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hi i just set up a 35 gallon hex on saturday and so far my fishless cycle is ok everything is 0 accepth ph is 7.4 temp is 78 degrees so my first question is how long should i wait to put in any fish and what should i start with i have no fish in mind yet and am open to any ideas...the lfs said i should put and algie eater in first to see how he does and go from there....i have a 60 gallon filter on it with dual bio wheels and an airation system plenty of plants and lost af hiding space in a rocky set up smooth rocks....thanks in advance

If you are doing a fishless cycle, then you have to wait until the cycle is finished before adding any fish. This will be after you see a rise and fall of ammonia and nitrite in the water, which will finally be converted to nitrate.

When you just have nitrate and nothing else, the cycle will be completed and you can start adding fish.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

so we are talking a matter of many days so just keep testing daily like i have been and i should see everything go and then down and eventually i will only have a small trac of nitrate?

Have you put any ammonia in your tank? It seems that the cycle should've started already...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

only one cap full monday but i have not tested it yet today

It will take a few weeks.

Kim

so what is easier or better a fishless cycle or to cycle with fish what are the pros and cons of each?

Fishless cycling is better because the fish aren't subjected to high ammonia and nitrite levels. They take pretty much the same time to do.

Kim

Add enough ammonia to bring tank to 5 ppm.. record how much ammonia that took and then add it every day until you start to see nitrITEs.. level off ammonia dosing to half the amount. When you start seeing nitrATES, cut that dose in half again. When you aren't getting registerable nitrITEs anymore, ammonia reads 0 within a few hours after adding it, and you have nitrATEs, it's time to do a water change to get rid of the nitrATEs and start adding the fishes.

It does not take as long as cycling with fish because you can have a stronger concentration of ammonia without having to worry about killing the fish or doing " emergency" water changes to keep the fish alive during a spike, etc. More ammonia, more bacteria, quicker establishment of bacteria, quicker cycle.

Drawbacks - none that I know of..unless finding clear, non-detergent ammonia is a problem.