Fishless Cycling Diary :)

[Kelsyann]

Okay, I recently bought a used 30 gallon tank off craigslist. My dad and I resealed the whole thing so ensure there were no leaks, then left water in it for a few days, outside. Now, exactly one week after I got the tank, cycling begins! I'm using 2 filters, both Tetra Whisper 20i. I already had one, with completely mature media, so I bought another of the exact same kind, to give me 40 gallons worth of filtration I can't seem to find pure ammonia anywhere, and I was getting impatient to start, so I'm using goldfish flakes. I plan on adding 2 teaspoons, per day, one in the morning and one at night. (I heard this was best with flakes)
I have an API Freshwater Master Test kit, and I checked ammonia levels this morning and they're at .5 didn't test nitrIte or nitrAte, but I'l probably start testing for nitrIte tomorrow. So hopefully with this mature media I have, this cycle will go pretty quickly.

I'm still open to stocking suggestions, but I think what I'm planning on doing is:
2 female Honey Gourami
10 Neon Tetras
4 female Bettas (I have a backup 10 gallon if this doesn't workout for whatever reason)
6-8 Cory Cats ( I have 3 Pandas that will most likely go in there)

 

[Geoff1991]

Well, that would leave you about 1.6 inches per gallon. Only counting 3 panda corys. Cant work out anything else unless you mention specific species.

Myself, i would ditch the bettas and do this...

2 female Honey Gourami- 6"
14 Neon Tetras 28"
8 Panda cory 16"

Which would leave you at 2 inches per gallon. Which would be about the limit on a tank thats been matured for about 6 months. Leaving the corys and tetras until last as they need a mature tank. You cant apply the 2 inches per gallon until about 6 months after youve cycled anyway.

 

[Kelsyann]

Yeah I've heard from some people that the Bettas would work and from some it wouldn't. I was planning on adding the Neons last too and in 2 smaller groups. I'd like something a little more diverse than just 3 species though, I'll keep doing my research then

 

[Geoff1991]

Well i didnt say you couldnt have more than three species... If you cut your numbers a bit, you could add more of another species.

 

[waterdrop]

Reading some things here can sometimes give you the impression that fishless cycling with flakes is just a different option than using ammonia. Nothing could be further from the truth! Its extremely hard to understand the feedback you get when testing a tank that's cycling on fish food. Its a very frustrating process and most give up on it. Not saying it can't be done, but just passing on a word to the wise. Luckily, its very easy to switch over to using ammonia though and the cycle can still have been benefitting from the flake start. I'd continue to aggressively search for the right kind of ammonia.

You can't always trust store people to know that their store has it or to tell you, so its always good to actually walk the mop and broom isles and search for it. In USA its often in grocery stores or at Ace Hardware or Walmart. In the UK there are lots of members who can give more specifics and there are plenty of threads that have the UK info if searched.

While you are using the flake food its good to pulverize it as much as possible to speed the process of the heterotrophic bacteria beginning to break it down into ammonia. Be cautious about allowing the ammonia level to reach 8ppm as that will encourage the wrong species of bacteria. Be aware that using organic materials to cycle can create a really bad smell.

~~waterdrop~~