Confusion over new tank setup

[Mike1045]

I am about to put water in my new 125 gallon aquarium. It will be an African Cichlid tank. I am trying to better understand the cycling process and would appreciate help with a couple of questions.

1. I have read (on here) "Fishless cycling". If I choose this method, should I then NOT use the products I purchased already? I bought SeaChem Prime and Stability and Purigen. Since all of these seem to remove ammonia, it seems like they should not be used when using the "fishless method". Please advise...

2. If I do not do the "fishless method", should I just go ahead with the Prime, Stability and Purigen and use my new test kit to monitor the levels? Or should I put a couple of hardy fish in there to start the process as well?

 

[ragin_cajun]

Prime is for taking chlorine outta the water when you do a water change. If you do a nice big water change, and the new water is full of chlorine, it'll kill your fish and sterilize the beneficial bacteria (BB) living in your filters.

Purigen is a nice polishing product to help with clarity. I don't use it anymore, but it IS great for taking tannins out of the water from soaking new driftwood.

Seachem Stability is supposed to be good for use when you cycle a new tank with fish in it. I've never used the product.

A "fishless cycle" means you have no fish in the tank, and you don't use a bottled bacteria product (like Seachem Stability). You just drip set amount of ammonia into a tank of water with the filters running. And you test the water daily with an API freshwater master test kit. You watch the levels, and you keep the ammonia level somewhat constant by dripping a little more ammonia ammonia each day, until you see Nitrites on your test kit. Then you keep it up until the ammonia and nitrite goes to Zero, and Nitrate levels go to 10-20, maybe up to 40-80 ppm, and your tank is cycled.

so there's different ways to cycle your tank. You have the Stability already, so use that. Put some fish in the tank you're not too worried about losing--just in case. Put the Stability in the tank everyday like the directions say. You probably won't lose any fish.

Regardless how you cycle your tank, you still need an API test kit. Go buy one, use it, post results and ask about it.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

All the products you mentioned with the exception of prime (sort of) are more for making those companies money than for being useful in fishkeeping.

You do to want to remove or mess with ammonia at all when cycling... ammonia is what starts the cycle! You also usually don't even need to use prime. Just fill your aquarium and wait 2 or 3 days then start your fishless or fish cycle.

I know some people swear by fishless but call me old school I just get a few dozen guppies (depending on tank size) and start cycling. I always end up getting fish that will eat the guppies anyway. You can also seed your tank with beneficial bacteria if you have access to a healthy cycled tank. I will simply take some media out of the filter of the cycled tank and then put it in the new tank after it has had fish for 4 or so days so that there is ammonia present. This speeds the process up dramatically because you are adding a healthy colony of bacteria which can multiply. I would only recommend this if you know the cycled tank is very healthy.

 

[Mike1045]

I don't have access to any other media from an existing tank.

So if I understand correctly...

If I go with the fishless option...I should not use any products in the water. Just add the ammonia as described and start testing the water as the cycle proceeds???

If I go with using guppies or whatever...then use the products???

 

[monkeybike]

I've used stability with alot of success. It shortened the cycle considerably.

 

[ragin_cajun]

I don't have access to any other media from an existing tank.

So if I understand correctly...

If I go with the fishless option...I should not use any products in the water. Just add the ammonia as described and start testing the water as the cycle proceeds???

If I go with using guppies or whatever...then use the products???

You almost have it. Fishless option--do what you said.

If cycle with fish, you have 2 options. You can put fish in the tank and use a bottled bacteria culture, or use Seachem Stability, some kinda product.

The other option to cycle with fish is old school route that Fish Eat Fish proposes. You just get some cheap fish (like comets or guppies), put them in the tank, and wait. Very likely they'll all live just fine, maybe a few will die, probably not. Problem is.....it's a long wait. Like 4-6 weeks.

So, that's why they started selling the bacteria starter type products--to shorten the time to cycle, and to make it less likely that fish will die during a cycle.

I've done it all 3 ways, and if I had to do it tomorrow, I'd go old school and just drop some fish in the tank and wait. Then, I'd get tired of waiting, and put some kinda starter in the tank. Then I'd order some fish I really want and put them in the tank.

Waiting for a tank to cycle, and looking at Comets in your tank, and other people's monsters on the Internet, is not fun.

 

[Bigtdotcom]

I recently used used dr timms to cycle a tank and it worked great, was expensive compared to other products but worked so I'm not worried. If doing a fishless cycle I would still add prime to your tank to remove the chlorine as the chlorine will kill the bacteria you are trying to grow

 

[monkeybike]

Are you able to get a handful of established filter media from a friend? I keep a few extra bags of bio media in my sump for just that reason.

 

[DN328]

I don't have access to any other media from an existing tank.

So if I understand correctly...

If I go with the fishless option...I should not use any products in the water. Just add the ammonia as described and start testing the water as the cycle proceeds???

If I go with using guppies or whatever...then use the products???

Yes, correct. You can use stability for fishless cycle too if you wanted.

 

[JK47]

Another option is to go to your local fish store, ask them to wring out a sponge filter into a bucket with some dechlorinated water. Poor in the bucket straight into the tank. This method, fishless, can cycle a tank in days. Or you can do it with fish as well.

I would avoid using cheap fish to cycle a tank for two reasons 1) I try not to kill fish just because I don't care for them and 2) they are cheap fish. Usually bred in nasty conditions and can easily transfer pathogens or illnesses to your system. Very little reward in this method IMO

I am cycling two filters and/or media in a bucket prior to swapping filters. I do the same method I described above but with ammonia from the hardware store. No fish.