mibro

What do you think (with a brand new spankin everything, filter, gravel, etc..) would cycle a 29 gallon tank faster?

feeding it ammonia? or feeding it fish food every day?

Nick Goody

The fastest way to cycle a tank is using filter media and substrate/ornaments from an established tank, the second fastest is using tetra safestart. I would probably guess that using pure ammonia would be slightly faster as the food needs to decompose before it turns into ammonia. However cycling varies from tank to tank so it's really hard to say.

Elvishswimmer

I'm in the middle of cycling a brand spanking new aquarium too, I'm a begginer to the hobby, but this is what I have learned so far:

I was using fishfood at first till I could get to the store for ammonia, and it kept the ammonia levels fairly low (I only did it for about 4 days though).
Using pure ammonia, you can get the ammonia levels up higher. From what I read, this means that the bacteria, when they come, need to grow in a larger population to process more ammonia. This mean that when you do add fish, the bacterial colonies are large and will be better equipped to handle the ammonia produced by them.

It will take longer to get the bacteria to a higher level to process all the pure ammonia, but I find that the cost in time will make up for in the biological filter capacity.

I also heard that fish food can put in phosphates into your tank which can cause an algal bloom, just something to keep in mind.

Jaysee

Ammonia hands down. The fish food method requires the food to break down first, and there is minimal control.

mibro

Hm, now that you guys make all the points with the fish food, alot of that seem so um..common sense like ^_^ guess I didn't realize it though till now

Lucy

If I had to start a brand new cycle I think I'd try the shrimp method.
Put a peice of raw shrimp in a mesh bad and let it do it's thing.

I kept a cycle going with with fish food, added too much and man what a mess.
It was nasty and I had to tear the tank down to get it all out.

Ammonia is great, however, if you add too much it can prolong the cycle.
Several members got stuck in the nitrite phase.
If you decide to go with ammonia, I'd suggest the add and wait method.

Congrats on the fish less cycle, good luck.

Beth1965

My personal experience tells you to get some media from an established tank and cycle with that. I found it very very fast-immediate. But as someone already said, each tank is different.

click

With ammonia I got to the nitrite phase in one week but...
..I didn't know you can get stuck in the nitrite phase. How much is too much ammonia? I add to get the concentration to 1.0-1.5 PPM every day, since I don't want the nitrosomonas to starve. How long can they live without ammonia?

flyin-lowe

Others on here half also stated in a fishless cycle that cranking your heater up to 85+ degrees will speed things up as the warmer water will cycle faster.

Lucy

IMO, the amount you're adding is fine.
Getting stuck usually happens when members add 5 or 6 ppm daily. If adding this amount, it's important to note that once you have a nitrite reading, you should cut the ammonia you're adding in half.
However, not everyone gets stuck adding that amount. Many members have cycled this way with no problems and it builds a healthy bed of bacteria.
As long as there's some ammonia in the tank, the bacteria won't starve.

Tigerfishy

Hi, I found this post recently while looking for other ways of cycling (eventually settled with media already used from an old tank), and it's great, very useful. A lot to get through right enough, but step by step instructions on many different cycling methods...
Ammonia instructions for a fishless cycle

Jaysee

I've read/heard as little as 12 hours and as much as 24 hours. Haven't found a definitive answer yet.

mibro

to be honest that method sounds more attractive then any other, just because of my time restraints and not being able to watch the tank as much as i want. if i put the shrimp in there, i could most likely let nature take its course

Lucy

I've never cycled this way, but Shawnie has.
Hopefully she'll chime in later

CakeRevolution

I'm currently Cycling fishless with a piece of tuna head. Seems to be working so far. The ammonia readings have gone off the charts( literally). Also my water went really murky that I couldn't even see my plants lol, but then I woke up this morning and the water is basically clear. So something good must be happening. It's also really cheap Which I'm a big fan of. I dunno how much ammonia costs, but getting hold of a piece of cut off fish isn't too hard. Note though it does smell a bit, but not unbearable at all. I keep my tank in my bedroom, and doesn't stop me from sleeping or anything.

EDIT: Also you don't have to keep adding ammonia everyday, you just put it in something, and off you go. I am using a sock.