Fishless Cycling?

Question

I was reading about fishless cycling at this site, http://fishtankhq.blogspot.com/2006/04/fishless-cycling.html , before I try it I wanted to know if other people have done this and how it went for them. Also would you rrecommend doing this?

Answer 1

I've tried fishless cycling, using household ammonia, and it works.

There are different methods of fishless cycling (instead of x drops of ammonia per day I just maintained it at 3-5ppm until it was that amount was processed in a 24hr period.

Fishless cycling in my opinion is more efficient and humane than cycling with fish, as "new tank syndrome" is totally eliminated and your fish aren't subjected to ammonia and nitrite poisoning (which burns their inner gill linings and negatively impacts the overall health of fish if it doesn't kill them).

You can grow the bacteria colony to process huge amounts of ammonia by increasing the dosage. After weeks of fishless cycling I was able to add 2 dozen fish to a tank all at once with no ammonia or nitrite spike.

You need to use unscented ammonia (plain or pure ammonia), which doesn't foam up when you shake it.

Fishless cycling takes time, but so does cycling with fish.

Answer 2

I will never cycle another aquarium using fish, as it is cruel and inhumane to subject any fish to the spikes of ammonia and nitrite (any measureable ammonia or nitrite is toxic to all fish).

I've successfully used ammonium chloride powder that I bought off of ebay for about $4, including shipping. Using about an eighth of a teaspoon about once a week until I saw nitrites start to peak, I was able to cycle most of my tanks within three weeks.

I know people that have successfully used cooked and peeled cocktail shrimp. On, say, a Sunday, you'd add one shrimp. On Wednesday, you'd add another shrimp. On the following Sunday, remove the first shrimp, and add a third shrimp. Continue adding and taking away shrimp as necessary until your tank is cycled. This can take from 4-5 weeks.

There are people who also use regular fish food to cycle the tank (fish food decomposing turns to ammonia, which will feed your nitrifying bacteria). Just "feed" the tank twice a day, allowing the food to decompose.

Keep in mind, for any of these ways to work, your best bet is to get a handful of used gravel and/or used filter pads/floss from either a friend or a reliable pet store. Make sure there is no disease in any of the tanks you take your gravel or filter stuff from, as it will transfer to your tank. By using this established media, you will add your necessary nitrifying bacteria colonies.

You will need to measure ammonia daily until you start to see your nitrite levels peak. If, at any point, you see your ammonia rise about 6ppm, you'll need to do a 25-30% water change once a day until they start to lower (too much ammonia will kill of your nitrifying bacteria). After about a week and a half to two weeks, you should start seeing nitrite levels start to rise. Make sure they, too, don't peak above 6ppm - if they do, do water changes as I said above. Your tank is officially cycled once ammonia and nitrite levels are both at 0ppm. You can then do a 25-50% water change, and add your fish slowly (one or two at a time). Continue to monitor ammonia and nitrite levels just to make sure they don't spike again after you add the fish (they shouldn't, but sometimes those bacteria are tricky little buggers). Do weekly water changes of 20-30% to keep nitrate levels below 20ppm. Your nitrates could get up to 40ppm without worrying about damaging your fish, but ideally, you should keep them below 20ppm.

Good luck with your cycle! If you have any questions, come on back and ask us.

EDIT: Forgot to add, keep your temperature at around 78-80 degrees. Higher temperatures allow the bacteria to multiply at a faster rate. A couple of days before you add fish (after your cycle is done) slowly lower the temperature (no more than 2 degrees a day) until you lower it to between 76 and 78 degrees (if you're using tropical fish).