Any fishkeepers here? Saltwater or freshwater

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Silock

Most fishless cycles advocate just using straight up ammonia. What's wrong with that, if the idea is just to grow the beneficial bacteria?

Because there's no bacteria. Without the presence of some biological entity to "infect" the tank, the NH3 just sits there and does nothing. Ultimately, the bacteria has to come from the air, etc.. You have to be really patient with the ammonia method because it takes much longer than most other methods.

The other advantage of using fish is that, as you add them over time, your bacterial bed adjusts the population to support the bio-load of your tank. People that cycle with ammonia (or fish food or shrimp) often find that they have to re-cycle when they add fish because they didn't use enough to get a big enough biofilter to accomodate the number of fish they added.

Now the big advantage of pure ammonia over fish food or shrimp is that there's virtually zero chance of introducing Saprolegnia fungus.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Because there's no bacteria. Without the presence of some biological entity to "infect" the tank, the NH3 just sits there and does nothing. Ultimately, the bacteria has to come from the air, etc.. You have to be really patient with the ammonia method because it takes much longer than most other methods.

The other advantage of using fish is that, as you add them over time, your bacterial bed adjusts the population to support the bio-load of your tank. People that cycle with ammonia (or fish food or shrimp) often find that they have to re-cycle when they add fish because they didn't use enough to get a big enough biofilter to accomodate the number of fish they added.

I'm not trying to be difficult, so pardon my persistence, but this goes against everything I've been reading.

Fishless cycle folks advocate building up the bio filter enough so that it clears out as much ammonia as you can throw at it in 24 hours. I suppose it could take longer than a fish cycle, but it is more humane.

You are the first person to advocate against a fishless cycle that I've seen recently. And I, too, did a fish cycle on my first tank ten years ago, so I'm not anti-fish cycling. Just curious.

Although, it should be a moot point, being that I'm going with a planted tank. Not only do the plants absorb the ammonia, negating the immediate need for a bio filter, but they have the bacteria on them just as old filter media does to spur its growth if there is any excess ammonia present.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Silock

I'm not trying to be difficult, so pardon my persistence, but this goes against everything I've been reading.

Fishless cycle folks advocate building up the bio filter enough so that it clears out as much ammonia as you can throw at it in 24 hours. I suppose it could take longer than a fish cycle, but it is more humane.

You are the first person to advocate against a fishless cycle that I've seen recently. And I, too, did a fish cycle on my first tank ten years ago, so I'm not anti-fish cycling. Just curious.

Although, it should be a moot point, being that I'm going with a planted tank. Not only do the plants absorb the ammonia, negating the immediate need for a bio filter, but they have the bacteria on them just as old filter media does to spur its growth if there is any excess ammonia present.

Oh, sorry, I gave you the wrong impression. I'm not anti-fishless cycling. I just prefer to cycle with fish.

Quite frankly they all have advantages and disadvantages.