# How long for fishless cycle?



## Patricia Hampton (Sep 6, 2016)

First it depends if it is city water or well water. If it is city water and you have not zeroed the water, any fish you put in there will die. If it is well water, you should be naturally good to go. It will be fun to try and balance the tank for plants as some plants dont like iron and some need it, so to speak. 

If the water is good to go, then I always start my tanks with something dirty and cheap.... Goldfish feeders, catfish, and mollys. They are all fairly hardy and a perfect jump start to an aquarium. When they die, they die, if they don't and too small to become feeders anymore, they just live till their time is done. I may loose 1 or 2 fish doing it this way but I hardly ever loose fish that cost more than a few pennies on a regular basis. right now I just tend to loose fish that get too close to my ghost knife or Raphael Cat.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Even if you use some filter media from another established tank, 2 weeks may still not be enough time to fully cycle, unless conditions are ideal (pH well above 7.0, temp in the 70's F) and the number of fish you introduce is small.


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## Smooch (May 14, 2016)

Since there is no way to tell where you would be in the cycle without test kits, I'd say wait until you have all the stuff you need first. 

Tanks fully cycle when they are ready to do so. They don't follow human calendars or schedules.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

I would not recommend getting fish right before going out of town, as you won't be able to monitor the tank. You also need to be dosing ammonia daily to do a fishless cycle. But doing a fish-in cycle, you need to be doing water changes as needed to keep ammonia levels safe for your fish. Any type of cycle will generally take at least 3 weeks to a month. You could try seeding the tank with established filter media and that could shorten your cycle; you'd add the established media to the filter right as you fill the tank. You could also add some established substrate for even more bacteria, in a media bag or stocking (unwashed) if you don't want that kind of substrate in your tank. Still, I wouldn't recommend it. If I were you, I'd fill the tank now with plants, give them some root tabs and run it without attempting to start the cycle. Cycle and get fish after you get back in town. This is the only way to guarantee you'll have a complete cycle before getting fish, and will improve the chances of your fish living after you add them.

I also don't recommend the advice the above commenter gave (people commented since I wrote this, I meant Patricia Hampton); feeder fish often have parasites or are otherwise sickly and could introduce disease to your tank. If you add cheap fish to cycle your tank while you're gone, they might well die and start rotting or jump and leave you with a mess to deal with when you come back. Your water type does not make much of a difference as to how your tank will cycle, except there is some sort of caveat for very acidic waters, so if your pH is very low (below 6.5 I think) you might look into that, but otherwise you'll be fine. It wouldn't be a bad idea, though, to check your water company's quality report and test to see the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels in your tap.


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## Smooch (May 14, 2016)

geisterwald said:


> I also don't recommend the advice the above commenter gave (people commented since I wrote this, I meant Patricia Hampton); feeder fish often have parasites or are otherwise sickly and could introduce disease to your tank. If you add cheap fish to cycle your tank while you're gone, they might well die and start rotting or jump and leave you with a mess to deal with when you come back. Your water type does not make much of a difference as to how your tank will cycle, except there is some sort of caveat for very acidic waters, so if your pH is very low (below 6.5 I think) you might look into that, but otherwise you'll be fine. It wouldn't be a bad idea, though, to check your water company's quality report and test to see the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels in your tap.


Thanks for the correction on the feeder issue. I wouldn't touch feeder goldfish with a 10-foot pole, nor would I recommend people use them to cycle a tank much less feed them to other fish. 

I agree, that is really bad advice for the very reasons you pointed out. Also, benefical bacteria does not like acidic water. Too much acid kills...Autotrophic Nitrifying Bacteria and Their Practical Application in a Freshwater Aquarium


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## oOturquoiseOo (Aug 5, 2016)

Thank you everyone. 

I should have been more clear. I am not going out of town right after I get fish. I'm going to a town where I can get fish. The closest lfs is 200 km away. I have a day trip planned (doctor appt) and was hoping to get a few fish then. 

I would never get feeder goldfish. I would never get fish that I don't plan to keep in my tank. I wouldn't get something that I was expecting to die. 

I don't have another trip planned so I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't get a test kit until I get to that town. 

Our water is treated but I don't remember what the pH was the last time I tested it. Besides, it was about 3 years ago so I am sure it's not the same now (got a new treatment plant in our town) 

I can get the filter from my friend's tank. And some plants. I'm guessing the bacteria will die if there's no fish in there? 

Again, thanks for all your help


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## Smooch (May 14, 2016)

oOturquoiseOo said:


> Thank you everyone.
> 
> I should have been more clear. I am not going out of town right after I get fish. I'm going to a town where I can get fish. The closest lfs is 200 km away. I have a day trip planned (doctor appt) and was hoping to get a few fish then.
> 
> ...


The bacteria need a food source which is ammonia. If they are not fed, they will die. 

You need test kits to tell where you are in the cycle as I've already mentioned. Every tank is different and cycles at it's own pace. Can you order test kits? Or can somebody order them for you and you pay them? 

The problem here aside from the cycling issue is you're saying that you don't have close access to fish. So, if you were to lose the fish you bought on this planned day trip, what is your plan? 

If you were to do a fish in cycle and don't have test kits, you're not going to do water changes and all the work that is needed to keep the fish alive as you won't know when things like water changes need to be done. 

A uncycled tank can look perfectly normal. Pictured below is my 5.5 gallon that was torn down and re-planted. The tank has been running since the weekend and yet is crystal clear. Nobody would know this tank wasn't cycled unless I said it wasn't.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

You might look in to ordering fish from this forum, aquabid or another site. Like Smooch said, if the fish you buy die, I don't know what you'll do. You could also look around for stores that aren't fish-specific... Petsmart/Petco fish aren't the best, but plenty of folks have success with them just the same. 

You can feed your bacteria straight ammonia even after your tank is cycled, to maintain the cycle until you can get fish. Once you have fish, their waste will be the source of ammonia that maintains the cycle.


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## oOturquoiseOo (Aug 5, 2016)

I live in rural Newfoundland. The closest store that isn't the lfs I mentioned is over 600 km away. 

I'm going to get tests. I am not planning not to get them. 

I found a pH test kit that I had before. It was expired Jan 31/15 but it read 6.2. 

Aquabid doesn't ship to me (or at least I couldn't find any listings that would). There is a shop in Dartmouth that will ship but I'm hoping to avoid paying shipping too many times (it's going to be at least $25 shipping each time) so that's why I was hoping to get the first few fish without shipping. 

I'm going to plant my plants and get my filters (eheim canister and a uv filter) going tomorrow and maybe I'll think about a fish in cycle and test and water change accordingly. I don't know. 

Thanks again for your help.


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## oOturquoiseOo (Aug 5, 2016)

Oh! I forgot to add. Since I'm in rural Newfoundland, ordering a test kit online won't help because I'll be gone to town and back again before I got it.


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## bigbadjon (Aug 6, 2015)

Just get the fish and if the cycle isn't quite done you'll just have to change some extra water.


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## oOturquoiseOo (Aug 5, 2016)

Thank you. I think that's what I'm going to have to do. 

It's not a small tank (66 gallons) so I think if I got a few small fish and tested/changed the water often it'll be a start at least. Not so much shipping to stock the tank. 

But to decide what to get... That's always the hard part for me.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

I do recommend starting the cycle before going to get the fish, a partially cycled tank is better than an uncycled one IMO. You can get a jump-start with a partial fishless cycle and end it fish-in. Just make sure to do water changes once you have fish so your ammonia and nitrite stay at or below 0.25ppm.


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## oOturquoiseOo (Aug 5, 2016)

Thank you  I set it up last night. I'm starting it now so hopefully it'll be on its way soon.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

Good luck!


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## Felipe (Sep 4, 2014)

It's been exactly two weeks since I started and I finally have 1ppm nitrites and 5-10ppm nitrates.


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## RENDOG (Nov 15, 2006)

Mine took a month and it felt like forever. No fish.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

RENDOG said:


> Mine took a month and it felt like forever. No fish.


A month is pretty usual. It's always rough waiting for the fish, lol, but having plants helps for me, at least. There's something to take care of


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## oOturquoiseOo (Aug 5, 2016)

I agree with that. I love taking care of the plants.


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