After being out of the fish keeping hobby for nearly 30 years, I recently decided to get back into it. As is my habit, I moved slowly and did a lot of research. It didn't take me long to discover that a lot has changed over the past 3 decades and there was/is a lot I don't know.

30 years ago, under gravel filters were the norm. I have no recollection of ever hearing of cycling a tank, the nitrogen cycle or beneficial bacteria. All I remember, and maybe I was just ignorant, was that you added fish a few at a time over a long period until you had your tank stocked.

Anyway, as part of my recent research, I came across this foreign concept called "fishless" cycling. The more I read, and you can read a ton on the subject, the more intrigued I became. I came to like the idea of controlling some of the variables that go into cycling a tank. I liked the idea of not having to intoduce a hardy species of fish to the tank, that I really didn't want, in order to cycle it. Being lazy, I liked the idea of not having to do daily water changes in order to keep the water tolerable for the fish while the tank cycled. And I really liked the idea that once the tank is cycled, I could introduce ALL of my fish right away. I decided, based on this research, that fishless cycling was for me and this is my story.

Let me mention now that my tanks is filtered with a Fluval FX5 (the result of more research) stuffed with 36 plastic scrubbies (the result of more research), 12 in each basket, that I bought at the Dollar Store. Total cost for media - $6.00.

I didn't want to reinvent the wheel to get this process done. Other people have significant experience with fishless cycling and thanks to the internet, one can gather a lot of information from those experiences in rather short order. To that end, rather than bouncing all around town to try to find PURE ammonia, I went to Ace Hardware and bought their brand. About $2 I think.

I used the API Master Test Kit (another research based conclusion) to check my water parameters. Initially, I found that 2.5 tsp of ammonia took my ammonia level to what I will call 6 ppm. It was in between the 4 and the 8 on the API color chart.

Now here's where things got a little confusing for me. A lot of the research I did said to redose the tank with ammonia every day with the same 2.5 tsp. That didn't make any sense to me. It seemed to me that if I added this amount of ammonia every day, in 10 days, my ammonia level would be around 60 ppm. That didn't seem logical. Surely, I concluded, 6 ppm of ammonia would be adequate to get this process started. I decided I was not going to redose with ammonia every day, I would just monitor it to make sure the ammonia level stayed in the 4-6 ppm range.

Okay, I established the ammonia level at around 6 ppm. Ph 7.6. Temp 82 degrees. Let's see what happens.

At day 6, it seems to my old tired eyes that the ammonia level is actually closer to 4 ppm. I am not willing to call this an ammonia drop and even if it is, it is insignificant. I do not add any ammonia to the tank.

I am not checking my ammonia level every day. Perhaps every other or every third day. Again, based on my research, I know it is going to take some time for my ammonia level to drop and nitrites to show up. I am trying to be patient.

Day 10. I am now calling the ammonia level as 4 ppm. Same with day 13. I have not added any ammonia since I initially set the tank up. I am reasonably sure it has gone down a little though in that time, but I am not certain. The distinction on the color chart between the 4 ppm and 8 ppm is pretty fine.

I had also checked the nitrite level on days 2, 4, 6 and 10. The tank registered no presence of nitrite.

Day 14. A clear ammonia drop to 2 ppm. I also register and record my first nitrite reading - 2 ppm. For the first time, I have a sign that this is going to work.

Day 16. Ammonia level of .5 ppm. I redosed the tank with 1 tsp of ammonia, which took the level to 2 ppm.

Day 17. Ammonia .25 ppm. Nitrites are off the chart. I decide to do a 50% water change to see if I can get the nitrites down to where they are on the chart. It doesn't work. Nitrites were still off the chart after the water change. I add 1 tsp of ammonia to the tank which takes the ammonia level to 1-2 ppm.

Day 18. Ammonia 0. Nitrites off the chart. I added 1 tsp of ammonia which again took the level to between 1 and 2 ppm.

Day 19. Ammonia .25. Nitrites off the chart. I decide to check nitrates and get a reading of 5 ppm. My research leads me to conclude that the nitrate reading is probably not to be believed because of the presence of significant nitrites. Ultimately, there probably really isn't any nitrate in the water, it is probably the nitrite throwing the test off.

Day 20. Another 50% water change to try to get the nitrite level readable and again, it doesn't work. Off the chart before and after the water change. I do add 1/2 tsp of ammonia which took the ammonia level to 1 ppm.

Day 21. Ammonia .25. Nitrite still off the chart. I do another 50% water change after which nitrite is still off the chart but I can detect no ammonia.

Day 22. Nitrite off the chart. I do test nitrate again, just because, and get a reading of 10 ppm. I am starting to get impatient. I do a 70% water change to try to get the nitrite down to a readable level. Again, it doesn't work. Nitrite still off the chart even after this massive water change. I add 1/2 tsp of ammonia which brings the level in the tank to 1 ppm.

Day 23. Ammonia .5 ppm. Nitrite off the chart. Another massive water change. I changed almost all of the water and this time it works. After the water change, I detect 1 ppm of nitrite. I hope I haen't overdone it with my water changes, but this drastic nitrite drop does concern me. I add 1/2 tsp of ammonia which give me a reading between .5 and 1 ppm.

Day 24. Essentially no ammonia reading. Nitrite is right at 5 ppm. I breathe a little sigh of relief. My water changes helped and didn't seem to hurt.

Day 25. Nitrite is off the chart again. I do another large water change - again changing nearly all the water, which bring my nitrite level down to .5 ppm. This time I add 8.45 oz of Tetra Safe Start. I have read mixed results where this product would speed up the cycling process. Not knowing if it is going to work, I go ahead and give it a try. Let's see what happens, other than making my water very cloudy for about an hour. I add 1 tsp of ammonia which gives me an ammonia level of 2 ppm. I find myself hoping once again I haven't screwed anything up.

Day 26. Ammonia .25 ppm. Nitrite on the chart at 5 ppm.

Day 27. 2 days after adding the Tetra Safe Start, nitrites measure 2 ppm and nitrate measures 40 ppm. I do a happy dance and wonder, did the TSS really help or would the same thing have happened without it? You decide.

Day 28. Nitrite 0. Nitrate 40. I think I'm cycled but I want to verify, so I add 1 tsp of ammonia (2 ppm). I am hopeful that tomorrow night, ammonia and nitrite will be 0 and nitrate will still have a significant presence in the water.

Day 29. Not quite as good as I had hoped. Reading are ammonia 0, nitrite 2 and nitrate 40. Not bad though. I do a 50% water change which brings my nitrite down to .5 ppm and my nitrate to 20 ppm.

Day 30. Readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 20 ppm of nitrate and I conclude THE TANK IS CYCLED!!! I do a large water change to bring the nitrate down to 5 ppm. I add one baby Oscar and 5 baby Silver Dollars.

Today, exactly one week after adding the fish, I detect 0 ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate measured between 5 and 10 ppm. I did a 50% water change anyway. All is well.

If I was going to do this over again, I would probably add a product like Safe Start earlier in the process. Also, I would have done more massive water changes earlier to get the nitrite level down to where it was readable. Other than that, I cycled a tank in 30 days. My fish are happy and so am I.

wow.... your post could be a model for any beginner... starting from the scratch
up to fish in tank... you did a great job... and thank you sharing...
one this for sure... you keep that patience pants throughout out the process...

with your first part... yeah... people do not understand the cycling process before,
they just throw away any dead fish... buy a new one and put it again in the
tank..... until such time the system works and bingo! the fish survive the
ordeal.. but because of the people who painstakingly do the study helps
the new generation of hobbyist....

Well done!!! What a great post for those who want to do this too! I think it needs to be a sticky!

Thanks Hun!

Thats a great post, very helpful for anyone considering starting a new tank and wants to go fishless

very interesting read. thanks for sharing.

so you went to the hardware store and purchased a bottle that was called "Ammonia"? Can you speak more on that?

cebosound wrote:


Certainly. You want "pure" ammonia. No additives like fragrance or soap. If you are in doubt, shake the bottle. If it turns foamy, put it back. It isn't what you want.

I had read that you can buy pure ammonia at Ace Hardware. It was in the aisle with other cleaning supplies.

And thanks for the kind words kids. I had said some weeks back that once I was successful at cycling my tank, I would post this thread. Glad you enjoyed it and hopefully someone, someday, will find it helpful.

probe1957 wrote:


Well it is 7 months later.... and I've found "IT".... and certainly appreciate your effort and sharing!

Thanks,
Marty

scfalconry wrote:


Cool. Thank you.

This is a great step-by-step thread! I think 30 days is a decently quick cycle. I do wonder how long it would have taken using something like safe start right away...

I might try a fishless cycle on my next tank just to go through the process.

Sounds good, just a note on the pot scrubbers, they're more so for sumps and inside canister filters they're less effective. The best biological media is arguably Eheim Substrat Pro, of course it's also expensive but can be found for about $45 for 4L

Alternately there's Fluval BioMax ceramic rings, they'll provide much more surface area for beneficial bacteria than pot scrubbers, and much cheaper than Eheim's product.

Finally there's an even cheaper version, MICROBE-LIFT Cermaic rings, you can get a 2lb (2x 1lb pre-bagged) for about $8 - $10 before deliver, they're good and cheap and will also outperform the pot scrubbers.

Of course if you do replace them, don't replace everything at once, it's a gradual process, unless of course you have the room for extra media. I'm curious as to how you set up your media now lol

Anyways, seems like you've learned a lot in the last while, sorry to try and complicate matters. It's really all down to personal preference, bacteria will grow on scrubbers and they're easy to clean, but there are better, affordable options.
Cheers!

i'm glad this thread is still alive.

I always use the soiled filter media from an established tank to start the cycle of a new tank. I think its the best way to go , if thats an option.