Fishless Cycling - Process

Process

To start the fishless nitrogen cycling process, you need a fish tank, an aquarium filter system, a heater if you plan to get tropical fish, water conditioner, air pump and air stones, a liquid test kit (test strips are generally slightly less accurate),) and a source of ammonia.

Set up the aquarium with all the equipment first. Make sure the filter is running properly. To speed up the process, raise the temperature to approximately 80 °F. Then, add enough ammonia to raise the ammonia concentration to 4~5ppm. Excessive amounts of ammonia will not speed up the cycling process. The source of ammonia can either be from fish food (which will generate ammonia after decaying) or pure ammonia (in the form of either ammonium hydroxide or ammonium chloride). By using pure ammonia, the fishless cycle is faster and more controllable. After a couple of weeks, the first group of bacteria will grow in sufficient quantities to consume the ammonia and convert it to nitrite. Nitrite is more toxic than ammonia. In another couple of weeks, a second group of bacteria will be present in sufficient quantities to convert the nitrite into nitrate, which is much less toxic. During the entire fishless cycle process, It is extremely important to have a constant source of ammonia. Monitor both ammonia and nitrite levels in the aquarium on a daily basis. When both are at 0 ppm, carry out a very large water change (70–90%) to keep nitrate in check. This will remove most of the nitrate buildup from cycling.

The tank is now completely cycled and can be stocked with fish.