Adding Fish Food For A Fishless Cycling

I have a 50 gallon tank and I set up the tank with heater, filter, gravel, substrate, air pump. I am starting the fishless cycling process today. The pure ammonia is not available in any of the stores in my area. So I bought fish food which is in pellets form.

How many pellets do I need to put in a 50 gallon tank daily for starting the proper cycling?

 

I don't think anyone can answer that.
My suggestion would be to put in a little at a time, wait for it to start recomposing and test the water. Test it over a period of several hours to find out where the ammonia tops. Then you know that x amount of pellets = x amount of ammonia.
However, pure ammonia is much easier to control so I'd suggest (if you haven't already done so) to search the internet for pure ammonia that you can order online. My first go to places would be Ebay and Amazon.

 

I have a 50 gallon tank and I set up the tank with heater, filter, gravel, substrate, air pump. I am starting the fishless cycling process today. The pure ammonia is not available in any of the stores in my area. So I bought fish food which is in pellets form.

How many pellets do I need to put in a 50 gallon tank daily for starting the proper cycling?

well first real fish break down the food...so howmany fish you keeping what type..what would u feed them ..better to borrow some dirty gravel from a good friend...its all about the filter...good luck..get some feeder goldfish..

 

well first real fish break down the food...so howmany fish you keeping what type..what would u feed them ..better to borrow some dirty gravel from a good friend...its all about the filter...good luck..get some feeder goldfish..

I have 8 guppies. But I keep them in another safe tank. So are you suggesting me to do a fish cycle?

I have fish food in pellets form, that I am going to feed them.

 

I have 8 guppies. But I keep them in another safe tank. So are you suggesting me to do a fish cycle?

I have fish food in pellets form, that I am going to feed them.

I'd definitely not suggest a fish in cycle and definitely not with feeder goldfish. Try out cycling with fish food. Lots of people have done it.

 

Check INJAF: they have a calculator for how much fish food transfers into ammonia. It's not called that, but there's a link from their beginner guides to the proper calculator.

 

to start my cycle I added a fresh jumbo shrimp tail from the supermarket to get it going for my 90gal tank. You know for sure it was working because once it started rotting you could smell it but it got the job done quick.

 

to start my cycle I added a fresh jumbo shrimp tail from the supermarket to get it going for my 90gal tank. You know for sure it was working because once it started rotting you could smell it but it got the job done quick.

So if I use this method and once the cycling is over, it's pretty sure that my tank is ugly and have rotten smell. So is that ok if I make a 90℅water change that time?. Will it kill the beneficial bacteria I have created on cycling process?

 

1) Grab a handful of the fish food/pellets.
2) Throw them into the toe of a stock in or pair of tights.
3) Suspend it in the water and give it a few hours.
4) Check ammonia.
5) Once ammonia is reading 2ppm, whip out the ammonia ball and throw away.
6) Start checking nitrite
7) Let ammonia fall to 0.25ppm

Repeat until you either: a) get liquid ammonia, or b) ammonia and nitrite are converted within 24hrs.

 

So if I use this method and once the cycling is over, it's pretty sure that my tank is ugly and have rotten smell. So is that ok if I make a 90℅water change that time?. Will it kill the beneficial bacteria I have created on cycling process?

you can get a smaller piece since its a smaller tank and therefore the smell won't be so strong. You can do small water changes once a week if you want. Best method to do a water change is to turn off all equipment treat the new water with Prime or whatever your choice of dechlorinater is fill the tank and let it sit for about 10mins before turning any of the filters back on to ensure the Prime has done its job. Shouldn't affect your BB if you follow the correct procedures for a water change.

Get a Python quick water hose to make it even easier if you don't already have one.

 

I did a fish-food cycle, it went well for both my 10gal and 2.5gal.
I agree with what lindsay suggested, make yourself a makeshift fish-food teabag. I don't really have a reccomendation for how much...The whole process was mostly guesswork for me, I only really knew what numbers to look for but that's the important part. (The spikes/ end goal) But I used a tablespoon in my mesh bag for 10gal. Refilled as it disolved.
When the ammonia got higher than 4ppm I took the food mesh mess out and put it back when ammonia was 0 (or .25 bevause I was nervous about starving the bacteria)
I also used tss+ to help along the process, they were both cycled in around 10 days for me.
Sorry its not very informative, I might've even done things wrong. But that was my experience.
You can do this, goodluck!