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Hi

I have a 4g Biorb that I've been cycling with ammonia. My ammonia reading has been a constant 2ppm for the past 6 weeks and I haven't added any more ammonia now for at least a month. I've done the fishless cycling before and it has never taken this long. The only difference with this tank, other than the small size, is that there is no heater. Would the lack of heat in a tank have an impact in the cycling process?

Thanks!


*Mitch*

Yes it would.

NitrItes develop slower the cooler the water is.

What temp is the tank at? If you're planning on keeping fish in it you're going to need a heater. Tiny tanks like that will have huge temperature swings which will leave the fish stressed and very succeptible to illness.

^_^

In my betta tank I use a hydor heater that I got at petsmart for like 6 bucks. Its a little patch about 2x3 by 1/8 inch and sits under the gravel. It keeps the tank at a nice 78F. Now is a good time to use and make sure it keeps a nice constant temperature.

"No whammy, No whammy, No whammy, STOP!!"

1984-Michael Larsen On Press Your Luck

Thanks for your replies. This tank is the future home of my betta who is now residing in a 1g bowl. He's been in this bowl for almost 2 years now which has no heater. There has been no health issues with him except with a bout of fin rot when I first brought him home. I wanted to give him a bigger home with this Biorb tank without the need of a heater. The temperature in the bowl and tank is just slightly above 70F and sometimes drops to 69F at night.


*Mitch*

Hmmm I've cycled a tank in that temp range before. I doubt that's the issue with the cycling.

One doesnt say this often, but with that sized bowl and considering that the occupant is a betta you don't really need to cycle it. I'd remove the water, rinse, fill about half way, run another ammonia test. If everythings okay I'd just transfer water ornaments and gravel and betta from the other bowl to the new one. Then fill up the rest of the way. Any bacteria the old tank had will now be transfered to the new one.

Even though it's larger than your bettas current home you'll still need to do weekly water changes.

^_^

Hi Babelfish

That's the problem though. The weekly water changes. I do 100% water changes every 5 to 6 days. I'm going away for 3 weeks in August and there's no way any water changes are going to be done. He'll be fed everyday but that's it.

I still have some time yet to get this tank cycled. I'll wait a little longer and if nothing changes I'll have to take a chance for those 3 weeks with no water changes


*Mitch*

So, after almost 3 months, I'm happy to say that my ammonia is now 0 but my nitrates are through the roof! I haven't added any ammonia for 2.5 months now and I had just about given up on this tank ever getting cycled. Today, I decided to do a water test (haven't done one for several weeks) and low and behold I'm almost cycled!!! I just added 4 drops of ammonia and I'm hoping it won't register. I'll keep doing this daily for at least another 2 weeks and then do several good water changes for another 2 weeks or so to get rid of the nitrates while still maintaining the daily ammonia "feeding". Hopefully, this last stage won't take as long and my betta will have a nice new home to move into /:'


*Mitch*

What kind of ammonia are you adding? I have never heard of cycling a tank this way. And if you are adding that much ammonia it is going to ruin what you have I think. I just cycle the tank using fish food. Just drop it in and forget about it. Like a normal feeding a little bit a day.



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Pure ammonia with no additives(just a little water to dilute it) can be used to cycle tanks. You want to add enough to bring the ammonia level up to around 2ppm. The ammonia doesn't become too toxic for the bacteria until over 8ppm. Tested it plenty of times. The benefit to using liquid ammonia over fish food is the lack of rotting food left in the bottom of the tank and because of that you don't need to do gravel vacs and clean the tank up afterward. Problem is liquid ammonia without coloring, they dye it blue with a copper compound, or surfactants to help it clean is hard to find. That's where things like fish food come in handy since it definitely isn't hard to find and still works. Just a bit messier and you have less control over what levels it actually reaches.

I would definitely not have the betta fed everyday while your gone. It won't survive with no water changes and that much waste being added to the tank. You could actually do once or twice a week feedings for several months and the fish would probably come out in better shape than daily feeding with no water changes. Most fish if they start out healthy and in good condition can go a month or 2 with no food and still be completely healthy. They don't need fed nearly as much as we think they do. Even then I'm not sure how long a betta would last without any water changes. Can't you get someone to do at least 1 a month during that time? Otherwise I'm afraid your have a high chance of coming back to a dead fish.