What The?!

[bboorreedd11]

4 daysa ago, i begin doing a fishless cycle for my new tank...i added fish food as a source of ammonia...now, my water is cloudy and dirty but from my previous question, i found out this is normal...but i dun seem to be getting any ammonia fixing bacteria...my nitrite is at 0...i do not have any ammonia test but i will be getting it soon....pls dun tell me to buy ammonia dropper...ty

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it often takes a week or two before you see any movement in ammonia and nitrite, in reality things will be happening but on such a small scale that our test kits detect not changes.

you need an ammonia test kit though

 

[waterdrop]

Are you bored yet?

For this initial period while you are trying fish food, one thing to do is to not only use a small amount but also be sure to grind it up very finely - this will help it to break down into ammonia more quickly.

And yes, it is better to be prepared to think in terms of weeks, rather than days, when watching for changes during fishless cycling. You may get lucky and have things happen in days, but its just as likely that you will not!

~~waterdrop~~