Easier to Cycle lager tanks.

[MrDrums]

I had a terrible time cycling my 20 gal fresh water tank. Took months to do....though I did not know much about it some years ago. The 20 was my first tank. I now have a 54 gal. corner tank. Cycled it with 5 or 6 danios. Never once had ammonia spikesto speak of.Waited 3 weeks before I did a water change...tested water every day.....water was always within normal / optimal conditions. After 3 weeks, started regular water changes each weeks - about 1/4 of tank volume. After 1 month, added Severum and Geo. 3 danios are still alive and well. The Severum got the other 3.

Anyway - it was really quite effortless to cycle bigger tank. Water never even got cloudy - running Eheim 2215 - all fish growing bveautifully for well over a year now.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

As a rule yes it is easier to cycle larger tanks. The whole reason is the concentration of the toxic elements is lower. The same amount of waste is produced by the fish but because of the larger volume of water the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate is more diluted and thus it takes longer for them to reach toxic levels. 3 small sebra danios in a 54 gal tank are not going to produce enough waste to make the water overly toxic for them.

[MrDrums]

I wondered about that.....was afraid to add too many fish at first....waiting a few weeks to add the sev. and geo. was best, and they have been happy and healthy all the way. How many fish do you generally need to cycle a tank of about 55 gallons?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

In reality you really don't need any and in fact, cycling a tank without any fish is the ideal way to do it. The bacteria simply needs a source of ammonia to get started, weather that comes from fish waste, pure household ammonia(no surfactants), or a decaying shrimp the result is the same. I personally have cycled at least 5 tanks using the pure ammonia method and it works great.

[MrDrums]

Next year, I hope to begin setting up a 150 gallon tank. I think I may try to do a fishless cycle with that tank, using the filter from the old tank to get it started. I'm sure I'll be here with questions as I go along.