Help, Its An Emergency

[drsoda007]

The lady at the aquarium super store said that to cycle all I need to do is-

1) Fill my tank with water and then de-clorinate it
2) Setup filter and light
3) Don't touch it for 2wks
4) Bring a sample of water back to her

I asked her for a bottle of pure ammonia and a master test kit but she wouldn't sell them to me as I didn't need it!
(Thats what she said)

What should I do?

BTW: I was planning on fishless cycling but

EDIT: Had to fix up spelling error

 

[Helen G]

Ignore lady at shop - she's obviously talking out of her bottom!

To fishless cycle you will need the master test kit and a bottle of ammonia.

 

[drsoda007]

Ignore lady at shop - she's obviously talking out of her bottom!

To fishless cycle you will need the master test kit and a bottle of ammonia.

I'm only 10 and my parents won't let me ignore her, if they don't have to buy it they won't (as in they'll buy me anything I need but not what they don't think I need)

HELP ME CONVINCE MY PARENTS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Colin_T]

Ignore lady at shop - she's obviously talking out of her bottom!

lol
you said bottom

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For DrSoda

just put a couple of fish in the tank and only feed them once every couple of days. Also do a partial water change on the days you don't feed the fish.

 

[Tolak]

It's amazing how many shops have no clue as to how fishless cycling is done. Sounds like this woman is stuck on traditional cycling with fish, and has no interest in increasing her knowledge. Her loss.

Doing a traditional cycle with fish still requires a test kit, or constant trips to the shop for water tests. For a traditional cycle you want 1 inch of hardy fish per five gallons of water. A bottle of ammonia is easier than daily water changes, and harms no fish.

 

[LauraFrog]

This method won't work because there is no source of beneficial bacteria and no ammonia to get it working. The problem is that when she tests your water it will be absolutely perfect. The cycle bacteria will still not be present.

My parents are also clueless about fish but they let me do pretty much what I want (except flooding my bedroom and stocking it.) I'm 14 though, so there's a bit of an age difference there. My best trick when I want something fish related that they won't buy me and I don't have money for is school lunch money. If they give you lunch money, when they go to buy your lunches, buy whatever is going cheap and skip the chips/drink/lollies whatever. I can save $3 or $4 a day doing this and they don't even notice. If they always pack your lunch or the school provides it, bummer.

There are also a lot of aquatic shops in Brisbane. Look one up and say you want to go there to see if they have some fish that you want that the other place doesn't have. When you're there, accidentally get onto the topic of fishless cycling. Hope like hell they know more than the one you got slapped with.

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to mention. If the worst comes to the worst, buy some fish food (you're preparing in advance). If you really have to, you can cycle a tank by adding fish food and letting it rot. This creates ammonia. You still need mature filter media if you want to reduce the time, and you need the test kit, really badly. You should be able to talk your parents into buying that because you'll need it once you have the fish anyway. If they won't let you buy it until you have the fish, buy as few and as hardy as you can get away with. Platies are ideal. Stock very slowly if you must cycle fish in, I use even less than 1 inch/5 gal.

 

[drsoda007]

This method won't work because there is no source of beneficial bacteria and no ammonia to get it working. The problem is that when she tests your water it will be absolutely perfect. The cycle bacteria will still not be present.

My parents are also clueless about fish but they let me do pretty much what I want (except flooding my bedroom and stocking it.) I'm 14 though, so there's a bit of an age difference there. My best trick when I want something fish related that they won't buy me and I don't have money for is school lunch money. If they give you lunch money, when they go to buy your lunches, buy whatever is going cheap and skip the chips/drink/lollies whatever. I can save $3 or $4 a day doing this and they don't even notice. If they always pack your lunch or the school provides it, bummer.

There are also a lot of aquatic shops in Brisbane. Look one up and say you want to go there to see if they have some fish that you want that the other place doesn't have. When you're there, accidentally get onto the topic of fishless cycling. Hope like hell they know more than the one you got slapped with.

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to mention. If the worst comes to the worst, buy some fish food (you're preparing in advance). If you really have to, you can cycle a tank by adding fish food and letting it rot. This creates ammonia. You still need mature filter media if you want to reduce the time, and you need the test kit, really badly. You should be able to talk your parents into buying that because you'll need it once you have the fish anyway. If they won't let you buy it until you have the fish, buy as few and as hardy as you can get away with. Platies are ideal. Stock very slowly if you must cycle fish in, I use even less than 1 inch/5 gal.

Are Guppies, Mollies, Platies or Plecos hardy fish that I could use to cycle in my 35 Gallon Tank

 

[drsoda007]

It's amazing how many shops have no clue as to how fishless cycling is done. Sounds like this woman is stuck on traditional cycling with fish, and has no interest in increasing her knowledge. Her loss.

Doing a traditional cycle with fish still requires a test kit, or constant trips to the shop for water tests. For a traditional cycle you want 1 inch of hardy fish per five gallons of water. A bottle of ammonia is easier than daily water changes, and harms no fish.

EVerytime I tell my mum this she hammers back with "Look at how clean, beautiful, healthy all her tank are SOphie!" OR "SHe comes from a Aquarium so she should know what shes talking about" OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!

Please come up with a statement why I can't cycle like this! (So she can read it and understand)

Ignore lady at shop - she's obviously talking out of her bottom!

lol
you said bottom

--------------------------------------------

For DrSoda

just put a couple of fish in the tank and only feed them once every couple of days. Also do a partial water change on the days you don't feed the fish.

My parents won't let me buy fish until I do what the lady at the Aquarium PLace told me to do
As in fill the tank with water and declorinater then run the filter for 2 wks.
I might be able to get away with the fish food thing, BUT WILL IT WORK???

 

[Tolak]

The woman at the shop is there to make money. She wouldn't by chance be working there for free would she? That business is there to turn a profit. If they do not turn a profit then maybe they are subsidized by the government, or some charity organization.

I've been around here for a bit, and have yet to make any money, or turn any profit off of this site. If anything I've lost money, spending time here when I could be doing something that would potentially turn a profit, home improvements come to mind. I'm sure it is the same for many other members.

What do I personally have to gain by posting here, helping others out? A sense of helping the hobby out, and seeing others have as enjoyable a time as I am having. It's payback for people who have helped me in the past.

You want one statement for mom? Bacteria are living things, and need a food source like all living things. You will not have a puppy or kitten living too long with no food, your nitrifying bacteria in an aquarium are no different.

The bacteria in your aquarium eat ammonia. Without the proper food, just like a puppy or kitten, they will not survive.

 

[Colin_T]

Guppies, mollies & Plecos are not hardy fish and should not go into a tank until it is established. Loaches, eels & catfish are the same, don't add them until the filters are fully developed, (at least 1 month after the tank is set up with other fish in)

Looks like you will just have to leave the tank for 2 weeks and then add some fish like the lady said. Then if they die a couple of weeks later you can get mum & dad to take you back to the shop and ask the lady why they died. Make sure you take a separate sample of tank water along with the dead fish and have the sample of tank water tested for ammonia, nitrite & PH.

Anything that rots in the water will create ammonia. Fish food, dead plants, dead fish, a piece of prawn or whitebait that is used for fishing, they all release ammonia into the water. If you happen to accidentally add a bit of fish food to the tank it will rot and create ammonia. Over a couple of weeks some bacteria will develop and eat the ammonia and convert it into nitrite. Then a couple of weeks later some more bacteria will develop and eat the nitrite and convert it to nitrate. Once that has happened the tank will have been cycled and will be fine for fish.
If that doesn't happen before the fish are added, then when you do add fish and fish food, they will produce ammonia and there won't be any good bacteria living in the filter to convert it into nitrite & nitrate. Then the fish will be put under stress from the ammonia & nitrite in the water.
If you keep the feeding down to a bare minimum during this stage, and do regular partial water changes, then most fish will tolerate being in the tank while the good filter bacteria develop. However, if you put too much food in the tank and don't do enough water changes during this phase, you might lose a few fish to ammonia or nitrite poisoning.