue, which I'm guessing won't be long :)
--
Repeat after me,
I will read the Immediate Help
[ Parent ]

Fishless Cycling | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)

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