How does it start?

[milkman407]

I've never really seen a sticky or anything and have never even asked.

What are the steps a tank goes through to cycle?

Does it buil up ammonia, than turn it into nitrites than those into nitrates?

And My 75gallons perm is this, How long should it take to cycle?

ammonia: 4
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0

 

[CHOMPERS]

yeah, that's the nitrogen cycle. And tanks don't cycle, the filter does If you try to cycle it without any help from your other tanks, it will take forever. Some people have reported up to several months. By using media and gunk from a previously cycled filter, I had a tank that was up to speed in two days. It consumed all the ammonia and nitrites and kept them at zero.

 

[rtomber]

New filter media really does not take that long to cycle. Especially if you introduce messy fish, like goldfish. I HATE goldfish

 

[milkman407]

this tank ( 75gallon ) Has a bunch of biomax in it. Than there is a spray bar that i toulk the bio-wheel off and put 4 sponges there that are half in the water and half out, the part that is half out the water is being sprayed 24/7 and imo would act like a mini w/d.

The sponges ( 8 ) were in my cycled 75gallon's w/d but when I moved the tank the w/d came off.

But is there anyway to tell how fast the tank will cycle even though the amonia is at 4-8?

Or should I just go order some bio spira?

In the 75gallon I have 42 goldfish, and in the 20 gallon I have 4. These fish were given to me as feeders for my other fish but I wont feed them live.

 

[stotty]

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bionitrogencycle/a/aa073199.htm

 

[milkman407]

Thanks stotty

One more question before I leave, If I was to take a sponge out of my 120gallons hob filter, and squish it so that all the water,what ever else is in the sponge goes into my tank thats not cycled. Will that help at all?

 

[CHOMPERS]

...I have 42 goldfish, and in the 20 gallon I have 4. These fish were given to me as feeders for my other fish but I wont feed them live.

step on the goldfish, then feed them to your other fish

 

[boisblancboy]

But is there anyway to tell how fast the tank will cycle even though the amonia is at 4-8?

As far as I know there is no way to tell exactly how fast any tank or the filter media will cycle. When I did a fishless cycle on my 240 it took about 3 weeks. I started the tank with 8ppm of ammonia and in about a week and half is started to come down. Once it started to come down then it took 2 days to get to 0. Pretty much the same timeline for the nitrite once Ammonia was at zero.

 

[milkman407]

Chompers - you are the first person who made me laugh all week, thank you.

bois - did you just add ammonia that you can buy?

 

[boisblancboy]

Yep, just have to make sure that its Pure Ammonia, not the kind with detergent in it. I took about a cup of ammonia to get my 240 to 8 ppm.