Fishless tank cycling

[baue8673]

Hey all. I am trying to cycle a tank fishless for the first time. I have had several aquariums before and for the heck of it, decided to cycle one using ammonia only.

However, now I am having doubts. I set the tank up (125 gal) five days ago. I added enough ammonia (pure ammonia hydroxide) to get the ppm to 5. The tank is set at around 80 degrees. Each day I have monitored the ammonia and nitrite levels. So far I haven't seen any change in either. Does this time frame sound right? Also, the water has gotten cloudy. Definitely not an algae growth, but something else. Will this go away?

Thanks for any help, I am about to go back to doing a tank cycle the normal way.

 

[halfcent]

I don't know the type of filteration you are using, but the time levels seem right. If you are getting any NITRITE readings at all it is working. If you can introduce oxygen through an airstone or your fikter, that also speeds up the bacteria growth.

I found when doing fishless that after about seven days I had a good Nitrate spike, then it stayed the same for about five days. I did a 25% water change at that time and overnight the Nitrites dropped and the NITRATES took over, I have not lost a fish yet,

It is possible to have put too much ammonia in at the beginning and that is why you are not seeing a change, But if you are getting nitrite readings you are on your way.

As far as the cloudy water goes, cann't help you there. Check filteration.

 

[RedTurquoise]

You are on the right track baue however you what really need is a double dose of patience! LOL!

Honestly! Usually when cycling a tank without seeding it, the duration is around 4-6 weeks, give n take a few days. When seeding your tank with established media, you can cycle your tank around 1-2 weeks depending on the volume increase of your tank.

Therefore, after 5 days from adding ammonia, you may not see any change in levels however the white cloudiness is a good sign. This is free floating bacteria finding somewhere to colonize. Very important now is to keep the ammonia level at 5ppm. Do not let it drop to 0 for more than 2 days! Ammonia is food for the bacteria.

When discussing cycling with or without fish, there is not really a time advantage! However, the incentive for cycling without fish is the fact that you can add all the fish your tank can handle and not harm any fish either from toxic levels.