cycling

[Aquarium Dude]

d i need to wait 24 hrs for chlorine to dissapate before adding stress zyme?

should I add tonic salt?

and

Is there any one out there who has cycled with fish food?

Thanks..

[evilknieval69]

I havent read the topic from start to finish, but this is what i do to cycle a new tank when i dont have a spare filter or anything to swap over to seed it.

I fill the tank with water and turn heater(s) and filter(s) on. Plant plants if needed aswell. Then i feed the tank flake food every night as if i was feeding a few small fish, then every few days i give it a little bit more and more, and then after a week or so i chuck in a couple hardy fish (usually some kind of cleanup crew) and let them settle in, then start adding things slowly, every couples weeks or so....

I *hardly* ever test my water so dont know if it works very well, but it has always worked for me. Nowadays i just chuck some extra sponge into my canister filter, and then when im ready i take water out of the same tank, and chuck the sponges in the new tank and i have an instantly cycled tank, heated and everything

[alanmin4304]

There is no chlorine in Christchurch water and don't add salt.

[Aquarium Dude]

Thats what I wnat to do evil (with the food)

Ps . alanmin not on chch supply, salt is tonic, not table salt.

evil, do you use stress zyme as well as food?

[SpidersWeb]

You should only add salt to a freshwater aquarium when there is a disease problem. Do not add tonic salt. It is also not good for the plants, but does make a good general cure when something goes wrong, but its much better to give the problem fish a salt bath than to salt the aquarium. I'm a big fan of salt as a cure, but definately not as a water additive for a freshwater aquarium.

Any freshwater fish which requires tonic salt should have been culled when young. They dont have salt in the wild.

(Also note that tonic salt and table salt are both 'salt' as such)

Stress Zyme helps but its not needed. What helps more than anything else is seeding the tank, gravel from an established tank for example, or your plants (if you dont dip them in any chemicals that is), or some wool etc or similar from somebody elses setup. If you can find someone happy to donate to your cause, it'll speed things up a lot

[Aquarium Dude]

Ive had problems with my other tank and so I dont really want to use its media. I dont like the idea of using fish and so want to use food.

If I simply add food to the tank will it start collonizing?

How much food?

Thanks

AD

[Alan]

Add one of those frozen shrimps ya get at the super market, you just have to keep your eye on the test then.

[alanmin4304]

Ammonia is one of the biproducts of fish rotting and that is what you are getting from the shrimp or your fish.

[evilknieval69]

I never use any chemicals in my tank unless i HAVE to..... The less the better i say. nothing can cycle a tank as good as time can

[Caryl]

Ask someone if you can hang your filter in their tank for a while to seed it.

[Aquarium Dude]

Its a bit big and I dont really know anyone

[Alan]

The advantages of belonging to a club. mmmmmmm!!!

[Caryl]

What sort of filter is it? Loopy could probably help, or my son.

[Aquarium Dude]

At what point in the cycling process should a water change be done?

[HummingBird]

It depends if you have fish in the tank. If you do, you should do it weekly to reduce ammonia/nitrite levels to something tolerable. If you don't, you can wait till it's cycled and you get some nitrates.