Cycyling A New Tank

[guppyman1]

I have recently just set up my aquarium and it has been running for 4 days now. I have everything set up the tempreature to 78 degress, the filter on, the oxegen bubble thing running. I have also mixed water conditionier. My goal is to set up a community tank where I can have guppies and breed them. After researchign I have read up a fishless cycyling but need some assitance.

Tell me if my basic understanding of cycling is correct: A newly started tank does not have bacteria established to break down the ammonium which is realeased by fish. So with out bacteria the fish will die out or be damaged. When bacteria is established it converts the ammonium in to nirite which is also toxic. After some other thing converts the nitrite into nitrate which is still a little dangerous but can be maintined by 25% water changes.

So what the thing that converts the nitrite into nitrate?

I am going to be purchasing a tets kit I already have a PH test kit...what do i even need that for? I also have a NH3 and NH4 test kit I think those to are for the ammonium but why are there 2? Can someone list all the test equipment that I should have like the PH test kit, ammonium test kit and what else.

Another thing is I will be strating fish-less cycly soon with pure-ammonium but have a few questions. How long should it take until my 25g tank is cycled and how long would it take if I can get filter media and some gravel from an established tank. Do i even need to mix pure-ammonium if I have someone elses filter media and gravel?

Thanks,
Any info will be greatly appreaciated.

 

[Mikaila31]

Bacteria is what converts nitrite to nitrate. There are two types of bacteria responsible for the cycle one converts ammonia to nitrite, the other converts nitrite to nitrate.

If I remember NH3 is ammonia, NH4 is ammonium. Ammonium is less toxic than ammonina. Usually there is a equilbrium between NH3 and NH4. I would not bother with the NH4 kit... most ammonia tests pick up both NH3 and NH4 as far as I am aware.

You want PH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits. A good buy is API Freshwater Master test kit.

Generally a fishless cycle takes about a month. It is hard to say what will haven if you seed the tank. It is all dependent on how much bacteria you add to the tank. It may only help a little, it may cut your time in half, and you can instantly cycle a tank with enough mature media. You must still add ammonia too feed the bacteria and too see where the cycle is at.

A tank that has been cycle and is left without a ammonia source will uncycle in a couple days as the bacteria will starve and die.

 

[Mounit98]

Hey there.....I am new to this Fishless cycle as well, so I wont be able to help out much, but you should check out this link! Fishless Cycling

This is what I have been following, and I havent had any worries at all. It has been going pretty fast for me. I did the same thing you did.....My fish had died, so I wanted to start brand new and I completely washed everything, so I could jus start fresh!

I think this article will be very helpful, and Im sure you will learn everything you need to know along the way!!

They say it is best to have a Master testing kit....I use API and it has been working great. These testing kits are more accurate than the test strips.

Also for how long it will tank your tank to cycle is really unknown. There have been people to do it in 1 month to several months. If you are able to get some Mature Media to add to your tank the process will be a lot quicker!!

Hope this helps a little!

Also.....what the article doesnt state.....is that you need to up the temp in your tank to 84 degree's. Also I dont think I read that you have any live plants so I would keep your light off in the tank, so you do not produce any Algae!

 

[OldMan47]

You have a few options to get a jump start on a new filter. The first is to borrow some media from an established filter and put it into the new filter. It is fairly safe to steal as much as 1/3 of the existing filter's contents and just replace them with new media. That gives you a sizable piece of mature media to get things going. Another approach that works for filters that do not have replaceable media, such as a sponge filter, is to simply clean your existing filter in the new tank as if the new tank was your cleaning bucket. Again you will be transferring a large number of bacteria directly to the new filter by doing that. Another approach, much like the last one, is to get "filter squeezings" from someone who has an established filter. This will give you a jump start but not at the same level as the other methods. I find that I almost always can finish a fishless cycle in under a week by using the second method and cleaning one of my dirty filters in the new tank. I use a lot of sponge filters and similar things so moving media is not always an option.

 

[jmiller]

I'm finishing up my first fishless cycle and with a tiny piece of mature media and some "squeezings" it was done in 14 days.

 

[Twinklecaz]

I'm jealous that I don't have anywhere to get mature media from

 

[Twinklecaz]

A tank that has been cycle and is left without a ammonia source will uncycle in a couple days as the bacteria will starve and die.

and I think that's answered one of my questions (sorry butt in Guppy).....once my cycle is finished, I have to get my fish within a couple of days or it will uncycle?

 

[jmiller]

A tank that has been cycle and is left without a ammonia source will uncycle in a couple days as the bacteria will starve and die.

and I think that's answered one of my questions (sorry butt in Guppy).....once my cycle is finished, I have to get my fish within a couple of days or it will uncycle?

I asked the same question in another thread and was told the initial die off in the first 24 hrs was very small, just a few %, but then the % drops drastically.

 

[Mikaila31]

A tank that has been cycle and is left without a ammonia source will uncycle in a couple days as the bacteria will starve and die.

and I think that's answered one of my questions (sorry butt in Guppy).....once my cycle is finished, I have to get my fish within a couple of days or it will uncycle?

I asked the same question in another thread and was told the initial die off in the first 24 hrs was very small, just a few %, but then the % drops drastically.

You don't have to get fish right away. As long as you keep adding ammonia on a regular basis the tank will remained cycled. I believe a fully cycled tank should process 5ppm of ammonia in 12hours(it might be 24hrs though...). As long as you keep adding the ammonia you can maintain the cycle. Once the fish are added they will produce the ammonia and the tank will stay cycled.

Don't overdo the ammonia though. You should not go over 5ppm because it can stall the cycle.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Ok, thanks both of you!