Fishless Cycling?

Question

How many have tried fishless cycling? I'm doing this now and really like this method over using fish. What are your experiences with this method and would you recommend it. Also if you are interested in becoming a moderator on the fishless cycling message board, please visit fishless cycling dot com.

Answer 1

I believe fishless cycling to be the only humane way to cycle a system. Cycling with livestock,by definition,exposes the fish to toxins in a closed system,like being in a gas chamber with a "safe level" of cyanide being managed by someone who checks in once every day or two. Every time I've tried Fishless Cycling it has succeeded on the first try. It seems to take a long time,but the bacteria come up to full colony status faster than with fish,it only seems longer. It takes a full 5 weeks to completely cycle, and seeding from old tanks only helps a little. As I recall,I've cycled 5 tanks using this method. Put me down as an enthusiastic supporter.

Answer 2

I have cycled many tanks using both methods and really have no preference personally. Each offers advantages and can work very well if done correctly. For a beginner, or someone with rather limited time to put into the cycle, fishless cycling would really be the way to go.

MM

Answer 3

I've used both in the past but will not cycle a tank with fish again. It's undue stress on the fish and not something they deserve to go through. Also changing the water out during the cycle to keep ammonia and nitrites at a reasonable level for fish will only extend the cycling time.

Answer 4

I have tried it for quite some time but it is a bit more expensive to do. First off youve got to buy pure ammonia and add a lot of ammonia to your tank and this hole time you may not have any other fish but it has advantages.

The advantages of this process over the traditional method of cycling a tank using a few small, hardy fish to get the bacterial colonies up and running all result from "front-end loading" the tank. The amount of ammonia added is far above that generated by a reasonable number of cycling fish, resulting in faster growth of the bacterial colonies, and larger colonies when you're finished. In practical terms, this means that your tank cycles faster (reports of anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the fish tank... compared to average of 4-6 weeks for traditionally cycled tanks), and that you can fully stock a tank when the cycle is complete. This latter point is of particular interest to keepers of african cichlids or other aggressive fish. If these fish are all added together as juveniles, they're much more tolerant of each other than if they're added in small groups after the first fish have established their territories. Of course, another big advantage is that no fish are subjected to high ammonia or nitrite concentrations, eliminating mortalities and ammonia/nitrite related illnesses which frequently occur in new tanks.

While it is probable that the bacteria required for the conversion of ammonia and nitrite to nitrate exist at very low levels in most uncycled tanks, it greatly accelerates the process to inoculate the tank with a large dose of healthy bacteria to get things started. Good sources of beneficial bacteria are ranked from best to least:

1) Filter material (floss, sponge, biowheel, etc.) from an established, disease free tank.
2) Live Plants (preferrably potted, leave the rockwool on until cycling is finished). Crypts or amazon swords are good choices, and not too demanding.
3) Gravel from an established, disease free tank. (Many lfs will give this away if asked nicely)
4) Other ornaments (driftwood, rocks, etc.) from an established tank.
5) Squeezings from a filter sponge (any lfs should be willing to do this...)
6) buying stress zyme
There are also a number of commercial bacterial supplements (Cycle, Stress-Zyme, etc.) available. IMHO, without getting on a soapbox, these have very little to no effect, and are best left on the shelf. If you want to try it, go ahead, but I believe that any of the above options will be more effective, and most if not all of them will be cheaper.

The most difficult part of the fishless cycling procedure, according to many postings on the message boards, involves finding a good source of ammonia. Ammonia used should be free of surfactants, perfumes, and colourants. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to ACS grade ammonium hydroxide. Always read the ingredients on the bottle. The best sources for Pure or Clear Ammonia are discount grocery stores or hardware stores. Often, the no-name brand is the stuff you're looking for. Some other people have reported success with the following brand names of ammonia: Top Crest or Whirl Clear Ammonia. To paraphrase RTR: If it doesn't list the ingredients, or say Clear Ammonia (or Pure Ammonia or 100% Ammonia, or Pure Ammonium Hydroxide), then leave it on the shelf and look elsewhere. Shake the bottle if you're not sure about it... ammonia with surfactants will foam, while good ammonia will not.

A large water change (50-70%) should be done before adding any fish to the tank to lower nitrate levels, which can be a pain to bring down later. When changing the water during a fishless cycle, do NOT use dechlorinators that also sequester ammonia, such as the very popular Amquel. I have heard from at least one individual who did everything right with regards to cycling her tank using this method... the tank cycled quickly, then she did a water change, then added a reasonable fishload the following day with more than adequate filtration, and observed both an ammonia and a nitrite spike. The only explanation that I could think of after questioning her extensively led back to the Amquel. In a normal, established fish tank, the ammonia is being generated nearly constantly... in a fishless cycle however, the ammonia is added as a daily dose... IMO, it's concievable (though not really provable unless a lot more people experienced identical problems) that the Amquel temporarily deprived the bacteria of its food source, causing a minor die-back in the colony at the worst possible time... right before adding her fish. To be on the safe side, use a simple chlorine/chloriamine remover which does not affect your ammonia levels.

By similar logic, any other ammonia removing chemicals (eg. Ammo-lock) or resins (Amrid) should also be avoided while cycling... they will affect the cycle, extending it's duration or otherwise adversely affecting the bacterial colonies.