[tiggy104]

Hello all!

Thank you in advance for your help!

My friend is starting a new tank she is cycling it for a betta, and possibly a shrimp, but we have a couple questions, I am new to the aquarium community as well and she wanted to get a fish tank as well but I told it would be best to cycle it before she got a fish, so she is but we are having some trouble finding information on using NUTRAFIN cycle, the bottle instructs to do 25ml for the first day, 5ml, for the second and 5ml for the third day. She has a 5gallon so she halved these measurements.

Our question is, what do you do after the third day? She tested the water and her levels were as follows:

Ammonia: 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
Temp: 62*F (side question, is a heater required to cycle? I just noticed the lack of heater and thought that might affect the cycling process but I am not actually sure so if someone knows that would be great, she is obviously planning on getting a heater she just hasn't yet)

So to summarize, we are just wondering in a fishless cycle, using NUTRAFIN cycle product, what do you do after the third day?

Thank you again in advance for your help! You guys rock!

Tiggy

 

[beaslbob]

I don't agree with using suppliments for cycles. But that's just me and my .02

What I do is heavily plant the tank with lotsa fast growing plants like anacharis and vals. Plus some slower growing plants like small potted type and an amazon sword or two.

I let the tank and plant set for a week then add a single fish.

Then wait another week with no food being added.

Then add a few more fish and start feeding 1 flake per day.

After years of doing that I finally measured parameters and I got no ammonia spikes, very low 1 day nitrIte spikes and occasionally an initial nitrate spike that dropped to 0 after 3 weeks.

With platties or guppies I have a tank full of fish after 6 months and a more or less stable heavy population that lasts for8 years or more.

no filter, no airstone, no water changes.


plants prefer to consume ammonia directly so there are no spikes as the bacteria build up.

but that's just my .02

 

[ao]

Cycling doesnt involve the use of any products. It is a natural process of nitrifying bacteria establishing in the tank. With the help a filter pushing oxygen rich water through the filter media, bacteria colonies which consumes ammonia grows. The ammonia is processed into nitrites. Then another type of bacteria turns it into nitrates, which is much less toxic than nitrites or ammonia. this is the nitrogen cycle...

a cycle takes around a month, sometimes less, sometimes more.
you will need to measure the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates to lnow where the tank is at in establishing the cycle.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Using a bacteria supplement helps jump start the cycling process. It is likely that you have added enough after 3 days, although many manufacturers still suggest adding more at water changes (a questionable requirement).
You mentioned a fishless cycle, but left out what you are using for an ammonia source?

 

[tiggy104]

Using a bacteria supplement helps jump start the cycling process. It is likely that you have added enough after 3 days, although many manufacturers still suggest adding more at water changes (a questionable requirement).
You mentioned a fishless cycle, but left out what you are using for an ammonia source?

There is a plant in the tank and then "feeding" the tank
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[AbbeysDad]

There is a plant in the tank and then "feeding" the tank
Posted via Mobile Device

By 'feeding' do you mean you're adding fish food daily?

 

[tiggy104]

Posted via Mobile Device

 

[tiggy104]

Well we figured every three days? But yes? Is that bad the link was given to me by soneonen else on another thread as a fish-less method.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[AbbeysDad]

You need to be patient, it takes several weeks to cycle a tank. With plants and a bacteria supplement, you can add fish but must monitor ammonia and nitrites and be prepared to do a water change as/if necessary.

 

[Hallyx]

Suggestions to help speed up the cycle:

---feed the tank enough to generate and maintain 2.0ppm ammonia
---set the temperature around 82*
---run your filter on high and/or use an airstone to oxygenate the water
---darkness helps a little

Nutrafin Cycle is not the best bacteria suplement for encouragubng your cycle, but it does work somewhat. I would continue dosing it daily after taking your daily readings. Stop when ammonia begins to decrease.

Using pure ammonia is a cleaner more reliable way to feed the nitrifying bacteria, but if your fishfood is getting the ammonia you need, go for it. I would suggest you grind your fishfood to powder to reduce the chance of mold.

 

[Hallyx]

I know that planting a tank heavilly enough to convert all the ammonia is, in a technical sense, a cycle of sorts. But, when I hear someone refer to the "nitrogen cycle" or "cycling a tank," I assume it is a reference to the process of converting ammonia to nitrite then nitrite to nitrate using nitrifying bacteria (specifically nitrosomonas and nitrospira for freshwater).

Is my understanding correct? Should I ask this by starting another thread?