Fishless Cycle - Not Going Too Well!

[Gelt]

Sorry if I appear blunt....
Cycle aids do not work, as proven by someone on this forum who tested a range of them . Secondly read the fishless cycle thread in the beginners section, fishless cycle is by far the best way to go.
Also it takes time , you are not really cycling the tank and the water , you are cycling the filter to colnoise the two forms of bacteria that is required to sustain fish in their little glass world. In order to do this 'fishless' only two methods really are used, add daily and add and wait method. Both require you to simulate fish waste by adding ammonia. testing is a must with a good liquid test kit, this is the only way that you can tell what is occurring in your water , if you know this then the results will indicate the what's occurring in your filter. first the Abacs colonise , these are the ones that munch your ammonia or fish waste if you like- second and relatively slower are the Nbacs that convert NitrIte to the less harmful NitRate which we remove in our weekly water changes. The ONLY way to speed up this cycle process is to add some mature media to your filter form a established already cycled filter, however this
Will only shorten the process by a few days not weeks - as in my cycle log.
Please consider the fishless cycle and not the fish in cycle, why subject your fish to harmful levels of ammonia form their own waste that your filter cannot process initially within 6-12 hours. I consider the fish in cycle as a last and emergency resort which requires large daily water changes to prevent harm coming to your fish.
remember LFS will sell you anything , some are good and give great advice however they are shops and need to sell stuff to make a profit .
This forum is you best source of information tried and tested, very knowledgeable members who will be only to happy to help you along , advise you and troubleshoot your fish woes - believe me you will have some along the way!
Good luck and no question is a stupid one!
G

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I have one. Check the fish-in cycle thread.

Just kidding. Do water changes whenever ammonia or nitrite gets over .25ppm.

Thanks. On a serious note - is there a 'fish-in cycle' thread? I did try looking but couldn't find anything. Perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough

IN my sig, but I agree with Gelt. FIshless cycling is the way to go. The bacterial bloom will clear itself shortly. Keep the tank dark during the cycling process to prevent algae as: light + ammonia = algae.

 

[mcfc4eva]

Okay, received the API test kit.

For some reason the PH was 7.8, should it be lower? The water in my area is quite hard - don't know how much that contributes?

The Ammonia is probably just under .25ppm. Nitrates/Nitrites obviously 0.

Thank you for all your advice and comments.

I'm sure I'll get a few protests, but I think today I'll drain the aquarium and prepare for a fish-in cycle . I'm still unsure what to stock the tank with, it's only 10g so I was thinking a betta splenden, what are the best tank mates to go with him? My friend had his with a few neon tetra's but the betta killed 2 of them before he could rescue the rest. Perhaps Danios?

 

[XeroTolerance]

Okay, received the API test kit.

For some reason the PH was 7.8, should it be lower? The water in my area is quite hard - don't know how much that contributes?

The Ammonia is probably just under .25ppm. Nitrates/Nitrites obviously 0.

Thank you for all your advice and comments.

I'm sure I'll get a few protests, but I think today I'll drain the aquarium and prepare for a fish-in cycle . I'm still unsure what to stock the tank with, it's only 10g so I was thinking a betta splenden, what are the best tank mates to go with him? My friend had his with a few neon tetra's but the betta killed 2 of them before he could rescue the rest. Perhaps Danios?

My pH is also 7.8 so I don't think there is a problem.

For your stocking problem I'm not sure, but I can tell you what I'm doing for my 10 gallon. I'm adding 5 Flame Tetras, 2 Mystery Snails, and 1 Ghost Shrimp.

 

[the_lock_man]

Okay, received the API test kit.

For some reason the PH was 7.8, should it be lower? The water in my area is quite hard - don't know how much that contributes?

The Ammonia is probably just under .25ppm. Nitrates/Nitrites obviously 0.

Thank you for all your advice and comments.

I'm sure I'll get a few protests, but I think today I'll drain the aquarium and prepare for a fish-in cycle . I'm still unsure what to stock the tank with, it's only 10g so I was thinking a betta splenden, what are the best tank mates to go with him? My friend had his with a few neon tetra's but the betta killed 2 of them before he could rescue the rest. Perhaps Danios?

Yeah, you probably will (and have), and I'm one of the protesters, but it's your choice. Ultimately, you have to ensure that ammonia and nitrite never, and I mean never, go over 0.25ppm. That's an awful lot of water changes. Bear in mind, that this means that when you do a water change, the poison level must be well under that 0.25ppm mark, so that it doesn't creep over before you do your next change.

Danios, IMHO, are a no-no for you. (A) They need a long tank to zoom about in and (B) they will freak out the Betta, by being too zoooooomy. My betta has always got on well with my various livebearers (platy, molly, endler) but not with guppies, as the Betta will think the male guppy's tail belongs to another Betta, and will start to fight.


EDIT: All the best fishkeepers have a pH of 7.8, I always say......