Speed Up A Cycle...

[mike45]

I have been fishless cycling my 10 gallon tank for 5 days. My ammonia is up to 2.0 ppm. I have been adding 5 drops of ammonia per day, but I have also heard of adding enough to make the ammonia rise to 5 ppm. Is there anything I could do to maybe speed up the cycle? Like adding more than 5 drops per day, maybe 10, then lowering it back to 5 once I get nitrites?

And I have another question. I've heard of an ammonia spike, when will this usually happen? Is this a sudden jump in ammonia after a certain number of days?

Thanks

 

[impur]

Ammonia spike refers to the ammonia actually being detected until it reaches its peak. Then it declines. Since ammonia is usually 0 in a mature tank, anything above that would be a spike.

There is no real way to speed up the cycle. Just have patience and it will take its course. Actually you can effectively skip the whole cycle process with a product called bio-spira. With this you add bio-spira along with your ENTIRE population. Its a very good product, but relatively expensive. I think enough for a 20 gal tank will run you 19.95. Don't quote me on that price, but try searching for it.

Here you go a link to the research done on it.

bio-spira info

 

[pendragon]

With all due respect to Impur, to put an entire fish population in a tank and rely on Bio-Spira to stave off catastrophe is not a wise gamble, no matter what the product claims you can do.

Some folks have had luck with Bio-Spira, others not so much - but it is definitely not a miracle insta-cycle product sent from heaven. If you want to use it to help kickstart your cycle, that's fine, but don't rely on it blindly and completely. Add a light bioload and some Bio-Spira, then water test yourself on a daily basis to see if it's working. Once you're absolutely certain the cycle is finished (and if Bio-Spira accelerated it, that's great), then begin adding fish in the proper manner.

It is commonly held that Bio-Spira is the only "bacteria in a can" that even halfway works, but even its effectiveness is not indisputable. You should still use it with caution and and a diligent eye.

Always remember the beginning fishkeeper's mantra: Impatience is my enemy!

pendragon!

 

[Bol]

Mike,

As far as I know, you should initially have added enough ammonia to raise the level to 5ppm. and then repeated that dosage daily. After that, nothing I know of that will help speed up the cycling, barring the addition of material with bacteria already growing on it.

And, pendragon, that's a good caution you posted. Nothing is guaranteed to work, and I agree that the use of BioSpira is a decision that should not be made lightly, as there are significant risks involved.

However, I feel obliged to point out that using BioSpira with an overly light bio-load may be counter-productive (and, I believe, against the manufacturer's recommendations). If most of the bacteria you add dies because of lack of sufficient nutrients, then you're sort of wasting the product, and not getting the maximum (or any) benefit.

So, if one decides to use BioSpira, I personally would recommend starting with a not-too-light fish load. Perhaps 2/3 to 3/4 of your anticipated end load.

 

[big_fresh]

I really don't believe in those products that claim to skip the cycling.

speeding it up with a bit of gravel from an established tank or letting an internal filter/hang on filter run in an established tank for a week before popping it into the new one also speeds things up.

but I'd never take the risk of buying products that claim to skip the cycling.

lets see the costs involved

product claiming to speed up + potentially dead fish = unhappy person

whereas

waiting a couple of weeks (patience) = healthy live fish + less money wasted on dodgy product

just be patient....remember healthy fish are easier to keep that diseased, poor health fish that constantly need medication/attention due to an impatient start of a tank

 

[Sharlene1385]

OK, I'm not to familer with any cycling, but I did find out something you all may be interested in. I decided to try a cheap product to see if it worked to help with adding good bacteria and electrolytes, doesn't change ph, adds slime coat, reduces stress, and adds enzymes and bacteria to help set up bio cycle in new and aquaiums and help keep them that way. Now, I had my water tested at trusted lfs, and I had no amonia in it. My only problem was a slightly high ph, but I doubt it was caused by the product. Its Jungle Water Safe Plus, and it did something because I hadn't done any cycling. Currently I have a couple of goldfish in there now on loan to help with cycling, and then I'm taking them back tomorrow and having water cheaked again, if all is good I get a couple of fish. Note that I had a couple of guppies in tank but they all died due to one stressful fish chasing them. So, try that other one since I don't know much, but at least I found that this seems to work a bit. Also, tank is clean, and I did like 1 20% change last night, so I must be doing something right. Leave it to me to be gusty enough to try new things.

 

[Sky042]

IS this what you added?
http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.ph...html?item=TB600

I don't think that'd help anymore than hagen's cycle.

The best way to speed up a cycle is with a large culture to start with. I'm fishless cycling my 54 right now with a huge clump of floss from my 46. and it's going much faster than the 46 did.

 

[big_fresh]

Ahh Cycle,

I used to use it along with a waste control product that was supposed to 'counter the effects of fish waste'. (given to me for my first ever fish tank)

Then i found this forum and found that other people did not use these products. I only use AquaPlus to treat my water these days. (Maybe melafix too if i ever need it).

but as usual, try to keep as much chemical additives out of your tank.

 

[mike45]

Well aside from all this instant cycle stuff .. Bol, the thing is I didn't add enough to make the ammonia 5 ppm. I followed the first link on fishless cycling, which says to add 5 drops per 10 gallons, then once I get nitrites add 2-3 drops.

 

[Bol]

Well, mike, if you haven't seen any nitrites yet, then personally, I would do exactly what you mentined in the first post. Double the amount of ammonia you're putting in (since you say you're getting up to 2ppm now, I'd think doubling it should put the ammonia in the 4-5ppm range).

Then, add that same amount daily until nitrites show up, at which point, you should halve the 'dosage' and maintain that half-dose until the cycle is done.

 

[Weirdfish]

My 25G has just completed its cycle and it can be very frustrating. To be honest I wasnt overly presise with the ammonia measurements. I dumped 2/3rds of a capfull of Jayes Kleen Off in the first day and sure enough my ammonia readings looked like orange juice .

Gradually the nitrites crept up and I went for a few days where both the ammonia & nitrites where sky high. I started adding half the ammonia once the nitrites were showing big style. Just when I though it was stuck, the ammonia readings just dropped to zero over night.

Its this next bit that tries the patience tho. I went for about 10 days with the nitrites off the scale and was starting to think I'd screwed it up but last Tuesday whe i did the tests the nitrite was still off the scale but took longer to get there (hagen test kit). This was the first glimpse of progress and sure enuf the next day they were zero .

A final test of adding the original amount of ammonia, I slipped and added a little too much, to make sure all was well and sure enuf the next day ammonia & nitrites were zero. The Nitrates are about 40ppm.

Water change tonight and fishes at teh weekend.

I also noticed that when the nitrites were very high I also got very high nitrate readings but I think i read somewhere that high nitrites throw off your nitrate readings. Once the nitrite was zero the nitrate was where it should be.

I've gone from pacing up and down and drumming my fingers to being quite proud of myself. Patience isnt my strongest characteristic ) . I feel I've achieved something.

Trouble is by the time I've been belittled & patronised at the LFS I'll be back to my normal inpatient synical self

Stick with it Mike.

 

[Sharlene1385]

Well so I don't know anything. lol. But yest that is the stuff. And it did work. Then about 3 days later I was able to get some floss from a friend, but a very small amount. Must of helped too though. All I know is again every thing is clear and ready for fish.... unfortunatly I didn't notice that the fish I picked up had a fungus. So Now I'm treating that. Platy had a cut with fuzzy on it, quick search of the forum and some fish books explained that so I added a fungus cure. Hope she'll be ok, I think she's pregnant, and from I read it might kill the babies, I guess that's ok though since I don't have room for little ones.

 

[impur]

With all due respect to Impur, to put an entire fish population in a tank and rely on Bio-Spira to stave off catastrophe is not a wise gamble, no matter what the product claims you can do.

Some folks have had luck with Bio-Spira, others not so much - but it is definitely not a miracle insta-cycle product sent from heaven. If you want to use it to help kickstart your cycle, that's fine, but don't rely on it blindly and completely. Add a light bioload and some Bio-Spira, then water test yourself on a daily basis to see if it's working. Once you're absolutely certain the cycle is finished (and if Bio-Spira accelerated it, that's great), then begin adding fish in the proper manner.

It is commonly held that Bio-Spira is the only "bacteria in a can" that even halfway works, but even its effectiveness is not indisputable. You should still use it with caution and and a diligent eye.

Always remember the beginning fishkeeper's mantra: Impatience is my enemy!

pendragon!

You might want to follow the link i provided above and read about this product. It has been well documented in trade journal articles and scientific papers. You might also consider reading the independent scientific reviews of the product. It contains pure strains of Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira and Nitrospira. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have no idea what they are doing and use this product only to fail. Of ANYONE who has a clue as to what they are doing when starting a new tank, i haven't ever heard of this product failing. FWIW there is a 16 page thread over at fishgeeks.com where several people test this product out. You might read that as well. Here is the link

bio-spira experiment

At any rate, the old method works without a doubt. If you do not trust this stuff don't use it. I still suggest it and will use it on every future tank i have. JMO!!

 

[luxum]

I have previously fishless cycled and am doing that again currently. In between, i tried using the bio-spira + fish method, i still got spikes although they were milder than they would have been. I'm sticking with fishless from now on, it's a sure thing and much lower stress on me, not to mention the fish. I prefer the recipe where you begin by taking your ammonia level to 5ppm. This lets you skip right ahead to the spike instead of wasting days slowly raising the ammonia high levels. It also takes into consideration ammonia dilution variation from product to product. Add a half dose instead of the whole dose after nitrites arrive.

 

[Bruce's Reformed Nephew]

I have been fishless cycling my 10 gallon tank for 5 days. My ammonia is up to 2.0 ppm. I have been adding 5 drops of ammonia per day, but I have also heard of adding enough to make the ammonia rise to 5 ppm. Is there anything I could do to maybe speed up the cycle? Like adding more than 5 drops per day, maybe 10, then lowering it back to 5 once I get nitrites?

I'm about to try fishless cycling myself, and the five drop per day method is with lab grade 28% ammonia. Household stuff is 4-10%, so count what gets you up to 5ppm and use that much every day. Might be one or two tablespoons full...
-BRN