TeeJay Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I am setting up a new 29 tank as well as 10 quarantine tank...I don't have access to any used filter media. I have added one round of api quick start to each tank and have sponge filters on both. What else can I do to help the cycle along? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 (edited) Are you ghost feeding or using an ammonia source if you have no fish to produce ammonia. Bacteria need ammonia to feed on. Other than that…wait…and wait …and wait. Sorry I’ve never been able to rush Mother Nature. I don’t use bottle bacteria but a few folks on here said they had good luck with tetra safe start and fritz bottle bacteria. I’ve not heard alot of rave reviews of the api…which is not to say it’s not good it might be. edit to add @Torrey uses one she swears by but I don’t remember which one. Edited February 3, 2022 by Guppysnail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 On 2/2/2022 at 9:09 PM, Guppysnail said: Are you ghost feeding or using an ammonia source if you have no fish to produce ammonia. Bacteria need ammonia to feed on. Other than that…wait…and wait …and wait. Sorry I’ve never been able to rush Mother Nature. I don’t use bottle bacteria but a few folks on here said they had good luck with tetra safe start and fritz bottle bacteria. I’ve not heard alot of rave reviews of the api…which is not to say it’s not good it might be. I have added some ammonia. But it has not registered on my testing for it. I have not tried ghost feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I only ever tried the ammonia once in all the time I’ve been fish keeping. It was such an epic fail I tore it down before I ever added fish. Operator error I’m certain 🤣. Folks Ill be along who are good with the ammonia method I’m sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkM Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I've cycled a tank with ammonia successfully but it does require you to be diligent. There's a reason many people suggest other methods (https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/fish-tank-cycling included). You need to figure out how much ammonia it takes to raise the tank to the total desired 2ppm. tl;dr Test every day to see where it is. If it's below 2ppm add enough to bring it back up to 2 ppm until all Ammonia and Nitrites are gone within 24 hours. Day 0: Setup your tank with water, decorations, filter, heater. Dose pure ammonia of your choosing to 2ppm. Weeks 1-2: Continue testing for and adding ammonia to bring you back up to 2 ppm each day. You can test for Nitrites to check progress Weeks 3-4: Continue testing for and adding ammonia daily to 2 ppm. You can start checking for nitrates (generally takes a month, but you never know) Weeks 4-6: Nitrate should start to rise. You will know cycle is complete if Ammonia and Nitrite are down to 0 within 24 hours of adding ammonia up to 2ppm. Once that happened I did a 90% water change to flush the ridiculous amount of Nitrates in the water from being a lifeless tank then swore to never do that again. Why do you need the quarantine and main tank up at the same time? I'd put both filters in one tank and cycle the single aquarium. Once cycled you can pull the quarantine filter out as needed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 On 2/2/2022 at 7:09 PM, Guppysnail said: Are you ghost feeding or using an ammonia source if you have no fish to produce ammonia. Bacteria need ammonia to feed on. Other than that…wait…and wait …and wait. Sorry I’ve never been able to rush Mother Nature. I don’t use bottle bacteria but a few folks on here said they had good luck with tetra safe start and fritz bottle bacteria. I’ve not heard alot of rave reviews of the api…which is not to say it’s not good it might be. edit to add @Torrey uses one she swears by but I don’t remember which one. I have been using SeaChem Stability. I will mix a strong batch (a capful treats 60 gallons, and I will sometimes use a capful for a 5 gallon bucket of water) and throw in an airstone and lava rock or gravel to seed the substrate. I've put a sponge filter in before, as well. Let soak overnight, and then use the seeded lava rock and/or sponge filter to set up in the new tank (this also will quickly boost the growth of a good biofilm on wood for plecos, cories, otos and shrimp, @Guppysnail) Then I ghost feed the tank twice a day, as if the tank was fully stocked already. Typically takes 48 to 72 hours to detect ammonia from the food. Be sure it's well crumbled and saturated so it doesn't grow mold. Takes a couple of weeks to start showing nitrites (unless adding plant food that has ammonia and nitrogen), and the beneficial bacteria to turn nitrites into nitrates is the last one to grow a solid colony. Just before the beneficial bacteria colonizes the filter, expect an algae bloom. The fewer water changes, the faster the beneficial bacteria develop. Plants help, too. I believe that the water changes to maintain safe parameters for fish, also slow the process down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenFishMom Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) Moved to new thread Edited February 6, 2022 by KittenFishMom combined posts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenFishMom Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) moved to new thread Edited February 6, 2022 by KittenFishMom combined post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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