My First Fishless Cycle

Hello all,
I have started my first fishless cycle on my 10g tank that I recently took down but right away decided to set up again.
I put some already cycled media in the filter and in 48 hours these are my test results:
Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm
I thought the ammonia would be higher by now? How long will it be until I start seeing higher levels of ammonia and nitrites?

 

mattgirl

 

Hello all,
I have started my first fishless cycle on my 10g tank that I recently took down but right away decided to set up again.
I put some already cycled media in the filter and in 48 hours these are my test results:
Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm
I thought the ammonia would be higher by now? How long will it be until I start seeing higher levels of ammonia and nitrites?

If this is a fishless cycle the ammonia isn't going to go up until you add ammonia. You have to feed the seeded media.

 

Ammonia won't go up on it's own, you'll need ammonia powder, the drops, or fish food as a source since you're doing it fishless. You should see nitrates showing up after that.

 

If this is a fishless cycle the ammonia isn't going to go up until you add ammonia. You have to feed the seeded media.

Thanks! I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to this type of thing. Would flakes work? If so, how much should I add? Should I put it directly in the tank or in the filter?

 

Thanks! I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to this type of thing. Would flakes work? If so, how much should I add? Should I put it directly in the tank or in the filter?

You are so very welcome. By the time you get this fishless cycle done you will no longer be inexperienced.

Flakes will work. What you will be doing if you choose to use flakes is just add a small pinch daily just as you would if you were feeding fish. It will take a few days for the flakes to start decomposing. when they do they will form ammonia and will feed your bacteria.

As I said, fish food will work but it is a messy way of doing it. A piece of raw shrimp will work too. Put it in some kind of container so it will be easy to remove when it is no longer needed.

The cleanest, but in my humble opinion not always the best, form of ammonia is liquid ammonia. Lots of folks use Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride and others buy ammonia from places like Ace Hardware. Should you choose the last option just make sure the ammonia has nothing but ammonia and water in the bottle. Shake it, If the bubbles don't almost instantly go away don't use it.

 

You are so very welcome. By the time you get this fishless cycle done you will no longer be inexperienced.

Flakes will work. What you will be doing if you choose to use flakes is just add a small pinch daily just as you would if you were feeding fish. It will take a few days for the flakes to start decomposing. when they do they will form ammonia and will feed your bacteria.

As I said, fish food will work but it is a messy way of doing it. A piece of raw shrimp will work too. Put it in some kind of container so it will be easy to remove when it is no longer needed.

The cleanest, but in my humble opinion not always the best, form of ammonia is liquid ammonia. Lots of folks use Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride and others buy ammonia from places like Ace Hardware. Should you choose the last option just make sure the ammonia has nothing but ammonia and water in the bottle. Shake it, If the bubbles don't almost instantly go away don't use it.

Will do. Thank you very much!