My Fishless Cycle

[varadero]

I'm currently 4 days into my fishless cycle in my biorb life 45 litre tank. I've been researching a lot but still have a couple of questions.

I got a couple of small sachets with it but thought the Tetra AquaSafe was to be added AFTER the Tetra SafeStart.

I also bought a bottle of both products and the next day added a good amount (about 40ml) of SafeStart.

So basically....

Day 1 - set up tank, put water in, ceramic media and put intelligent heater in which is set to 24.5 degrees and also turned on filter. THEN ADDED SACHET OF SAFESTART

Day 2 - added biorb pebbles that arrived in post and later put in sachet of AquaSafe.

Day 3 - put 40ml or so of SafeStart and some fish food


Haven't done any water changes, have read that I shouldn't until spike of nitrites?

Should I keep putting in fish food and if so how often?

Can I use any more SafeStart or AquaSafe or would that be useless?

I'm going to local fish store tomorrow to get a water testing kit, rock and possibly driftwood. Should I put either of these in while doing the cycle?

I'm also considering a couple of plants, at what stage would I introduce these?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

1/ Up your temperature to 30 degress. The beneficial bacteria we need in our filters seem to prefer higher temperatures, and as you have no fish in there yet it is better to increase it at this stage.
2/ It really is better to use household ammonia as a means of 'feeding' the bacteria during a fishless cycle...rotting fish food is difficult to govern by both amount and the correct readings, but saying that, adding some now until (if you do) decide to use ammonia will do no harm what-so-ever and will probably help.
3/ There has not been any products available that state to help with a fishless cycle that have been categorically proven to work, yet many people continue to use them AS WELL AS using a source of ammonia, so there shouldn't be any issue there.
4/ Be sure to invest in a liquid based test kit, the strip types are notoriously unreliable.
5/ I would, personally, wait until the fishless cycle is complete before adding any rocks/driftwood/plants. There is nothing really that says you can't add them now, but it MAY fluctuate or drastically change your PH, something that really needs to be avoided at this stage.

for choosing a fishless cycle, best of luck with it...i hope you get the results you are looking for, and remember; patience is the key.
Keep us updated.

Terry.

 

[varadero]

1/ Up your temperature to 30 degress. The beneficial bacteria we need in our filters seem to prefer higher temperatures, and as you have no fish in there yet it is better to increase it at this stage.
2/ It really is better to use household ammonia as a means of 'feeding' the bacteria during a fishless cycle...rotting fish food is difficult to govern by both amount and the correct readings, but saying that, adding some now until (if you do) decide to use ammonia will do no harm what-so-ever and will probably help.
3/ There has not been any products available that state to help with a fishless cycle that have been categorically proven to work, yet many people continue to use them AS WELL AS using a source of ammonia, so there shouldn't be any issue there.
4/ Be sure to invest in a liquid based test kit, the strip types are notoriously unreliable.
5/ I would, personally, wait until the fishless cycle is complete before adding any rocks/driftwood/plants. There is nothing really that says you can't add them now, but it MAY fluctuate or drastically change your PH, something that really needs to be avoided at this stage.

for choosing a fishless cycle, best of luck with it...i hope you get the results you are looking for, and remember; patience is the key.
Keep us updated.

Terry.

Hi Terry.

I don't know if I can adjust the temp on my heater. As far as I know it's set to 24.5 and doesn't change. Ironically it's called an "intelligent heater".

Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can get my hands on a liquid based test kit tomorrow and post the results and see where I should go from there.

 

[varadero]

Got the API liquid test kit and here are my readings after 5 or 6 days.

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

What should I make of these? I was very happy with how things were going until the nitrate. How come it's so low?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Got the API liquid test kit and here are my readings after 5 or 6 days.

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

What should I make of these? I was very happy with how things were going until the nitrate. How come it's so low?

Because NitrAtes are the end result of a succesful 'cycle'. We grow two types of bacteria in our filters, one type will chomp through the Ammonia you are adding and change it to NitrItes, another type then start chomping through the NitrItes and changing them into NitrAtes. Once your bacteria is returning a reading of '0' for Ammonia and a '0' for NitrItes within 12 hours of adding Ammonia, then you are ready for fish. The fish food you are adding, as i have mentioned before, is much more difficult to use...try and get hold of a bottle of household Ammonia.

Terry.

 

[varadero]

Got the API liquid test kit and here are my readings after 5 or 6 days.

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

What should I make of these? I was very happy with how things were going until the nitrate. How come it's so low?

Because NitrAtes are the end result of a succesful 'cycle'. We grow two types of bacteria in our filters, one type will chomp through the Ammonia you are adding and change it to NitrItes, another type then start chomping through the NitrItes and changing them into NitrAtes. Once your bacteria is returning a reading of '0' for Ammonia and a '0' for NitrItes within 12 hours of adding Ammonia, then you are ready for fish. The fish food you are adding, as i have mentioned before, is much more difficult to use...try and get hold of a bottle of household Ammonia.

Terry.

Thanks Terry, I'm going to Boots to get a bottle tomorrow.

 

[jlarnai]

Make sure you shake the bottle of ammonia very well. If there is a bunch of bubbles that don't go away instantly; you have the wrong type! This means there is soap also included. I went to my local supermarket (ShopRite) and bought ShopRite Pure Ammonia. The only ingredient listed on the bottle was ammonia hydroxide. A week later; I learned the shake the bottle trick. I had to empty my tank and start my fishless cycle all over again.

 

[varadero]

Make sure you shake the bottle of ammonia very well. If there is a bunch of bubbles that don't go away instantly; you have the wrong type! This means there is soap also included. I went to my local supermarket (ShopRite) and bought ShopRite Pure Ammonia. The only ingredient listed on the bottle was ammonia hydroxide. A week later; I learned the shake the bottle trick. I had to empty my tank and start my fishless cycle all over again.

Ah, what a nightmare. Thanks for the tip.