Fishless Cycle ?'s?

Question

I have been doing my fishless cycle for a week now and there is no ammonia drop! I added the ammonia to 5ppm and it is not dropping?

Will someone please help me with some good instructions through the entire process? Like how long till ammonia drops[just a rough estimate cuz every tank is different.] and when the nitrites will spike and all that stuff.

And... would it be ok after the ammonia has gone down to put in my guppy? I have heard they are pretty hardy fish and i only have one because the other fish have died... so would it be ok to put him in?

Thanks!!!!!!

Answer 1

There is this product called cycle, (may be found at your local walmart) it is basically a bottle filled with bacteria that help aid in the cycling process. Good luck!

Answer 2

the cycle process takes about a month with or with out fish since you are kind of anxious here is a trick to speed it all up go to your local pet store and ask them for a bag of water that has been cycled from the gravel and add it to your tank this will seed it with bacteria and speed up the process provided you used pure ammonia that had no other chemicales in it

personnaly I do not like this method your useing I prefer cycling with fish but now you must wait untill the process is complete before adding fish

Answer 3

Yes it could take a week before anything happens, and another couple before it's completed.

Things you can do to speed it up.

Increase the temperature a little, up around 85F. A bit warm for most fish, but the bacteria love it. Wind the temp down before you add fish though.

Seed the tank from an established one. Get some gravel, filter media or an ornament from an established tank. This will be covered with real live cycle bacteria and will help set up your new tank. If you move enough stuff, like a whole filter, then it's possible to cycle a tank instantly.

Dont add any fish untill your ammonia AND nitrite are both zero. The levels used during fishless cycling are higher than most fish can survive. Once both levels are zero then your new tank has some level of cycle and will be safe for at least some fish.

Ian

Answer 4

Does the ammonia you're using have surfactants or perfumes?  These could be repressing the bacterial growth.  Also, if you didn't dechlorinate the water, the bacteria will be entirely dead.  Lastly, if you don't have a heater, or the water is too cold, the bacteria will reproduce very slowly, taking longer than normal to cycle.  Usually, within 2 weeks, the ammonia should be dropping and nitrite appearing, but not always.

After the ammonia has been converted to nitrite, adding a Guppy would be just as toxic as cycling with it in the first place.  Nitrite is absorbed into the fish's bloodstream in the gills and turns hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which doesn't carry oxygen, leading to a hypoxic (oxygen deficient) fish.

EDIT: The nitrifying bacteria you need attatch to surfaces and are only found in extremely low concentrations in the water.  Taking water from an established tank wouldn't be much different than just waiting for the bacteria to enter the tank via tap water or air, really.  Also, most, if not all, cycling products are scams.  The idea of keeping aerobic, nitrogen-requiring bacteria in an anaerobic, nitrogen-free bottle makes no sense, and without a stable temperature between 32 and 39*, the bacteria will just die in the bottle.

http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts...