The Fishless Cycle

[timmystood]

I'm getting a new tank tommorow!

What I want to know is...
For a fishless cycle is feeding the empty tank with lots of fish food and using mature gravel a good way to fishless cycle???
This was the two methods I had in mind? - Would this be OK and is there quicker ways other than adding pure ammonia?

 

[seanc]

Pure amonia + filter media/ gravel from an established aquarium is great though plant roots apparantly contain the right bacteria also (havent tried this myself though). Congrats on your new tank + good luck with getting it cycled quickly!

 

[timmystood]

Pure amonia + filter media/ gravel from an established aquarium is great though plant roots apparantly contain the right bacteria also (havent tried this myself though). Congrats on your new tank + good luck with getting it cycled quickly!

That's the thing - I don't want to add pure Ammonia and I cannot add filter meda because it's a different filter and my mature tank still needs a filter.
I just intend to feed the empty tank with loads of flake foods and also add some gravel from my mature tank.

Will it take roughly 4-6 weeks?

 

[seanc]

should be done within 4.

 

[kris-b-]

Using pure ammonia is a much quicker and easier way than using fish food as you can easily count the drops you add with the liquid ammonia where as you cant really measure the food and also it will take time for it to be broken down in the tank.

 

[love_fish]

Using pure ammonia, mine scyled in 3 weeks about.

 

[pricey]

how can you tell if its cycled

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Use test kits, it will be cycled if you add 5-6 ppm ammonia and within an hour or so the ammonia will be at 0ppm as will the nitrites.

Timmy, would it be possible to run your new filter on an established tank for awhile?

 

[rdd1952]

Use test kits, it will be cycled if you add 5-6 ppm ammonia and within an hour or so the ammonia will be at 0ppm as will the nitrites.

I'd say more like 10 to 12 hours to process that much ammonia but if your tank can do it in an hour, you are definitely cycled.