Cycling My Tank

[Kati]

Hi all!

I am one of those over eager newbies who couldn't wait to put my fish in my new tank. It wasn't until I lost my Brislenose that I found out about cycling and in particular, fishless cycling.

What I need to know is how can I cycle while I have a Molly in the tank? Will one fish be enough to cycle or can I use some 'fish-less' techniques to get things going?

While I was all ready to give it a week and start, slowly, introducing fish I am aware that perhaps I should wait?

My tank is a 22g, I have a new external cannister filter and have some plants already.

Thanks

 

[Kati]

Just to add some info-
The test results on Day 2 were - Ammonia 0.25, Nitrite 0.5, Nitrate 5.00 and pH 7 (I added some of my old fish tank water)
The results today, Day 3, were - Ammonia 0.25, Nitrite 0.5-1.0, Nitrate 5.00 and pH 7.3. Then I did a water change and got - Ammonia 0 - 0.25, Nitrite 0.5, Nitrate 0-0.5, pH 7.3. I changed about 1/3 of the water.

Also - do I continue to add the aquarium salt whilst cycling in the tank?

Thanks

 

[Vampess13]

You can cycle with fish, I have been keeping fish for around 5 years and always cycle my new tanks with fish in them, you just need to be careful not to overstock and ensure you don't overfeed. What kind of molly do you have?
I have recently got a spawn of dalmation molly fry in my tank, in a trap atm but it won't be long before I let them out.

 

[Kati]

The molly I have is a silver one and one that I bred in my last tank before they all got sick This little guy is the only surviving member and is only about 1/2 inch long. My little fighter!

Do you think I need more fish to get the cycle happening? I am still deciding what fish to get but I am interested in Silver Dollars, Guppies and a cat-fish of some type. I had been thinking I would buy them slowly (so as not to shock the system with ammonia) but am worried that the fish I want will not like it?

 

[Snooks1!]

You cannot intermix fishless cycling with fish-in cycling. This would most assuredly kill all of your inhabitants because of NH3 poisoning. You should not get any more fish. If anything, you should rehome the molly and do a proper fishless cycle. This would be the easiest and most human thing to do. There are several links on this site that will tell you how to do a fishless cycle. However, if you can get some mature media for your filter, then the need and time it takes to cycle your tank is greatly diminished, if not completely gone.

Also - do I continue to add the aquarium salt whilst cycling in the tank?

No, the only thing you should add during fishless cycling is NH3. Why are you adding salt?

 

[rdd1952]

Cycling with fish is done all the time. Here is a thread that explains it pretty well. Your main goal is to keep the ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm until the fall to zero. Under the circumstances, it should take long for that to happen as the one small fish you have should not be producing much waste. Once the ammonia and nitrite drop, you will have to add fish slowly as thee won't be much bacteria there. Maybe 2 more fish and then test and wait until the ammonia and nitrite drop again.

As to the salt, mollies are brackish fish and prefer some salt. Most other community fish don'thandle salt well though. The pleco in particular wouldn't do well in salty water. Here is a pretty good thread about using salt in freshwater tanks. Look at the last post by Bignose. You can continue to add the salt for now as the mollie will be fine in it and the salt will actually help neutralize the harmful effects of the nitrite.

 

[fca1963]

A molly won't bear the stress of a cycleless tank ........if you'r so eager to put fishes in your tank I'd suggest to add two tetras black skirt ,they are realy hardy and they will help you to cycle your tank.......

 

[rewlyn]

if you want to know about fish-in cycles check my sig for

Ammonia Levels High

its just under my picture marked as A.L.H.

 

[waterdrop]

Note: this is a more than year old thread...