Don't Want My Cycling Tank To Stall

[littlest]

Well I am nearly cycled. Nearly meaning that after 12 hours 4ppm of ammonia goes down to zero ammonia and 0.25 nitrite in 12 hours. Been this way for a few days, so hopefully nitrite will be reaching zero in twelve hours soon. (darn that 0.25ppm)
Anyway, I am going away on the 26th Sept for five days. Hopefully I will be cycled by then, but since I am going away I don't want to get fish before I go, although I am very tempted to (I got this tank for Christmas but due to homelessness and moving my cycling kept getting interupted, so I desperate for fish now), but it's not a good idea getting fish before you go away is it? I really want to, but it doesn't seem right to get fish and not be there to check things are settling down OK.

anyway, back to point, so I guess I will still be feeding the filter with ammonia, but I won't be there to feed it. I am thinking I could put something in the tank before I go to "rot" and produce ammonia. I have a big tub of goldfish food and no goldfish, so I could chuck a load of that in there (how much?), or is there a better suggestion? I heard people use prawns for cycling but I am vegetarian and really don't want to buy a whole bag of prawns just to throw a couple in my tank. It's too wasteful.

suggestions please.

 

[fourthtimelucky]

I'd put in a couple of good-sized pinches of flake in, tied into the end of a stocking / tights (not ones that have been washed in detergent!) so they don't go all over your tank. That way the bacteria still get fed. To be on the safe side you can do two small baggys of flake, put one in before you go, then ask a friend/neighbour to fish it out and chuck it in the new one on day three or whatever.

I actually cycled a tank using this method when I couldn't find pure ammonia (with several periods of being away during the cycle) and it worked pretty well. A bit slower than if I had done it properly as it was hard to gauge the exact amounts of ammonia going into the tank, but okay.

Even if you have a slight spike/die-off then it probably will only take a day or two to stabilise once you get back. I really wouldn't risk buying fish and then leaving them without supervision though!

Hope this helps.