Cycling 2.5 gal?

I have an empty 2.5, so have decided to try cycling it.

I put the Whisper filter that came with the tank in with some media from my established tank and it's been running since last night.

What's the best way to do a fishless cycle with such a tiny tank? After parameters are good, how long do I wait to put a fish in it? Will it stay stable?

I don't want to try any fish in there until it's perfectly safe.

 

I would imagine you can do the fishless cycle the same way you would do with a larger tank. Just add some fish flakes, test the water and watch the readings to determine when the tank has cycled. Since you have added media from an established tank it shouldnt take you very long. ;D

~ kate

 

When your parameters are OK, there's no reason to wait before adding fish. Stability of the aquarium will be determined by the biological load you place on the system. If you add fish slowly (one at a time), and there is a decent surface area of biological activity, any changes that occur will be hard to measure (ie. ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)

 

What are you using to cycle it? Used media helps seed the colony of bacteria but you have to feed it ammonia. Wait until ammonia and nitrite are zero, do a huge wc, and then you can add the fish.

 

Thanks! I"m planning on putting a female betta in there.

I do know how to cycle a tank, but with such a small volume of water I"m wondering how stable it will be. Big tanks are so much easier to stabilize over all!

I just don't want to put any fish in jeopardy.

Right now I"m cycling it with fish food and the seasoned floss from my 20 gal.

 

I have a 1.5 gallon w/ a male betta and its pretty stable, all you have to do is make sure you keep up with your water changes

 

I have a 1.5 gallon w/ a male betta and its pretty stable,

How long have you had it running please? All your parameters are good with no big jumps in nitrate or ammonia?

I'm such a worrier when it comes to my betta babies. Maybe I should just fishwhack myself!

 

Thanks! I"m planning on putting a female betta in there.

I do know how to cycle a tank, but with such a small volume of water I"m wondering how stable it will be. Big tanks are so much easier to stabilize over all!

I just don't want to put any fish in jeopardy.

Right now I"m cycling it with fish food and the seasoned floss from my 20 gal.

Gotcha, it wasn't clear from your first post whether you were adding anything to cycle it.

A 2.5 may not be as stable as far as temp and nitrate levels go, but a cycled tank is a cycled tank....there's no reason why it wouldn't cycle the same as any tank. You definitely will have to watch everything more closely though, as it is more prone to fluctuations.

 

Teehee, fish whack!!!

I assume you have a freshwater test kit? My Betta tanks have had bettas without cycling from advice on here. I have 2 other running tanks so had knowledge and testing kits from them.

From my experience ( as I say help for over a year from this site) i've have 2 betta tanks still going that started with clean, conditioned, warm water and have tested to watch for spikes. Frequent small water changes and the tanks have cycled with the Betta living in. Shame I lost my 3rd tank this week, RIP Honey

 

Its been running for a little over 2 months, and I have been using an ammonia alarm from Doctors Foster and Smith:

to keep track of my ammonia levels and it has always read safe. It saves me a lot of tome and money, because w /out it, I would have to test everyday due to the fact that I do 25% water changes every day to keep my levels down and put as little stress on my fish as possible.chickadee recommended it to me, and I would highly recommend it to you. Hope all this helps

 

Wow, that Ammonia alert is awesome. I'll get it asap.

Thanks so much!!

 

You are very welcome, and best of luck with your tank

 

Everything is all set up, and am just waiting for my ammonia alert to add a new wee girl to this tank. She'll have to be wee, since the heater and filter take so much room.

I'll report how the cycling goes.

 

i'm not sure how she'll do with the floating ornament.. her fins could snag on the fishling line.

 

Don't worry. I just like to put those blown glass fish in until a live one comes along. I like the colours!