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The advantages of this method of cycling a tank instead of using a few small, hardy fish to get the bacterial colonies up and running all result from megadosing the tank.The amount of ammonia added is far above that generated by a reasonable number of cycling fish, resulting in faster growth of the bacterial colonies, and larger colonies when you're finished. In practical terms, this means that your tank cycles faster (reports of anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the fish tank... compared to average of 4-6 weeks for traditionally cycled tanks, and that you can fully stock a tank when the cycle is complete.
Of course,another big advantage is that no fish are subjected to high ammonia or nitrite concentrations,eliminating loss and ammonia/nitrite related illnesses which frequently occur in new tanks.
SOURCES OF BACTERIA
A) Filter material (floss, sponge, biowheel, etc.) from an cycled tank
Gravel from a cycled tankC) Ornaments,ie. driftwood and rocks from a cycled tank .
D) Filter squeezings have little or no bacteria present (the bacteria we need forms on surfaces) It may be possible the bacteria required for the conversion process exists in very small
amonuts in uncycled tanks it will speed upthe process if you have acess to any of the above.
SNAKEOIL AND BUNK
There are numerous additives for cycling a tank .I know of no off the shelf products that
work. If you think about it the bacteria we need is aerobic (needing oxygen) how much oxygen is the bottle getting .That said Biro- spira ( the refridgerated one ) i can say i have had positvie results from using.The bacteria goes dormant at low(refridgerated temps) so it stays viable longer.
SOURCES OF AMMONIA
The most difficult part of the fishless cycling procedure, according to many postings on the message boards, involves finding a good source of ammonia. Ammonia used should be free of surfactants, perfumes, and colourants.Always read the ingredients on the bottle.The best and often cheapest sources for Pure or Clear Ammonia are discount grocery stores or hardware stores.Often, the no-name brand is the stuff you're looking for. If it doesn't list the ingredients, or say Clear Ammonia (or Pure Ammonia or 100% Ammonia, or Pure Ammonium Hydroxide), then leave it on the shelf and look elsewhere. Shake the bottle if you're not sure about it... bad ammonia will foam, while good ammonia will not.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
An ammonia and a nitrIte and nitrAte test kit are needed for this process.Also test your tap water and record the nitrAte level for baseline use for below.
THE PROCESS
Add ammonia to the tank initially to obtain a reading on your ammonia kit of 5 ppm. Record the amount of ammonia that this took.then add that amount daily until the nitrite spikes. Once the nitrite is visible, cut back the daily dose of ammonia to ½ the original volume.When the nitrite
has spiked and is dropping you should notice a rise in the nitrate level higher than your tapwater. When the Ammonia and nitrIte read zero and your nitrAtes are higher than your tapwater baseline reading its cycled chemicals such as ammo- lock or resins should not be usedduring cycling.They may affect the cycle, extending it's duration or otherwise adversely affecting the bacterial colonies.
WATER CHANGES AFTER ITS CYCLED
a large water change is needed to lower the nitrAte level before adding fish.
THINGS THAT CAN THROW A CYCLE OFF
Heavily planted tank some plants take ammonia for their own use
Ammo-Lock and resin exchange agents
waterchanges
