Update: Ammonia seemed to be stuck at 0.25ppm. I read that the ammonia has to reach at least 5ppm to cycle. So yesterday, I put about 100 tetra tropical crisps in the tank. Today the ammonia is 0.5ppm. I think the tropical crisps are designed to decompose slowly to allow the fish more time to eat it and to help keep the tank cleaner. The water looks clear and there is no smell. To save on API testing solutions, I'm just testing ammonia for the next few days because I don't expect to see nitrites for a while. I'm still looking in stores for pure ammonia. If I find it, I'll start using it instead of fish food.
How to fishless cycle a 180 liter tank
- Thread starter g2orange
- Start date
Update: I'm about to take Hot Slime's advice and add some fish to the tank. It is now day 6 after doing a major water change due to the stinky clams I had put in the tank. For the past 3 days, I've been adding 100 or more tetramin tropical crisps each day. The ammonia is finally approaching 1.0ppm. I read that the ammonia has to reach at least 5ppm and then decline before I can be sure the tank has cycled. I have 2 more bags of bio balls that I've been keeping in my other tank for weeks. I'm going to lower the temp in the new tank (which I've been keeping at 86F to speed the cycling), add live plants and some hardy fish. I expect that there will be fluctuations in ammonia and nitrites. But because the tank has been running for a couple of weeks now and I'm seeding with a pretty fair amount of bio from an established tank, the stress on the fish should be minimized. I'll also keep testing and doing water changes.
Oh, and I finally found ammonia that doesn't foam. But the ingredients are not listed on the bottle; only numerous toxic warnings. I bring myself to put it in the tank because I can't be sure that it doesn't have other dangerous chemicals in it.
Oh, and I finally found ammonia that doesn't foam. But the ingredients are not listed on the bottle; only numerous toxic warnings. I bring myself to put it in the tank because I can't be sure that it doesn't have other dangerous chemicals in it.
What the deal with the brine shrimp for cycling, how did that come about? Are we talking about live brine shrimp for a fresh water? nwaht happento jsut using dead market shrimp? What makes brine shrimp ideal for cycling. I am asking becaue I am about to start plumbing my tank this weekend and may start the water process by Monday...
