Fishless or Silent Cycle? Which is best?

[FishBearer9845]

Good afternoon
I have a second tank, both from want and from making rookie mistakes
I've read through the cycling guide for adding ammonia but have also read about the silent cycle using plants.
I want to add plants to the tank anyway, so am I right in assuming that if I go down the household ammonia side, I shouldn't add plants yet? Or will the plants aid it?
Is one method safer or quicker (I'm not looking for instant for example)?
Many thanks in advance

 

[Essjay]

With both methods it's not an instant cycle - with fishless the bacteria have to grow and with silent the plants have to show signs of active growth.

But some things to think about:
A lot of plants can't cope with ammonia in the water at the amount we add during a fishless cycle so if plants are added at the start, it is better to do a silent cycle, or do a fishless cycle and plant when the cycle has completed.
With fishless, you can add most of the fish on your lists once the cycle finishes - the process grows more bacteria than are needed by a sensibly stocked tank of fish; with silent it is advisable to stock slowly, adding more fish only when you are sure that the plants are taking up all the ammonia.

If you already have a cycled tank, you can take some filter media from the existing tank (up to a third) and put it in the new tank's filter which will speed us a fishless cycle and act as a back-up for a silent cycle. With fishless, move the media at the start of the cycle, with silent, move the media when you get the first batch of fish. Fill the space left in the old filter with more media.


Provided there are enough plants which are growing, both methods are safe. The only danger would be getting fish before the plants are ready, or adding too many fish for the plants to cope with.

 

[FishBearer9845]

@essjay You really are a fountain of knowledge! I know this forum is super friendly but thank you for explaining things the way you do - easy to understand and not patronising.
Think I'll go with the household ammonia. Do you have recommendations of shops I could pop to (Suffolk, UK based) that sell ammonia non fragranced, nothing added?

 

[Essjay]

I know that Homebase used to sell ammonia but I don't know if they do now - though so many Homebase branches have closed there may not be one near you. I got mine form my local independent DIY shop - Kleen Off Household Ammonia (caution there are other Kleen Off products and someone once tried to cycle a tank with oven cleaner!). Failing that, the only other ammonia I can find is Dr Tim's ammonium chloride on Ebay and Amazon which is intended for cycling. If you get that one, we can look at how much you need to use.

 

[FishBearer9845]

@essjay Homebase where I am has this one https://www.homebase.co.uk/max-strength-ammonia-500ml_p400283
Also, is it okay for me to add driftwood into the aquarium before adding the ammonia? Or would I add this after the cycle (I know the guide has said about decorations first but driftwood is a bit different imo, in terms of the chemical changes it could make?)

 

[Essjay]

I think that one is OK. The description says it's 9.5% so you can use the calculator on here to work out how much to use.
It doesn't say on the web page, but check the ingredients to make sure there's no detergent or perfume in it. If you want to make 100% sure, put some in a clear bottle with a lid and give it a good shake. If there are just big bubbles which burst quickly it's good to use; if it makes a foam it's got detergent in. Be careful, don't breathe in the fumes!

Driftwood lowers pH slightly (unless you have hard water when nothing lowers pH) and the higher the pH the better for cycling. if there's room, I'd be inclined to put it in your first tank during cycling where it will grow some bacteria on its surface which you can then move into the new tank as extra bacteria.

 

[FishBearer9845]

Thank you so much!

 

[Retired Viking]

I do the silent/planted cycle now with all my tanks. It is a natural balanced way to set up a tank. I add several plants like java ferns and sword plants to my tank but the plants I rely on to take care of the ammonia is the fast growing floating plants. Plants like Anacharis, moneywort, hornwort, salvinia, frog bite and water sprite are good examples of the ammonia absorbing plants to use for a silent cycle. I have just the plants in the tank for about 2 weeks before I add fish. My 1st tank I did this with was a 55 gallon tank and I added a shoal of small tetras 5-6 fish like neon or glow light tetra and waited a week before adding another shoal of fish. I test for ammonia during this time. I take my time and never had a ammonia reading above 0. good luck