Breaking this one down:
blimey.. so for the next 2 months i need to change the water twice a day to keep them alive for my new tank!! do i need to add the de chlorinator to the new water each time??
Usually takes 4-6 weeks for a fish-in cycle. You do need to dechlorinate the new water. Mature tanks can take some chlorine, but cycling tanks you want to treat the bacterial filter with kid gloves.
For both this tank and the new one, you need a liquid based test kit, the API freshwater master kit is one of the most popular. Water changes for the fish-in cycle so that ammonia and nitrIte remain below .25 ppm (nitrAte is ok). You can stop doing them daily and go to a normal weekly maintenance once ammonia and nitrite remain at 0, nitrAte is normal in a cycled tank, though under rare conditions it will also be 0.
The pet store have really annoyed me as i have found out from here their advice was wrong and now my fish are at risk!!! They told me for my 28 litre to de chlorinate the water then add a shoal of tetra and a few days later i could add more and the cycle would just run its course on its own accord... This time ill take advice from people on here who know!!!
There's a lot of love/hate among hobbyists for the pet stores. On one hand, it's the only place to get our stuff, on the other, new hobbyists often think it's the only place to get advice, too. A lot of people get bitten with that thinking, don't be too hard on yourself. The hobby goes through most of its new members, most store employees, and a good few stores themselves inside of a year, so the cycle of bad advice and bad experience in part is perpetuated by the constant flow of newbies on both sides of the transaction.
So for my new tank i need to do a fishless cycle is that right?? also should i have plants or anything in there during the cycle?? does having the water temp high speed up the cycle and do i add anything to the water bar the de chlorinator....many thanks to everyone for your advice it is invaluable!! sorry if im asking so many questions!!!!
Only need to dechlorinate and add ammonia, then do your twice daily tests. Gilli already linked this thread, but I'll throw it in again, as it's the single most useful thread on the whole site, IMO:
http
/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/
Live plants generally do quite well in a fishless cycle. Ammonia and nitrate are effectively plant food, so they'll probably love it. Having a lot of fast growing plants will speed up the cycle - the bacteria won't grow any faster, but an abundance of plants will use up ammonia in the water and perform as part of the biofilter.
