starting first cycle

[Tom4]

ok im new at this and i read about cycling with no fish tested the water and want to make sure about adding ammonia i have a 75g tank 4 or 5ppm ok?

[Tom4]

sorry forgot to ask should i be putting the light on even though there are no fish.

[Cliff]

I've always used 3 to 4 ppm

If the level is too high, you could slow things down a little

[smaug]

Even fish dont need the light. tank with no fish doesnt need it either.

[Tom4]

ok thank you

[Tom4]

ok thanks here goes in with the ammonia

[Tom4]

still waiting for some change,was wondering about heater i have a 75g tank do most use two heaters.

[sheamurai]

I don't think MOST people use two heaters, but some do, one set just a bit lower than the other in case the first one quits.

I only have one heater per tank.

Whats your ammonia and temp at?
You could boost temp to 80, that may help speed things up.
What kind of filter are you running?

[Fishin Phil]

I use two heaters in my 125 g. You can get away with one in your tank, but I sleep better knowing there are two.

[kurly]

I only use one heater on my 65 gallon. It's taller than the normal tanks and not as long but I can understand why some people use two heaters in the larger size tanks.

That's one of the benefits to doing a fishless cycle. You're able to turn the heat up a lot higher which does speed up the bacterial process. I think I set my heater at 85 degrees when I did my fishless cycle.

[Tom4]

ok,ammon has been about 3ppm my heater is a Fluval m300 temp is between 80 and 82 thats what the thermometer is reading heater is turned all the way up

[Tom4]

Sorry my filter is a Aqueon quiet flow power filter 55/75 maybe the heater is not a good one.

[wskynajar]

80-82 does seem a little dinky for a 300 watt heater turned all the way up, but if its in a cooler room that could be the diff.

[Tom4]

ok thanks for your help

[Tom4]

We will have to wait it out and see what happens.

[Tom4]

is it ok to add water while trying to cycle

[kross]

When you filled the tank with water, did you add dechlorinator? Chlorine (and chloramine) will keep the beneficial bacteria from growing. So you need to add dechlorinator to the water even when doing a fishless cycle.

And yes, it's okay to add water to make up for evaporation loss (with dechlorinator, of course).

Your filter is running, right?

[Tom4]

ok thanks,just wanted to add for what has evaporated.filter is on and i did add a dechlorinator i think it was Prime.thanks for the reply.added ammonia on the 12 of Dec.so just making sure im doing everything right

[Tom4]

ok its been a little over 4 week and nothing has changed in the cycle.75g tank heat at 82 ammonia around 3ppm nitrite 0 nitrate 0 im thinking this length of time is still normal?

[kurly]

Something should have been converted after 4 weeks. What is your PH reading? If it goes too low it can stall the cycle. That's what happened to me on my first cycle. When that happened I bought a bag of crushed coral from the Pet store and added a little bit in a mesh bag and placed it in the filter. It was a fishless cycle so it was okay to do so. The PH raised and the cycle continued. I've also heard that some people add a pinch of baking soda to raise ph but I never did that.

[Tom4]

ok thanks,just tested ph looks like 7.6 and high range ph between 7.8 and 8 have been testing ph thought you needed to cycle first.starting to think fishless cycle means you have a clean tank and never add fish Ha,ha

[kurly]

Glad you PH is not too low so that isn't a problem. Fishless cycling does take patience and sometimes seems like it takes forever but you'll eventually get there. I am, however, stumped as to why after 4 weeks of cycling you still don't have any NitrItes.

Oh, if you can stand the sound of the filter flow hitting the water, you really shouldn't fill your tank up to the top. Surface agitation helps a cycle out because of the increased oxygen in the water.

[Tom4]

ok thanks for your help.just have to wait and see