Fishless Recycling What's it All About?

[AuntieM]

Hello Again Everyone,

I have a question. I've read on numerous occasions that many of you do "fishless recycling". I don't understand what this is. I figure it has something to do with water changes but I haven't been able to track down any reason why it's done and how it's done.

Share, please

[Jenny]

Actually it's fishless cycling. Cycling a tank is getting it to grow a layer of bacteria that will transform ammonia into nitrates, and then the nitrates into nitrites (hope I got these in the right order), which are less harmful to fish. This is most often done with fish in the tank, but the fluctuating levels can sometimes be harmful to them. Fishless cycling is done in a fishless tank, either by adding poo from another tank, or ammonia. In order to cycle a tank you have to have one that is large enough to go without 100% changes (this will kill the bacteria), and it will have to be airated to keep the bacteria alive.

[AuntieM]

Thanks Jenny. I was just on Aquaden and was trying to figure it out from their web postings and I was only able to put bits & peices of it together. You explained it much better. Sounds like a lot of work.

[Jenny]

Well, it is quite a bit of work at the beginning. You have to carefully monitor the levels in the tank, and do several partial changes to keep them from getting toxic. However, once the cycle is complete, it is actually less work, because you never have to completely change the water in the tank, only siphon some of it out. If you usually carry your tank to the sink, empty it, an scrub it out, siphoning out some of the water is a lot less work. Unfortunately, it can't be done in small unfiltered betta bowls. Now that would save some of us a lot of work.

[Tanya]

Here is an explanation of the Nitrogen Cycle:
faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

The process I used to cycle my fish tank; it took me about a month:
www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycling.html

Here is another option that I would have done if I had known before getting started. Many have used this with great results:
www.marineland.com/products/mllabs/ml_biospira.asp

[Betta MVP]

Here's my article on fishless cycling, it's really very easy!
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Note: This article pertains to 5 gallon tanks or larger with heat and filtration. I do not recommend cycling any tank smaller than this since it will be too unstable. Weekly 100% water changes are needed in smaller tanks and bowls, anything smaller than 1 gallon you should change every other day or even daily depending on size.

Before I get started, I need to explain cycling for those who do not know what this means. I promise I will try to explain this in the easiest terms that I can so EVERYONE can understand it.

First, when you introduce fish to a new tank, ammonia immediately starts to build up in the water due to fish waste, uneaten foods, etc. Soon after this happens, good bacteria will begin to grow in your tank that will convert the ammonia into nitrites. Nitrites are also bad for your fish, so soon after the bacteria start producing nitrites, another good bacteria will start to grow which will convert your nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are not good for your fish either if there is too much, but these we can manage using partial water changes and/or live plants.

To sum it all up, we need to see no ammonia, no nitrites, only nitrates. When this happens, your tank is cycled. You can purchase test kits for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates at practically any pet or fish store, they are not that expensive and could save you a lot of grief.

Since the cycling process is VERY hard on your fish and could possibly kill him, I think it is best to cycle the tank BEFORE adding fish. It is easy, it is clean, and will even save you money because you won’t need to buy tons of medicine to help your poor fish who is half dead from high ammonia or nitrite poisoning, or replace your dead fish.

You will need:

1. Ammonia (be sure that it is pure with no other soaps or chemicals, shake the bottle, if it has suds, don’t use it)
2. Test Kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
3. Water conditioner to get rid of chlorine/chloramines in your water



Set up your tank like you would if you were going to add fish to it. Add filter media to your filter and turn it on along with your heater and any aeration that you will use. Be sure to treat your water with your water conditioner just like you would if fish were going in the tank. Let this run for 24 hours so that you can stabilize your water temperature.

Next, you will need to add ammonia to the water. I don’t use a set amount, but don’t dump in half a bottle either! Depending on the size of your tank, maybe add a capful or two. Give the ammonia a chance to circulate through the water and test it with your ammonia test kit. You should have around 5ppm or even a little more. If not, add a little more ammonia until you do. Test your water every few days or so until you see the ammonia start to go down. Once this happens, test for nitrites, you should have them now. All you really need to do in this time is wait and test and wait some more. Now that you have nitrites, test for ammonia and nitrites every few days. When the ammonia no longer shows up on your test kit, add a little more to the water, about half of what you initially added. Once you notice that your nitrites are starting to drop, then you need to begin testing for nitrates as well. If the nitrates are testing high, do a partial water change to lower them and test again. Do not let them get too high or your bacterial colony could crash and you would need to start all over again. You will not be removing the good bacteria when you take out water, this bacteria will live on surfaces, in your filter media, and in the substrate.

It will probably take 3 to 6 weeks for your tank to fully cycle. If you would like to speed up the process a bit, you can add something from an established tank like a cup of gravel (leave it in a cup so you can easily remove it later) or some filter media.

Once your ammonia and nitrites are reading 0, congratulations! Your tank is cycled. Now you are ready to add fish to your cycled tank. Do a 50% water change (or more if needed) to get your nitrates under control before adding any fish. Once you add fish, keep testing your water weekly and do partial water changes if you have any ammonia or nitrite readings, and to keep the nitrate readings low. If you have slight ammonia and nitrite readings, this may mean that your bacteria need to grow more to catch up with the amount of ammonia your fish are producing. Don’t worry, this is normal and will happen any time you add more fish to the tank.

The result? Happy fish in cleaner water!

[Rhyn]

I just purchased a 5 gallon tank because I found that between my two bettas and the recently-added algae eater, the 2.5 gallon needed cleaning MUCH too often. I was wondering about cycling the tank. My main problem, though, is that as an on-campus college student, I have to disassemble my tank to take to school. If I cycle the tank at home and then just empty it (leaving the gravel & decor inside still) and refill once I get back to school without scrubbing, would the bacteria still be there? It's a good 2.5 hour drive - long enough to be a concern I think, but not long enough that the 2.5 gets a chance to dry out.

If cycling isn't a good option, how often should I change the new tank? I figure I could probably keep close to my current schedule - once a week, 50% changes with a 100% change when it starts looking a bit off. I don't even know how it is that it looks off some times; it just doesn't look right so I clean it. Would that work on my 5 gallon or could I switch to something a little... less?

[Tanya]

What I would do is go ahead and cycle the tank at home but without any gravel and not with a whole lot of decor, then when it is time to move, put all the cultured filter media in a bag with tank water the same as you will when transporting your fish and then return it to the filter when you set it all up again. (What kind of filter do you have on this tank?)

You could also transport your decorations in bags of tank water to preserve any bacteria that is on them. Gravel would be a hassle and too heavy to bother with and I would wait on that until after the move when you can add it in fresh when you set everything up. Otherwise you would either have to keep it wet through the trip (heavy), or clean and drain it thoroughly for the trip so it won't be too gross.

Most of your bacterial culture is in the filter media so if you preserve that, you will most likely not have another cycle when you get back to your dorm. If there is any cycling, it would be minimal and you can manage it with frequent water changes. If your bacteria dies off anyway, you could use Amquel Plus and NovAqua to keep the water safe for both fish and bacteria through the process.

I would highly recommend cycling as opposed to the cleaning schedule you describe, because if you cycle the tank and then maintain a consistent maintenance schedule, your fish will enjoy much more stable water quality.

[Barbels]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE FISHLESS CYCLING!
I fishlessly cycled the 5½ gallon in which my Finny now lives.
I was terribly intimidated at first, but I found some good instructions (like bettamvp's) and gave it a go. Even if I would have totally failed, it would have been no big deal, no fish had to suffer in an empty tank!

When you use fish to cycle, they are subjected to painful suffering during the cycling time. I have been told that the ammonia burns their gills much like soap burns our eyes. I've also been told that their lifespan is compromised when they have to endure it.

Anyway, just my 2¢

[Tanya]

Barbels said:

Anyway, just my 2¢

worth a million