[willow]

ok now...i've been here forever....like an old chair...and i should
know better..however...i'm still going to ask :tongue: don't talk about me:gossip:
:lol:.....i'm getting old....and i forget things....:-(
i need to cycle this huge glass box in my living room Juwel rio 300
and i'm thinking of using fish food,bumping up the temperature,not
too much though as i have some plants coming....now i know it won't be
a pinch...like my diddy little tank....but how much should i do ?
:-D

 

[Boredomb]

Can't tell ya the exact amount to use but can tell ya that you want enough to get to about 4-5ppm of ammonia. You want to keep it around those number during the entire cycling process. Soo checking those numbers daily is best so you know when to add more.

 

[willow]

thank you :-D

 

[BWG]

Pure ammonia (the kind you shake and it doesn't suds up) might be better given how how big that glass box of your's is.

 

[Boredomb]

Pure ammonia (the kind you shake and it doesn't suds up) might be better given how how big that glass box of your's is.

It would definitely be easier to add the right amounts to keep the lvl up where they need to be ammonia can be hard to find nowadays.

 

[Boredomb]

Willow I didn't realize that that tank was almost a 100 gallons!

Pure ammonia if you can get it would be a heck of a lit easier to add and control in that size tank as BWG has said already. Its going to take a lot of fish food for that size tank to cycle it.

 

[willow]

hey guys.
yes i thinking on it i would be making more hard work than would need to be !
i should be able to upload a couple of pictures later i hope,as i've
swapped back to my iPhone,and i know how to upload onto my pc
( hope no one noticed i'm not the brightest crayon in the box :lol: )
been building equipment in the tank,decor and stuff,heaters,which i'm placing
diagonal,as there seems to be a debate in cyber space about horizontal not
being good and OMG i've forgotten the test kit......for pete's sake !!:roll:
i'll post a pic of the filter too,it's a canister,but some funky make from
fleabay,heavens know what it will be like....i hope not noisy !

 

[pop]

hello:
that is an interesting piece of information about 4 or 5 ppm ammonia for cycling. Soon i will be cycling a small tank and was thinking of using a cap full of ammonia every few days, I guess that would be too much now. Would using a greater amount of ammonia result in a larger colony of bacteria? one other question will plants retard the cycling process or would it be better to add plants before cycling? I am thinking of stemmed rooted plants. after the tank is cycled and if i choose to not have any livestock with the exception of some snails would i need to continue dosing ammonia for the plants and bacterial colonies. tank size is about 25 gal.
pop

 

[Boredomb]

To high of ammonia can cause the cycling process to stall I have read anything over 5ppm. I don't know have never cycled a tank this just know what I have read. If you use ammonia that is 10% concentration it takes about 4-5ml for every 10 gallons of water to reach 4ppm of ammonia. One teaspoon eguals 5mls. Though I have read that this can vary too. Soo just start with one teaspoon at a time to get to about 3ppm testing as you go.

I was also a lil off on my numbers you want no more then 5ppm and most recommend shooting for 3ppm for cycling a tank. So say 2-4ppm is the goal.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Boredomb]

Pops too high of ammonia can cause issues with plants but if you dose it at small amounts and shot for 3ppm they will be fine. Plants will consume the ammonia to a point soo not sure how they would affect the cycling process. You could always add them afterwards. Or you can just plant heavily from the beginning with fast growers such as stems/floaters and stock the tank very lightly and be fine. Doing it that way you should see no visible cycle process but you need to stock slowly this way.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[jaysee]

Pops, are you going to cycle for knowledge? Because otherwise, you can just transfer media from an already established tank.

Willow can do that too, but it's tricky using seeded media from a smaller tank to start a bigger tank. You have to stock slowly. I would only start with a few fish in a 100 gallon. There is more flexibility with a larger tank - creates a buffer of sorts in the beginning. So long as you don't proportionately stock the tank (I put one fish in a 10, so ill put 10 fish in a 100), the extra volume will keep the water quality from slipping too much. You should be ready for more fish by the time the new fish are through quarantine.

 

[beaslbob]

ok now...i've been here forever....like an old chair...and i should
know better..however...i'm still going to ask :tongue: don't talk about me:gossip:
:lol:.....i'm getting old....and i forget things....:-(
i need to cycle this huge glass box in my living room Juwel rio 300
and i'm thinking of using fish food,bumping up the temperature,not
too much though as i have some plants coming....now i know it won't be
a pinch...like my diddy little tank....but how much should i do ?
:-D

Just in case it hasn't been said: heavily plant it and add fish slowly.

my .02

 

[BWG]

Pop-Just to add to what Jaysee and Boredomb said, transferring media will definitely speed things up. So people will still do a fishless cycle with established media. Really no right or wrong answer. To be honest with you if you're just do lots of stems and snails I'd just do established media at the most. Anything else could be done, but it's basically overkill for that stocking.

The ammonia needed for a fishless cycle isn't harmful to plants (aside from Crypts cause they would melt for sure). There is a bit of a catch though. The ammonia itself isn't harmful, however the huge bacteria colony you're building up will use the KH. If you have a high KH to start that's not really a problem. If you have a low one like I do then you have to really stay on top of things to prevent your pH from plummeting. That's what will kill plants.

Willow- The plant stuff above will apply too since you have some coming. Jaysee's and beaslbob's mentioned methods are probably best. Fishless is great if it's a first tank and you want a large initial stocking. Transferring media is just so much easier.

 

[willow]

if i had thought for one moment i was going to get a new tank,i
know i would have thought ahead,and i reckon put some sponges
in the small tank to gather bacteria....i'm racking my brain thinking
if i know anyone near me with a tank....
it's full now,filter and heaters running,power head to aid in circulation
temp is now 74.6 f
hopefully a picture...
Dang you little dude...i see you...transference of plants harboured a bristle nose...

explanation ... left hand side...bag of noodles from other tank.....powerhead an heater in the middle.
floating on the right top is a bit of boxwood..
sand at the front,gravel at the back

 

[beaslbob]

If that's the tank and those are live plants i would.


1) let it set fishless for a week.

2) only replace evaporative water, do no water changes.

3) add a single fish like a male platty.

4) wait one week with no food being added.

5) add a couple of females and start feeding 1 flake per day.

(you can do the same with other fish but for territorial fish add 4 more fish the second week.)


my .02

 

[willow]

all live except the brightly coloured ones.
i think i need a dark background,the brown paper is not cutting it !

 

[beaslbob]

all live except the brightly coloured ones.
i think i need a dark background,the brown paper is not cutting it !

Good

Actually I couldn't tell about the paper bag.

One LFS used some aluminum foil for a tank background. Wadded it up not flat like a mirror.


my .02

 

[willow]

i think i'll go for a black backing.
it's so new looking :|
somethings not right ? but i'm not great at plant work....

 

[beaslbob]

i think i'll go for a black backing.
it's so new looking :|
somethings not right ? but i'm not great at plant work....

Looks to me like you done pretty good so far.

 

[willow]

really ! thank you :-D
i've taken the brown paper away,as the wall is plain enough,and
as there are no wires or tubes showing,i'm happy roll: for five minutes )