Why does a fishless cycle hae to take SOOOOOO LONGGGG!!!

[porscharu914]

I'm back at it after a 10 year break without fish while I moved every other year in the military.

Really looking forward to it. I'm trying to do it right this time. I never did the research to figure out how to properly set up a tank as a kid. Or maybe that information didn't exist back then.

So, I'm a 10 days into a fishless cycle and it is driving me nuts. I'm slightly impatient but I'll have to keep myself occupied in the mean time. I just wish I knew someone in the San Antonio, TX area that would give me an old bacteria filled filter to speed this up. Argghhh!!!

[William]

Hello , welcome aboard. I hope you will enjoy the forum.

[Jaster]

First off... As a sailor myself, I want to say thank you for your service.
Second. Welcome to AC!

Have you tried any of your local fish stores to see if they have any seeded media that would either part with or sell? I can sooo relate to impatient. lol You could always try the fish cycle. You just really need to pay very close attention to the levels and stay on top of water changes if the levels get to high.

So what do you have going for tank and set up? You have stocking thoughts yet?

[gadget228]

Welcome to the AC... :22:

[steeler58]

Welcome to the forum ;-)

And reread what Jaster posted about using " seeded media" that will cut down on your time.

[Silbar]

I think the reason cycling takes so long is to instill patience in us, that is a good quality to have in this hobby. It also gives us time to reaserch and decide on a final fish plan.:hourglass:

[Slaphppy7]

+1 to the above....my fishless cycles took right at 3 weeks, which really isn't that long to wait, if you want a healthy tank and happy fish.

[SueD]

Welcome. Maybe you could start a thread in the journal section to give us some details about this tank. Not sure what you're going to be doing, but you could consider planting the tank if you haven't already. This gives you something to do during the cycling period and something nice to look at, even if there are no fish yet.

[RiversGirl]

Welcome to the AC and back to the hobby.

[wgoldfarb]

Welcome to the AC!

A great thing to do while you wait for your cycle is to research the fish you like and finalize your stocking plan.

[Jaster]

I just thought of this... you're military... you should be use to hurry up and wait after 10 years of service! :hmm3grin2orange:

[porscharu914]

First off... As a sailor myself, I want to say thank you for your service.
Second. Welcome to AC!

Have you tried any of your local fish stores to see if they have any seeded media that would either part with or sell? I can sooo relate to impatient. lol You could always try the fish cycle. You just really need to pay very close attention to the levels and stay on top of water changes if the levels get to high.

So what do you have going for tank and set up? You have stocking thoughts yet?



Thank you for your service as well. I actually have to get some routine blood work done for a cholesterol test at the VA hospital today and there is a fish store I want to check out right down the road while I'm up there.

I'll ask them. I just kind of assumed that since stores all use big sump or canister filters they wouldn't want to take the time to help me with it, but it is worth asking. I'll buy some plants while i'm there and maybe they will do me a favor.

I took the trouble to find the ammonia for the fishless cycle so I may as well see the process through. I don't want to completely change out the water to get rid of all that ammonia.

[porscharu914]

Welcome. Maybe you could start a thread in the journal section to give us some details about this tank. Not sure what you're going to be doing, but you could consider planting the tank if you haven't already. This gives you something to do during the cycling period and something nice to look at, even if there are no fish yet.

That is my plan for today. Weekday days off of work are a nice time to visit the aquarium store while the kids are in school.

[Silbar]

Forgot to say :welcomewave: and yes, start a journal to help keep track of your progress and get answers to your question faster.

[Kitterfly]

Having patience can be overrated too. -.-;

This is like literally the one hobby where all the studying in the world can't properly prepare you, especially when it comes to your stock.

That said, yeah, doesn't hurt to have more time to consider what you want to start working with. I didn't really do as much and now I have three tanks when I only wanted one; though part of that comes back to the bizarre nature of some of the fish I have contrary to common knowledge.

[iReef]

nothing happens quickly in this hobby. a mere 6week wait is nothing.

I've been waiting for over a year for certain corals to even begin to show growth, and i have coral that take months to color up to true pigments. Patience.

[porscharu914]

nothing happens quickly in this hobby. a mere 6week wait is nothing.

I've been waiting for over a year for certain corals to even begin to show growth, and i have coral that take months to color up to true pigments. Patience.

Ahh, you're killing me. I really want a marine tank. I went to the fish store today and was reminded why I stuck with tropical. $$$$$$$ I started doing mental math on a saltwater tank, coral and fish on a budget scale and I think I better wait until I am more settled down in one place otherwise I am going to spend a ton of money only to give everything away.

[porscharu914]

Forgot to say :welcomewave: and yes, start a journal to help keep track of your progress and get answers to your question faster.

Is there a specific place to start a journal on the forum? Not that I'll stick with it, but I'll try. Last time I tried to start on online journal it was on a porsche forum and I was putting a watercooled subaru engine in a 1974 Porsche 914 (hence the screen name) I didn't document nearly as much as I wanted because I never wanted to pick up my camera with greasy hands and couldn't do it with welding gloves.

I don't even have to dry my hands for this forum, I have a waterproof case for my phone.

P.S. I've owned the Porsche for 9 years. I have less that $10k in at and it will give a brand new corvette a run for it's money so I do have some patience to do things right.

[gronlaura]

44892 to the AC and thank you for your service. Patience is a necessity in this hobby...............

[porscharu914]

So, I went to the aquarium store and just as I expected, the guy treated me like a moron for attempting a fishless cycle. Apparently he had "been keeping fish and growing corals for 25 years and a fishless cycle is impossible" which figured that he thought I was a moron because I was turning a lowly tropical tank into a science project.

I bought a plant and a bit of driftwood and walked out. The prices were decent but I didn't really want to try and defend some procedure I read off this site to some guy that had never heard of adding ammonia to an aquarium after 25 years in the business.

I had asked him for an old filter and he refused. Maybe the well rooted plants will help. I did promise to come back and let him know how it went. I'll bring him a water sample to prove it isn't impossible in a couple weeks.

[gronlaura]

In the General Aquarium Forum, there is a sub-forum for journals.

Most LFS want you to do a fish-in cycle so they can sell you starter fish. Fishless cycles are the way to go.

[cajunqn81]

Welcome to the AC!

Please start a journal...? We'd love to see what you're going to do with this tank...

[SueD]

So, I went to the aquarium store and just as I expected, the guy treated me like a moron for attempting a fishless cycle. Apparently he had "been keeping fish and growing corals for 25 years and a fishless cycle is impossible" which figured that he thought I was a moron because I was turning a lowly tropical tank into a science project.

I bought a plant and a bit of driftwood and walked out. The prices were decent but I didn't really want to try and defend some procedure I read off this site to some guy that had never heard of adding ammonia to an aquarium after 25 years in the business.

I had asked him for an old filter and he refused. Maybe the well rooted plants will help. I did promise to come back and let him know how it went. I'll bring him a water sample to prove it isn't impossible in a couple weeks.

My LFS owner feels the same way about the ammonia cycle process. He gives people some "dirty" water to start their tank and I started my first tank this way years ago. But they are a great (though not very pretty) store with great fish. A bit pricier than the chain stores, but they will special order for me and they have bought fry, shrimp and moss from me. It beats having to have fish shipped and the costs and risks associated with that, although I have done that too.

If all else is good with the store, it might be helpful to build a relationship with them. Maybe they will do special orders, too, if you wanted that. Mine will often post a list on their web site of what is available for their next order and you can call or post what you'd like. I've also just gone in with a request and when they saw it from one of their suppliers, they got it for me. Of course, if they are rude and dismissive, that's another story. Not sure I could handle that.

[wgoldfarb]

Yeah...I think many of us here have received bad info from a fish store, or have seen bad advice given to others. Sometimes it's just ignorance (employees at big box stores, for instance, aren't necessarily fish keepers themselves and have no idea what they are doing). Other times, like the owner of your LFS, it might be experienced fish keepers with the "not invented here" syndrome... everything different from the way they do things must be wrong. It also happens a lot in other forums. One of the things I like here is that we are open to different ways of doing things and learning from each other. No sacred cows in this forum! Unless it's one of those cows that slap puts on his bbq every now and then ;-)

[gronlaura]

I totally agree. My LFS still uses 23 yr old UGF'S in their tanks and tried to get me to go in that direction when I was first starting out. No harm, no foul. Over the last 3 yrs I have built a good working relationship with them and get all my fish there.

[Anders247]

Welcome to the AC!

[Boundava]

I agree, patience is key...wow though, a year to color up is a long time.

Welcome to AC. Looking forward to reading your journal.