cycling?

well i've spent a week searching for the ideal way of cycling an aquarium. only two ways i've found was with fish. and with ammonia. i don't wanna let anything rot in my tank (just don't prefer it my self).

we dont have a ace hardware anywhere its about 4 hours away to the nearest one. i've tried just about every place from here to 1-2 hours away from what i live. still cant find the correct ammonia all has surfacant's in it.

what i would like to know is what are a few good fish to use for cycling and how long does it take for the cycle to complete using this method. i dont really care for it. but i think it would be much better than letting something rot in my tank.

 

Don't really need to cycle freshwater tanks... set it up and throw in your fish or whatever the next day... they're pretty forgiving.

 

lol yea but i would much rather do things the correct and right way. before adding the fish that i plan on keeping for a long time. just incase something major would happen.

but if anyone agree's with the above poster please let me know. cuz this tank has been running for 36 hours now waiting for either to cycle or to do something with it. cant wait to get started

 

Freshwater cycles on it's own, by slowly adding livestock... not like saltwater. You will have cycles, though. Add 1-3 fish every week. This is a good rule of thumb.. a lil old school, but a good rule of thumb. When I had freshwater I used "Cycle," with much success, but in the old days I added 1-3 fish every week! Good luck.. blows my mind to even think how easy fresh water is!

 

wish i knew this before hand really cuz doing it the old fashion way might be my only choice. i was gonna use the cycling process to have a chance to decide what fish i would like to stock. now it might be a matter of a rush

 

One word of advice... don't get an african clawed frog! jeesh. I got one years ago and I did not realize they live forever and will kill/eat any and everything you put in with it (including snails).

Now the family loves this little frog and I can't put up the predator tank I want because of space... And it's a tank with only ONE thing in it!!! I hate it.

But I don't do ANYTHING with that tank. I don't do WC, I don't test it, nothing. Just feed the frog and switch out the filter pad when I remember (months apart). Every few months I have to replace the snails bc the frog eats them but they keep the tank looking clean. OK, so that's not nothing, but I don't do much with it...

 

my current stock list. i'm not so sure of. i current have several types of fish i'm doing research on to be sure what i should stock with them. but thats not concerning the cycling part of it.

my interests atm black mollies, gourami, tiger barbs, red tetra's, sharks, possibly catfish. pleco's. i know barbs are pretty hardy fish. and was used for cycling process. which there are other fish that has caught my attention. but i cant remember exactly what those were at the current time.

and doing it with fish. i honestly dont wanna rish to much money. thats why i wanna get the tank cycled before adding the better bigger fish.

 

oh yea. as far as stocking fish to do the cycling process. it is a 38 gallon aquarium. not so sure about how many i should add and what not.