Lost!

[nijohnnyuk]

Now I am completely lost!

I purchased "Household Ammonia" from homebase (UK) which only states that contains ammonia solution 9.5% on the label

Some posts are stating I need a bacteria source while some dont - is there a definitive answer here??

From what I can gather I need to do the following:
1. add a certain proportion of ammonia to get the level to around 6 ?
2. wait for it to go down to 0

I have a Tetratest Laborett which I can get tests for pH KH GH NO2 and CO2 as well as an ammonia test kit (Aquarium pharmaceuticals inc) - are these ok for this or do I need something else and if so where??

apologies for the bombardment with questions

 

[dthoffsett]

Well, I'll help where I can.

You don't necessarily need a bacteria source, the good bacteria you want to colonize in your tank is already present in minute quantites, adding a bacteria source simply adds a larger number of bacteria, so it doesn't take as long to cycle a tank. I cycled my first tank w/o a bacteria source and it worked fine, just took around 6 weeks.

1. There are 2 popular methods of fishless cycling. First: add x amount of ammonia to reach 5ppm, add this amount every day until nitrite is present. Once nitrite is present add half of x ammount of ammonia (for example you started adding 20 drops, once nitrite is present add 10 drops) until nitrite reaches zero, and nitrates are high. The night before you add fish, do a 75-90% water change. Second: add x amount of ammonia to reach 5ppm, then wait until it drops to near zero, add enough to reach 5 ppm again, continue to do this until ammonia and nitrite reach zero, and again do your large water change before adding fish.

Your testing kits sound just fine to me.

Note: Don't be surprised if your PH fluctuates dramatically when you cycle, this is normal as the high amounts of ammonia affect the PH.

 

[djloach]

There is a lot of information on how to do a fishless cycle on these boards and around the internet and some quick searches should provide you with some guides. The purpose of a fishless cycle is to build up the necessary bacteria in your filter to deal with the ammonia produced by fish waste. I think many guidelines recommend that the fishless cycle is done when you can bring ammonia levels up to around 5 and then have it fall to zero over a 24 hour period as well as have nitrites remain at zero as well. Typically what you do is every day bring up ammonia levels to 5 and then see what happens by the next day. When it drops to zero you are done.

You don't need a bacteria source as the nitrifying bacteria is present all around us and will find its way into the tank and filter but having a quality bacteria source can speed things up dramatically. The ideal source would be to take some filter media from an established filter and mix it in with your filter media in your new filter. Otherwise you could take almost anything (gravel, plants, decorations, etc.) from and established tank and put it in your new tank to help speed up the process. These items will have the bacteria all over them. You can also buy stuff that supposedly is going to be your bacteria source but I am not sure how effective they are and would certainly be less effective than getting something from an established filter or tank.

 

[nijohnnyuk]

thanks guys!

i am a more wiser now!!