Posted by Michele on February 09, 2003 at 12:43:14:
In Reply to: Fishless cycling ??? posted by tetrapete on February 08, 2003 at 15:54:32:
bacteria do not care what the source of the ammonia is....it can come from fish waste, or it can come from plain, household ammonia...the result is the same.
Why is it important?? Well, when a tank is "cycled", it means that it has a sufficient colony of beneficial (nitrifying) bacteria built up. This good bacteria takes the fish waste and converts it to nitrite, and then further converts it to nitrate that can be taken out via weekly water changes.
Going through the "cycling" process involves very high spikes of ammonia and nitrite...these are both harmful and easily fatal to your fish. Even if a fish does not die during the cycling process, the elevations in ammonia and nitrite will have some affect on it at some point.
With "Fishless Cycling" you have no worries about spikes and fish death or illness...no emergency water changes just to keep the fish alive (because if you lose the ammonia source, your cycle will suffer and you may have to start from square one).
You can add your plain, household ammonia, do your tests, and when the cycle is complete you can add your full tank of fish, if you choose...you will have enough beneficial bacteria built up to handle your complete bio load. No waiting and adding a fish or two every so many weeks. This can be very helpful when dealing with territorial fish, also.
I can think of no cons to fishless cycling....except maybe the fact that the tank has no fish in it for a few weeks...but even that was no problem for me. The look and sound of the water was very relaxing and peaceful, I had plenty of time to plan exactly what fish I was going to put in the tank, and I never had to worry about fish health and stress during the cycle...making it a walk in the park :)
:What exactly is fishless cycling and what are the steps involved. I know it takes about 6 weeks to accomplish as i have heard it mentioned many times on this forum. what is the difference between fish and fishless and what are the pros and cons of each?? thanks for your advice and knoledge
