Fishless Cycle

[Skins]

I am new to fish keeping and i would like to get things right.
I currently have a roma 240(210LTR in Aquarium). I have had it for 1 week and have been doing a fishless cycle(fish food), putting in 2 or 3 pinches of food a day and testing every other day for Ammonia(API reactant test kit).
I can't seem to get more than 0.50ppm when i have been advised to get around 3ppm, the aquarium has no plants yet and i have not been putting on the T8 lights.
Am i doing things right or am i missing something.

Kind regards, Keith.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Hi Keith,

Welcome to the forum! The most successful fishless cycle recipe from the experienced users on this forum seems to involve the following:

(and this can all be found in the "beginner's" link section on this forum)

1. Use pure ammonia to raise your ammonia levels in the tank up to 4-5 ppm. In the UK you can get pure ammonia at Boots or Homebase (I think), and in the USA at ACE Hardware.
2. You want to raise the temperature to around 84F/29C, which the bacteria seem to like.
3. The bacteria also seem to grow best in a pH range of 8.0-8.4. In a fishless cycle you can harmlessly raise the pH as needed using common baking soda powder(Arm & Hammer in the USA - not sure which product in the UK).

I think the fish food method will work, but it might take longer than if you dose ammonia. Other than that it just takes patience to wait it out. Also, the liquid based test kits (like API Freshwater Master Kit) seem to provide the most accuracy as you try to monitor your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.

 

[curlyriff]

I am new to fish keeping and i would like to get things right.
I currently have a roma 240(210LTR in Aquarium). I have had it for 1 week and have been doing a fishless cycle(fish food), putting in 2 or 3 pinches of food a day and testing every other day for Ammonia(API reactant test kit).
I can't seem to get more than 0.50ppm when i have been advised to get around 3ppm, the aquarium has no plants yet and i have not been putting on the T8 lights.
Am i doing things right or am i missing something.

Kind regards, Keith.

Using fish food to produce the ammonia is difficult to judge and means that you cannot control the parameters for the cycle. If you buy some household ammonia from boots or homebase then you ca top up the ammonia to the correct 5ppm required to cycle your tank.

I am not familar with your test kit but you need to test for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate so if your kit doesn't have a look for the master freshwater test kit. Everyone seems to recommend the API masterkit.

There is some more info in the beginers sections under fishless cycling but the basics are:

You need to put 5.00ppm to start your fishless cycle (recommended). Using your kit until it drops to 0.0ppm then add more ammonia to get to 4.0ppm. While you are testing ammonia you should also test for Nitrite and Nitrate and keep a diary of the results.

At this stage testing every 48 hours would surfice but if you wish you could test every 24 hours. once you see that your ammonia is droping within 24 hour period start testing for 24 hours if your not already and watch for the level of Nitrite to spike and then dramaticly decrease suddenly (most likely after 3/4 weeks from start of cycle).

This process can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks total but this is only a general guide. Once this has happened you should carry on adding ammonia to around 4.0ppm.

If it has dropped to 0.0ppm for the ammonia within 12 hours and there is no increase for the Nitrite from 0.0ppm then it is cycled and you are ready to add fish.

If you are not getting fish straight away continue to add ammonia at 4.00pm daily right up to the day before you have fish so that you do not have your bacteria colony lower than required.

But this is only the simple points. I am at work so can't type it all out but WD or some other members are very good for info and will lead you in the right direction and probably ask some more questions to help establish where you are and exactly what you got to do to suit your paramiters.

Hope this helps you get started.

Kind Regards,

Adam

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Keith and Welcome to TFF!

Good advice from the members up there (very well written GVG!) Agree with the things that have been said. Not only will an indirect ammonia source (fishfood, prawns, commercial bacteria-in-a-bottle) take longer, it may also vary so wildly that you may not be able to figure out where your cycle is. This would be ok if you have the patience, but I've watched too many attempts to use fishfood go down to failure because the fishfood cycler became so frustrated that they quit. This is one of my primary reasons for recommending the pure household ammonia approach rather than that the fishfood somehow doesn't work.

Thus, as a newcomer to the hobby, I highly recommend the Add&Wait direct ammonia method that is both written up in our excellent article by rdd1952 and that is monitored with even more helpful tweaks, advice and general friendliness by our participating members here in the freshwater beginners section. Cycling and the Nitrogen Cycle are not by any means the only thing to learn here at the start, but they are core to the hobby and not to be missed as a beginner.

Speaking of other important beginner skills, the maintenance skill of gravel-clean-water-changes that you will eventually do after getting fish is another item to be sure and be learning about. It is also core to the hobby, just like understanding and having a working "cycled" biofilter. Also, the art of building and adjusting a "stocking list" (of fish that will not overpopulate your tank or that will go together or that will be in the right minimum numerical density or that will like your local water) is an important activity that all beginners must face and it is well-timed to do it during your fishless cycle.

Good Luck and Welcome!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[Skins]

Hello everyone many thanks for all the advice you have given me.
Here is what i have done in the last 24hrs:
Raised aquarium temp to 29c, added more fish food, and done ammonia / nitrite tests.

Ammonia: 0.50-1.0ppm
nitrite: 0.25ppm
Has the cycle started?
Should i still get some ammonia?

Many thanks again, Keith.

 

[toshapetriji]

The fact you have some Nitrite indicates that the cycle has started assuming your tap water does not contain Nitrite.

You really should use pure ammonia as your ammonia source for the reasons given above. Waterdrop has guided many people through cycling and you would do well to follow his advice. This will ensure a a succesful cycle in the shortest time.

 

[Skins]

The fact you have some Nitrite indicates that the cycle has started assuming your tap water does not contain Nitrite.

You really should use pure ammonia as your ammonia source for the reasons given above. Waterdrop has guided many people through cycling and you would do well to follow his advice. This will ensure a a succesful cycle in the shortest time.

Many thanks, will get some ammonia tomorrow. There was no nitrite in tap water because this was my third test for nitrite and the last test has been the only time there has been a reading.

 

[toshapetriji]

Raise the ammonia to 5ppm and keep posting your test results.

We will help you understand how things are progressing and offer advice if needed.

Good Luck

 

[OldMan47]

If you are getting a steady supply of ammonia from the decaying fish food, things will move forward. Our usual target value of ammonia is 5 ppm using pure ammonia, but almost any small value, less than 5 ppm, will work to cycle a tank. After all, a fish in cycle is accomplished in about the same amount of time while we struggle to always keep ammonia under 0.25 ppm.

 

[Skins]

Hello you fishy friends,
Started adding Ammonia yesturday(4ml)

Just taken tests:
Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0.50ppm
& added another 4ml household ammonia.

If you think that there is anything i am not doing right can you please advise.
Kind regards, Keith.

 

[Katch]

what's your pH? I really helped my cycle progress quickly by making the water as bacteria friendly as possible. pH of 8.4 and 29 degrees C.

Check your pH and if it is lower than 8 add some teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda and then retest after about 30 minutes. Repeat this till you get a reading of about 8.4 from your pH test kit. I would always do this after adding Ammonia (ammonia is a strong base and will increase your pH so if you add bicarb to 8.4 then add your ammonia you'll find your pH is suddenly above 9)

 

[toshapetriji]

You seem to be doing just fine. When the ammonia drops to zero recahrge to 5ppm again. You have some Nitrite showing so the ammonia is being prcessed now.

Good job.

 

[waterdrop]

Looks good, agree about wanting to know the pH

 

[Skins]

Thanks again for all your replies. Will be glad when this is done, the ammonia messes with my head.
Heres a question for you all, when the tank is cycled do I have to fully stock or can i buy some fish one week and some more fish the following week.
will get ph results soon.
Thanks my fishy friends, Keith.

 

[Katch]

After cycled and checking for 1 week to make sure it holds you can stock to about 80% population. Then I'd let the tank settle and mature a couple of months at least before fully stocking.