cycling new tank?
 

Alright I really don't want to use fish to cycle my tank. So I've heard putting a lot of fish flakes in there does the trick. Has anyone used this method? If so any suggestions on the best way to do this and still have a somewhat quick cycling period? Thanks!

Have a read at this: http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3738

It gives information on doing it with fish food, pure ammonia and using a raw prawn so it may help you choose which fishless method you want to use.

Oops :oops: I read that thread but got lazy and was skipping lines... Guess I missed the part about the fish food. Haha thanks.

Ok to make sure I understand this cycling thing, It's been about three days cycling. And yesterday everything read zero. Except for pH, it was lower though. Today my ammonia is like 2.0-4.0ppm and nitrites 0 and nitrates 0.(pH 7.6) This is what is supposed to happen correct? They will be broken down into nitrates to feed my bacteria right? Ah I hope I understand this. I'm pretty sure I do but I might be wrong. In the next few days should I be expecting to see the nitrites build up? Then nitrates or should all of this be happening at once?

Yep that's right.

Keep feeding the tank small amounts and it'll complete it's cycle. :)

Awesome thanks, should there be like a maximum to the amount of fish flakes? Cuz... Yeah I put a lot. Well not a lot, but theres a good sized pile at the bottom. My dad was like "...That looks like puke :? " Lol I suppose to much won't hurt as long as I make sure I clean it up real good? Thanks again, it's good to know I'm learning! :D

The link I gave you suggests 1/16 tsp food daily. You could try that.

Yeah, sorry after I posted that I found a site that just recommended "a large amount" Of fish flakes and to leave it for a week then clean it up and do it again. I wasn't sure how long it would take someone to reply to my question and I didn't want to risk waiting another day before starting the cycling process. So I'm going to follow what the tread posted. Should I siphon off the excess food at the bottom now and follow the 1/16 tsp daily? Sorry I'm having a hard time having patience with this tank. I want to get my fish out of the ten gallon as soon as possible but I guess you can't rush nature.

You definitely can't rush it.

There's probably more than one way to do it with the fish food. If you want to do it the way F4A posted then maybe take most of the food out now and start adding only small amounts each day. I'm not sure but I'd think small amounts per day would be a bit quicker since the bacteria builds up gradually.

The way I understand it is that small amounts gradually will allow the bacteria to start building up and turn to nitrates quicker rather than having to wait on ammonia building up from a large source then starting to turn to bitrite and nitrate afterwards.

Whatever method you choose, keep this thread updated with your readings each week or something like that. It would be useful for other members to see how quick the cycle is using your method to help them decide what method they decide to try. :)

Alright thank you. I think I will leave the fish food in there for the week as the website said too. And I will record daily water tests, After the first week I'll switch to the 1/16tsp method and keep up with the recordings also. It may cause the tank to take longer to cycle but it'll be a good learning experience.