Cycling

I am going to start cycling my tank all over again.
I know that I need.
Ammoina , thermometre , filter , heater. I have all of those. (exept the water testing kit that I am going to buy soon)
But where do I get the bacteria for the filter from? Last time I used the tetra filter start that 'claimed' it would instantly cylce the tank. Shoud I use this and then add ammoina?
Also, I have looked in my local pet shop but they dont even have a bottle of pure ammoina. So, where abouts can I get this from?
Also, I was wondering if I asked the pet shop to squeeze their filter sponges into a container then I take that home and add it to my tank, will that make my tank cycle more quickly.

Hiya aquanovice - good to see you again .

Firstly, other than the ammonia, you do not need to add anything to your tank to cycle it. A lot of people who know loads about all things fishy say that they dont work, so, save your cash.

You can buy ammonia from Homebase, ebay, or from here -

http://www.africanaquatic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=130

Set you tank up, fill it with water, get your filter running, and turn the heater up to about 28c.

Start adding the ammonia to your tank - just a little at a time. I have forgotten how big your tank is, but we are talking in quantities of about half a teaspoonful here.

Add the ammonia, wait for a few minutes for the ammonia to be circulated in your tank, and then test the water to see if you have an ammonia reading. Keep doing this until you have a reading of 5 (or 4 if you are using the API test kit, which is the best one). When you have reached that level, leave the tank alone until the next day, when you repeat the process all over again. If the water testing shows a level of 5, dont add any more, but check the next day.

If you can get some muck from your lf, then it will speed up the process a bit for you, but the process will be much the same - keep adding the ammonia and checking the water.

Have you read the stickie on fishless cycling by the way? It may help, and please dont hesitate to ask as many questions as you need to.

Yea I did read the section on fishless cycling' It was a great help thanks Um I just can't believe I don't have to add bacteria, the shop keeper gave me a bottle of it Lol.
So does this bacterum just form when ammoina is presant?
Plus I have plants in my tank alredy from the preivous time when I had livestock in my tank. Would it be better to remove the plants, as I can easily do that an place it into another vase of water? Or will it not greatly affect the cylcing of the tank?
I have 2 more questions. When you are cycling do you change the water or not as I know it can take even weeks or months for it fully cylce. Also, when you have cylced the tank and you are ready to add fish- You know when you change 80% of the water what will happen to all the filter bacteria will I need to add something else to the tank to keep the bacteria levels up when change the waters?
Sorry If these questions have alredy been answered I just dont want anything to go wrong this time

Yea I did read the section on fishless cycling' It was a great help thanks Um I just can't believe I don't have to add bacteria, the shop keeper gave me a bottle of it Lol.
So does this bacterium just form when ammonia is present?
Plus I have plants in my tank already from the previous time when I had livestock in my tank. Would it be better to remove the plants, as I can easily do that an place it into another vase of water? Or will it not greatly affect the cycling of the tank?
I have 2 more questions. When you are cycling do you change the water or not as I know it can take even weeks or months for it fully cycle. Also, when you have cycled the tank and you are ready to add fish- You know when you change 80% of the water what will happen to all the filter bacteria will I need to add something else to the tank to keep the bacteria levels up when change the waters?
Sorry If these questions have already been answered I just don’t want anything to go wrong this

Sorry aquanovice, I'm having a few laptop problems so have only seen your post.

What happens is that the reesence of ammonia in the warm water stimulates the production of bacteria in your filter. The first lot of bacteria produced will increase in quantity until there are enough to start converting the ammonia to nitrite.

A second lot of bacteria then starts to get going, which converts the nitrite to nitrate.

When you get enough of both of these bacteria in the filter you get readings of 0 for both ammonia and nitrite, and your cycle is finished.

As for the plants, I have heard that they can affect the speed at which the cycle progresses, but I would imagine that depends on how many plants you have. If you are fgoing to take them out I would think that you would have to make sure that they were kept in warm, oxygenated water to keep them healthy.

When you have had the 0-0 readings for a couple of days on the trot you then do an 80% water change, because by then the nitrate level will be very high. When you have done this you do need to add something to the tank to keep the bacteria healthy - your fish! :lol:

Please dont apologise for asking questions - I never stopped when I was doing the fishless cycle, so I know what it's like!

aquanovice, hiya! I'm doing the fishless cycle, and am just starting to get towards the end of it ( I Hope!). In one way it's interesting to do it, and it certainly does get you used to doing water tests. I've also rearranged the tank half a dozen times to get it looking how I want it to.

I now find myself putting the tank lights on and sitting staring at the tank in admiration - how sad is that!

I have asked questions nearly every day on here and there has always been someone to put my mind at ease, so dont worry about asking questions all the time - the experts really dont seem to mind

Good Luck

thank u all you have realy helped!