Re: [Killietalk] fishless cycleing and killie tanks???

[Wright Huntley <whuntley at inkmkr_com>]

Gregory Kelley wrote:
> What is the best way to cycle through a killie tank If starting with all
> new tanks amonia sponge filters plants I used this when I was raising
> other fish I know with guppy breeders It add the bottled cycle let run
> for 24 hours add fish change 10% daily not all use this method but a big
> percentage do.
> Thanks Minister Greg
> 

I agree with Big John that cycling is nearly meaningless in our 
situation. The purpose of cycling is to get past the ammonium and 
nitrite spikes of a large new tank without any live plants (or with very 
few), as sold by the LFS to a new customer who has to have a big crowd 
of fish for instant gratification.

I always have plenty of actively photosynthesizing plants in any new 
killy tank, so the nitrite spike never even appears. The plants soak up 
all the ammonium, and a pretty small bacteria colony can handle any 
excess. A filter sponge that has been used in a more mature tank, or 
some mulm vacuumed from one, can be a nice insurance policy, but it 
isn't really that valuable, IMHO.

Folks who keep their killies in the dark, and/or without plants, may 
find this doesn't work, but I have lights over my tanks and encourage 
active plant growth to make the water healthier. Nitrogenous waste from 
fish is excellent plant food.

Properly boiled and rinsed peat can tend to sequester some new-tank 
ammonium, and release it slowly at rates the plants can easily handle. 
Again, no "cycle" with nitrite spike is observed.

Ammonium is inevitable when you feed fish. The amount depends on how 
crowded your tanks are. For breeding killies, we almost never approach 
dangerous density. If we do, all that is usually needed is to avoid high 
pH. Above about 7.8 or 8, a significant percent of the harmless ammonium 
(NH4+) can turn to ammonia (NH3) and burn the fish gills and skin. This 
can cause gasping at the surface and clamped fins. Some treated peat in 
the water, particularly if your water is soft and weakly buffered, can 
lower the pH to very safe levels. A bit of salt also relieves any 
nitrite poisoning.

I'd say don't worry too much about cycling, and do your regular water 
changes to keep the fish from living in a sewer. [Free advice, of 
course, is worth every penny. :-)]

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net 
- 760 872-3995

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