How NOT to cycle a tank!

[black_monster]

the way i cycle is by gettin all my old filter cartridges out of the other tanks i have and stick em in the tank. i usually forget about the new tank i get for a month or so. the i simply add fish and everything is fine.

 

[fishyz]

Wal-Mart needs to have people with experience in that section. They once told me that a Pacu only grows to 8" and they can live in a 10g tank. Sorry to get off topic, but I went to Wal-Mart the other day looking for a knife. There was a guy helping out another guy, so I waited. The phone rings and he picks up. Now...I don't really know what they were talking about, but I heard, "Yeah...I shot a dog once with that gun. You might even consider getting a bowie. That might do the job." WTF!!! And he continued to talk on the phone and ignore me. Later I heard him say to the guy on the phone that they lost the key to the knife drawer, so I wasted 20 minutes listening to this piece of crap talking about possibly killing animals!

That's when you put on a ski mask, grab the guy by his collar, break his nose with your fist, and walk away. Sounds like a bunch of retards to me.

 

[guppy]

I still like the old fashion way, cycling slowly by stages, it has always worked for me.

 

[fishnutham]

half a dozen zebra danios gets the cycle going for me and they usally live through the spike wth no probs..

 

[Peanut_Power]

I do fishless with ammonia.

Pure ammonia, no additives.
Add 3-4 drops/10 gallons every day until ammonia spikes,
keep adding until Nitrites spike,
once Nitrite spikes, cut ammonia addtions in half.
Wait it out until Ammonia and nitrite go to zero, with nitrates around 80 ppm
Do a 80% water change without vacuuming gravel.

Add fish.

Takes about 2 weeks.

As do I!! It is by far the easiest way to do it safely. You have to make sure you get pure ammonia though. Shake the bottle, if it froths and foams, don't use it. There should only be a minimal amount of bubblin at the surface.

Another way to cycle your tank is to drop in a piece of thawed market shrimp for each 50gal of water. The shrimp will produce the ammonia need to cycle the tank, and you won't have to constantly be adding ammonia to the tank.... I've used that method once now and will use it from now on because of its simplicity and effectiveness...hope that helps.

 

[Danyal]

i've only had to cycle two tanks since i've found out what the nitrogen cycle was(i went 10 years w/o every doing research, joined wetwebfotos in '04 and haven't added fish to an uncyled tank since) i had just gotten permission to set up my 180g so i filled it up w/ the hose and let it sit for a couple days w/ the pump running to let the chlorine evaporate, then i threw the yolks from a couple hardboiled eggs in and walked away for a month and a half, only did top offs so the overflow would work, after it was done i put in 6 white mollies because i hadn't decided exactly what to do with it and i can't stand an empty tank, they where the happiest mollies ever . the other one was when i set up my 11" planted cube, i put in an inch of sand from an established 2.5g hex that i was using as a amphipod culture tank under 2" of larger grained black sand, then added my decorations and plants, easiest cycle i've ever done.

 

[tash]

another non fish cycle---- piss in your tank. it'll start the process. smells, but works

you know.. my baby sometimes goes in her little potty chair, the thought actually crossed my mind to dump it in a tank to cycle it instead of the toilet

 

[Mystix212]

another non fish cycle---- piss in your tank. it'll start the process. smells, but works

Piss is almost pure ammonia. Dont need to buy the stuff. Just dont let anyone look.

 

[Mystix212]

On Jackass they had the predator expert guy doing a thing with Steve-O. Putting jellyfish on his head and using Piss (Ammonia) as a sting repelent or something. makes pain go away.

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

wal mart fish keepers are nothing but out of season garden center employees. they think a large fish tank is a 55gal and a cool and aggressive fish is a oscar. they are puppy dogs compared to the fish that mfk lovers keep. want good advice look online because even pet shops tell you a lot of b/s when first getting into the hobby i was told by a pet shop that a red devil was a african river fish. i knew better and i learned not to ask for advice about fish and just do your homework before you buy .

Oscars are the most aggressive fish most wal marts carry.