Start Cycling Help

[freshcichlid]

ok im going to start cycling my 40br tank tommorrow and i want to know what to do exactly.... over time.

a. i am going to add new gravel, filter, heater and driftwood. I want to add live plants too, so any advice on when to add them would be great too !

b. So once i get all my decor in the tank and get the water in i am going to add some Tetra Declorinator and some Tetra product that makes it so you dont have to do as many water changes. (not sure the name but ive always added it to my tanks!)

c. after im done with this what is my next step and when?

 

[freshcichlid]

ok im going to start cycling my 40br tank tommorrow and i want to know what to do exactly.... over time.

a. i am going to add new gravel, filter, heater and driftwood. I want to add live plants too, so any advice on when to add them would be great too !

b. So once i get all my decor in the tank and get the water in i am going to add some Tetra Declorinator and some Tetra product that makes it so you dont have to do as many water changes. (not sure the name but ive always added it to my tanks!)

c. after im done with this what is my next step and when?

[snapback]856698[/snapback]​

*EDIT* - doing a fishless cycle

 

[freshcichlid]

*EDIT* - doing a fishless cycle

 

[freshcichlid]

can anyone help ?

 

[Dubby]

You will need to add pure ammonia to the tank to start the cycle. Heres some articles to help you

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/flc-data.htm

 

[freshcichlid]

thanks dubby, i looked at those but they were a little hard to read for me.. any other pages that can help me out !
i am on my second day and really not sure what to do
i added dechlorinator and have my driftwood in there, i added 2gallons of already cycled tank and a little gravel from it. also using the fitler from that tank as well as my new one.
i know i need to buy ammonia and put it in, but how much?? and is that my next step or what??

any help will do !!!!

 

[freshcichlid]

now:

ammonia-0
nitrate- 10
nitrite- 0
hardness(ppm) - 25
alkalinity/buffering capacity(ppm)- 0
Ph- 6.4

what does this mean? im about to add ammonia and get it at 3ppm.. is that correct?

 

[freshcichlid]

ok, i just added 1.5 teaspoons of ammonia, how long till i test the water ?

 

[Ami]

now:

ammonia-0
nitrate- 10
nitrite- 0
hardness(ppm) - 25
alkalinity/buffering capacity(ppm)- 0
Ph- 6.4

what does this mean? im about to add ammonia and get it at 3ppm.. is that correct?

[snapback]859561[/snapback]​

Hey Fresh, this might help - it made more sense to me than anything else I'd read:
Pinned Topic - Fishless Cycling

If you're using a filter from an existing cycled tank, you've basically 'seeded' the new tank with bacteria so you will probably only have a mini cycle rather than a full one. Easiest thing to do would be to take some of the existing filter material from the old filter and add it to the new filter, along with the new filter material. The bacteria will soon migrate to their new home!


Feeding the bacteria some ammonia will speed things up a little. My 109l tank (just under 29g US) took only 24hrs to get an ammonia spike (went to 4mg/l) by adding 20 little droppers (about 3ml) worth of ammonia the first night, then 10 the next night and so on until I got the nitrite spike. The nitrite spike was after 3 days (4mg/l) so I cut the ammonia back to 5 droppers to keep the bacteria fed and growing.

By day 5 the ammonia had cut to <0.1mg/l, the nitrite to 1mg/l. On day 7, the ammonia was still <0.1m/l, the nitrite was 0 and the nitrate <12.5mg/l. So in went my fish! Woohoo!

I hope that helped some.

 

[Ami]

ok, i just added 1.5 teaspoons of ammonia, how long till i test the water ?

[snapback]859566[/snapback]​

I'd test every 2 days rather than every day becuase that will just drive you crazy waiting!

 

[freshcichlid]

so i just added the ammonia, now wait until tommorrow to test it or test it now and then wait two days?
and then.. i just added the ammonia, what and when is my next step ?
( sorry i read that article and im still lost ! )

 

[freshcichlid]

ok i went and tested again and my ammonia is very high, 3-6ppm, not sure if thats too much, but thasts what it is
!
now what is my next step in this process ??

 

[freshcichlid]

anyone have any help please?

 

[aquatic-Bizkut]

well i had a great idea........before you added the amonia.....

this stuff (bio-spira) automaticaly cycles your tank in about one second..... you pour it in, and you are good to go, cost me 25$ for 30 gallons worth, its around 8$ a ounce (ounce works for 30 gallons) but shipping is around 15 bucks..... (if you use 2 day shipping, which is smart to keep the bacteria cool and safe...)

plus allways refridgerate for a little bit after recieving....

http/fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

i am going to use it for my puffer tank... since those require 100% cycling right away...

 

[Dubby]

ok i went and tested again and my ammonia is very high, 3-6ppm, not sure if thats too much, but thasts what it is
!
now what is my next step in this process ??

[snapback]859678[/snapback]​

Dont worry about the ammonia. Since there are no fishes in the tank nothing will get hurt. Over the next couple of days you should see the nitrites go up. Continue adding ammonia every couple of days and you should be there.

This article may help answer a few of your questions http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...?article_id=113