Cycling a discus tank??

[airtime391]

What is the best way to cycle a tank for discus only?

[SNap0283]

Fishless cycle using ammonia from the hardware store. Ace sells janitorial strength ammonia that works great for this. If you are doing it this way make sure you start with all equipment sanitized or it defeats the purpose.

[airtime391]

What is the best method of sterilizing ?

[Akili]

What is the best method of sterilizing ?I always use unscented bleach.and then neutralize with white vinegar and dry it.

[runner]

Don't you have to add some organic material i.e. fish food or bacteria
Jay

[MendoMan]

No, all you need to do is add the ammonia. Study up on the fish less cycle.

[DJW]

Don't you have to add some organic material i.e. fish food or bacteria
Jay

When you cycle a tank, you are growing nitrifying bacteria within the filter. The only food you need to add for them is ammonia. Later when you add fish, the fish and any decomposing uneaten food will provide the ammonia to keep the bacteria going.

You need two things: Ammonia, 10% from the hardware store, the kind with no additives, and some starter bacteria in a bottle. There are several products, Tetra SafeStart, Dr. Tim's Aquatics, and Biospira, to name a few.

You will be adding ammonia to get 2 to 4 parts per million, and testing periodically to keep a certain level of ammonia. The members here can help calculate how much ammonia to add given tank volume.

Hope this helps
Dan

[Akili]

Fishless Cycling........................http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

[MendoMan]

I know a lot of people have a lot of different opinions but I know for a fact you don't to spend your money on a starter. It won't hurt if you think you need it but i've done three different tanks with out any and they all cycled just fine and accepted a full load of fish when the cycle finished. I followed a tutorial on this site.

[rickztahone]

I know a lot of people have a lot of different opinions but I know for a fact you don't to spend your money on a starter. It won't hurt if you think you need it but i've done three different tanks with out any and they all cycled just fine and accepted a full load of fish when the cycle finished. I followed a tutorial on this site.

+1. Pure Ammonia is all that is needed

[DJW]

I know a lot of people have a lot of different opinions but I know for a fact you don't to spend your money on a starter. It won't hurt if you think you need it but i've done three different tanks with out any and they all cycled just fine and accepted a full load of fish when the cycle finished. I followed a tutorial on this site.

Thats right, the tank will eventually cycle without store-bought bacteria.

I live on a ranch where there is nitrification going on all around me, and plenty of opportunities for these bacteria to find their way into the tank. If I lived in a clean apartment in the city I would spend the $5 on a bottle of SafeStart just in case it works, or you might wait 6 weeks to get a full cycle.

Whether these bottled bacteria work is an interesting subject. The scientific orthodoxy from a few decades ago says it can't work, but there is a mountain of experience (including mine) out there and some newer research that suggest they do work, or can. Experience and experiment are almost the same thing. Just because they don't form spores and need oxygen doesn't mean they can't go dormant.

[airtime391]

You guys are awesome. Always there with sound advice. Thank you so much.

[airtime391]

How often do i want to do water changes during the cycle?

[SNap0283]

You wont need to do many. Only if the nitrate gets off the chat. That usually only happens once the cycle is complete anyway.

[Las Vegas]

I use clean R/O water, put in a piece of drift wood. Start with clean rinsed filtration system and heater and air pumps. I let it run for a couple of weeks. I test the water to make sure everything reads safe. Then I buy a couple of cheap angelfish. After a couple of months, when the angelfish are fine they prove that your tank is ok and good to go.

[Cosmo]

Make sure you read the thread on how to do this! You WILL need some good testing solutions for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates so you're not guessing where the cycle is at any given time.

[Kyla]

as a side note, my step daughter is doing a science fair project on fish tanks and one of her experiments includes trying to determine whether using "cycle" products actually speeds up the cycle. cant wait to see te results!!

[Second Hand Pat]

I use clean R/O water, put in a piece of drift wood. Start with clean rinsed filtration system and heater and air pumps. I let it run for a couple of weeks. I test the water to make sure everything reads safe. Then I buy a couple of cheap angelfish. After a couple of months, when the angelfish are fine they prove that your tank is ok and good to go.

Generally starting with dither fish is not recommended for a discus tank due to the possibility of cross contamination.
Pat

[MendoMan]

A "fish less cycle" is just that it means no fish that could possibly introduce a pathogen to your soon to be Discus tank. I don't want to step on anyones toes but running down to a local pet shop and buying a couple Angelfish to seed your tank is a very bad idea. Almost all fish shops use one or two central filters and just about guarantee that you'll introduce something that harm your Discus. It only takes six weeks to do it without any seeding with any fish and will guarantee that you start with a good clean tank. During that time start looking at what some of the sponsors on this site have to offer and maybe start a correspondence with them, they will gladly help and when your ready you start with some of the best fish. Stay out of pet shops.