ihsanpotuk

Hi Guys,

This is my second day on starting a new 5 gallon tank and need advice on the quickest way to do a fishless cycle.

Ive been reading other posts and some people say to put flakes in a net everyday for them to break down into ammonia.

Ive done this using my mum's kitchen sieve lol ive just rested it ontop of my tank and put flakes in their as if i was feeding fish.

Is this the right way? how long do i have to 'feed' the tank? will the water turn cloudy then clear again?

please help me with any other sugestions

thanks

Lucy

Welcome to FishLore!!
Congrats on cycling with out fish!
Sounds like you're doing fine. How does mum feel about using her sieve? lol

You'll need a good test kit. The API Master kit is highly recommended. Avoid the strips, they can be inaccurate.
You can test daily or every couple of days. Keep a record of it.

Here's a basic explanation:
First your ammonia will rise
In a few weeks bacteria will begin to develop and you'll see the nitrite levels rise and the ammonia levels start to drop.
After a few more weeks another type of bacteria will begin to develop and you'll see the nitrate levels rise and the nitrite levels drop.
When you having readings of 0 on both ammonia and nitrites with some nitrates showing, your cycle is done.

Be patient, cycling can take a month, give or take
Good luck!
Edit:
Hope you don't mind, I moved your thread into the nitrogen cycle section of the forum.
Here's Four Methods of Fish Less Cycling
There's a mention of using fish food in the link.

ihsanpotuk

She doesn't know that her sieve is missing yet and i hope she doesn't need it for a month lol

Ive got a couple more questions,

shall i keep adding flakes to the tank everyday?

shall i add Tetra SafeStart?

is a temperature of 28 degrees celcius good?

I know you said that testing strips maybe inacurate but ive already ordered them from eBay so i will keep you updated on how the readings are

Thanks

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!!(If i havent already)

Id go with adding a small piece of shrimp in a net, and leave it be....adding fish food, will give you a ton of waste to have to clean up after

or if you go with TSS, you add fish at the same time.......unfortunately, relying on test strips is going to be a huge issue...you wont ever really know where the tank stands and be safe relying on them maybe the company you got them from, has the api liquid master kit and will let you exchange it? if not, and it were me, id eat the money and get a proper kit especially where still starting out in the cycling phase........but thats just me...good luck!

ihsanpotuk

ive got my mum's sieve lol the fish food just stays in there so i wont have a mess in the bottom of the tank.

i cant give the test strips back because they were off eBay but i can take it to a place near me called 'AquaZoo' where they test the water and the results appear on a computer where they then tell you that the water is cycled or needs more time.

will at any stage the water turn cloudy or stay crystal clear (as it is now) ??

shall i keep adding fish food everyday untill it is fully cycled ??

thanks

Shawnie

without a test kit, you have to keep adding as you dont know where the ammonia sits....and most LFS use test strips also......i know you got it off ebay thats why i suggested maybe seeing if the ebay seller you bought them off, also maybe sells more reliable kits where you can maybe do an exchange? most tanks will get cloudy but yours is still new ......good luck!