Bio-spira.. Yeah thats the stuff...... I would say your if you never saw a big ammonia spike that there is no way your tank is cycled with the info you gave. I am not a firm believer in fishless cycles either. Not saying it won't work... thats just my opinion. In reality there is not much of an excuse imo to lose any fish durning a cycle anyway. It is called a water change. I get a little confused myself when so many people talk about losing fish while cycleing. My 220 I lost about 12 of the feeder gold fish (out of 50) that were about to die before I put them in. The 12 Convicts that the store gave me are still alive and kicking.
test kit, is my tank cycled far enough to get fish?????????/
- Thread starter brcacti
- Start date
I just looked at another post where you are asking if a 10gal cycles faster than a 300gal.
Now I see that we are talking about cycling the 300gal here?
The reason you have no ammonia or never saw a spike is because you only had a couple small fish in there. You didn't have any real ammonia source especially for that sized tank. For a 300gal, doing a cycle with fish, you would add say 50 goldfish or even more.
Now, since you don't have fish in it now, why don't you go the fishless route. Read up on those articles, buy some ammonia (shake it - make sure it doesn't foam), and give yourself a little more time.
Trust me, the fishless cycling is WAY easier...
Burt
Now I see that we are talking about cycling the 300gal here?
The reason you have no ammonia or never saw a spike is because you only had a couple small fish in there. You didn't have any real ammonia source especially for that sized tank. For a 300gal, doing a cycle with fish, you would add say 50 goldfish or even more.
Now, since you don't have fish in it now, why don't you go the fishless route. Read up on those articles, buy some ammonia (shake it - make sure it doesn't foam), and give yourself a little more time.
Trust me, the fishless cycling is WAY easier...
Burt
if you just use filters from another tank already running,a sponge filter from another tank,and i take half the water from an existing tank and a few fish.Thats how i have always done it and i never have had a problem.
If you have access to some cycled sponge filters (or any dirty media), then you can have one of the fastest ways to get your filter cycled. Clean the sponge filters (or dirty media) in some tank water and then pour the entire contents into your tank or filter. The tank will look like a nasty mess but that gunk is the good stuff.
Add some feeders to the tank after it clears up (usually about a day) to verify that the bacteria is doing its job (and to keep it alive).
Thanks for the articles as I will be getting new tank soon I need the help.Burtess;1837830; said:jcardona1 & cassharper
Listen to these guys, they give good info....
The most effective way to ready a tank for immediate, full stocking, is a fishless cycle. This allows you to build up a very large bacterial colony that will be able to handle all the waste produced from a fully stocked tank.
See here for good info:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cycling.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycling.php
If you educate yourself on how the nitrogen cycle works, and be patient, you will loose less fish (probably none!) and save yourself a lot of frustration...
Burt
