FishProfiles.com Message Forums

OK, I generally grasp the idea of cycling a tank. I know it has nothing to do with Lance Armstrong and an M1 Abrams. However, I keep reading about this fishless cycle thing. What additives are used? I read somewhere about using pure ammonia. Certainly this would be too risky, right? Seems to me there would be alot more testing and hassle involved. But I am intrigued. A description of the process along with pros and cons would be helpfull.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Desdinova 2004-08-25 12:14][/span]

Basically you just use houshold ammonia (non-detergent) to cycle the tank. You add ammonia daily to bring the readings up to 0.5ppm and keep it there until the ammonia readings go to zero. Then you keep adding ammonia daily to bring it up to 0.5ppm but test for nitrite. Once nitrite goes to zero your tank is cycled but you have to keep adding ammonia until you get ready to put fish in or the bacteria will starve.

You can huury the process by using Cycle or something like it.

Hope this helps, Mike

I recommend reading this article:

http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html

The ammonia you want should be pure with no additives (i.e. dyes, scents, etc). Usually the no-name, supermarket brands are good bets. This is all discussed in that article though.

Thanks alot for the info, have either of you used this process before? If so, what were your results and are you still using it?

Never used it, I'd had it explained to me and I looked up the #s before replying. You weren't getting any responses so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I heard it works great.

I have enough tanks now so I don't have to cycle, I cheat. I've got Penguins with biowheels on most of my tanks so if I want to set up a new one I get a new 330 and trade out the wheels and filter cartridges for ones on established tanks. One cartridge or wheel from 4 different tanks, the only thing is to do this you need alot of tanks. You don't want to set up a new tank's biofilter at the expence of an established one.

Good luck, Mike

Yes, I've cycled 3 tanks using it. The results - a cycled tank in about 2.5 weeks, without any fish suffering through ammonia or nitrite spikes.

It's particularly useful for African cichlid tanks, where it's desireable to stock all of the fish at once to reduce territorial fighting.

Some people like the method, other people don't. If you've got access to a quality bacteria starter like Bio-Spira as an alternative, more power to you. It's really up to you and what's going to work for your situation.

I am wanting to set up a cichlid tank, either 55 or 75. I haven't really decided on what kind of cichlid yet. That will determine alot about what kind of tank I have.