Ghosty is currently in a 2.5 gal hospital tank recovering from an upset with his tank last week involving newly introduced live plants and wood. Long story short, we have decided to get him a new 10 gal tank and properly do a fishless cycling method.
I've been doing some research and so far the Pure Ammonia cycling method sounds the cleanest and safest. I haven't been able to find any cons. Here is one of the guides I've found.
Anyone care to share their experience with pure ammonia, or if there are any cons? I have no problem doing daily water tests and dosages.
Otherwise, that is what I will start this weekend. The 10 gal tank will also be fairly planted. I'm planning on buying new plants with the tank. Do I still need to QT the plants before putting them in the cycling tank? Or can I throw them in from the start?
Fishless cycling using Pure Ammonia is, in my opinion, definitely the best method. It doesn't dirty your tank, like using fish food will. It's the only way to be absolutely sure no fish will be stressed or harmed. It also tends to be the quickest because you aren't having to do daily water changes to keep the levels fish safe. I have a 10 gallon that just finished being fishless cycled using pure ammonia. The waiting part can be hard, but stay with it and you will feel very proud and accomplished. Testing daily isn't necessary when doing the fishless route. I test every few days. Adding new plants now should be fine, since there are no fish present.
Fishless cycling using Pure Ammonia is, in my opinion, definitely the best method. It doesn't dirty your tank, like using fish food will. It's the only way to be absolutely sure no fish will be stressed or harmed. It also tends to be the quickest because you aren't having to do daily water changes to keep the levels fish safe. I have a 10 gallon that just finished being fishless cycled using pure ammonia. The waiting part can be hard, but stay with it and you will feel very proud and accomplished. Testing daily isn't necessary when doing the fishless route. I test every few days. Adding new plants now should be fine, since there are no fish present.
LionCalie,
Thanks for your feedback! Congratulations on completing your cycle too! Was wondering how long it took for your tank to complete its cycle using pure ammonia?
I imagine the waiting would be the hardest/most boring part lol, but I'm sure it is all entirely worth it to see your betta happily swimming around in their nicely cycled tank =)
So I just started the first day of my cycle yesterday.
10 Gal
New Heater
New Filter
New Substrate
New Light (for plants)
Piece of wood
3 Live Plants (Anubias, Crypt, and Moss Ball)
I put everything together last night, setup the AQ, filled it with water, turned everything on, and then it run for a bit before adding in some pure ammonia.
It's less than 24 hours later and the water is already starting to look a little green. I'm worried it will get worse and I'll end up with an algae problem by the end of my cycle. People have said it's ok to introduce plants while you cycle, others have had problems.
Is this green water something to worry about? Will it go away or balance out when the cycle is finished? Or should I do something to prevent the algae levels from rising?
I started my cycle on Feb. 11th, so I am now on my 11th day. I was following the guide I had posted earlier, but when I entered the directed dosage of ammonia and tested the ammonia levels, it was WAY off the chart! I figured that it would take care of itself over time.
Nitrites are finally starting to show at 1.0 ppm, but my Ammonia is still around 8.0 ppm instead of 4-5 ppm. When my Nitrites spike, I'm supposed to keep dosing Ammonia for levels of 2-3 ppm daily, but I feel like my Ammonia will still be high. I haven't added any Ammonia since the first day. It has dropped very slightly since then, but not much.
Should I do a water change to lower the Ammonia levels? Will that effect the Nitrite levels too? Or should I just let this thing ride itself out?
I also made the mistake of adding too much ammonia at once to the cycle. It eventually worked it's way down but it took a lot longer than I wanted :/ I would think one 25% water change to see how far that brings it down might be in check, and maybe another 25% if you need it. Also, what temp do you have your heater set too? I read in many guides to crank it up to the mid 80's to help stimulate bacterial growth.
I also made the mistake of adding too much ammonia at once to the cycle. It eventually worked it's way down but it took a lot longer than I wanted :/ I would think one 25% water change to see how far that brings it down might be in check, and maybe another 25% if you need it. Also, what temp do you have your heater set too? I read in many guides to crank it up to the mid 80's to help stimulate bacterial growth.
Smokey65662,
Thanks for your reply! My temp. is around 77 F, but I'm thinking about turning it up if that's the case. I'll do a 25% WC to see if that helps! Hoping it won't take THAT much longer than normal =(
Thanks for your reply! My temp. is around 77 F, but I'm thinking about turning it up if that's the case. I'll do a 25% WC to see if that helps! Hoping it won't take THAT much longer than normal =(
<3 BettaChic
I would definitely bump it up to at least 82. If it helps im also learning how to properly do the "fishless cycle". It's very easy and effective but just like everything else it come with its own set of quirks and rules :P
Yay!! My 10 gallon finally finished cycling! The bad news is, my Ghosty is still suffering from Velvet and I've been treating him for almost a month now. First did coppersafe, then salt water for 10 days, now coppersafe again. Keeping him in the dark raised the temp a little, changing water every other day. He doesn't seem to be getting better =( or it's just a very very slow process. So for now I am keeping him in his hospital tank. Don't want to infect the newly cycled tank.
On that note, I've been dosing more pure ammonia in small amounts so I don't starve the bacteria. I was planning on getting 4 or 5 ghost shrimp to live with my betta. If I put them in the 10 gallon now, will they create enough ammonia to feed the colony in the tank or no?
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