New Tank Arriving Tomorrow

Just had confirmation that my new tank will be arriving tomorrow. Over the past few days, have been shopping around for the necessary accessories. Have just bought a Eheim Pro 2026 cannister filter for $238, which is supposedly a good price for this high end filter. Am still scouting around for lights. Seems like lights for 6ft setups do not come cheap. I also got to learn about T5 tubes and also about how to diy a lighting set. Interesting stuff. A T5 retrofit kit for 3ft can be as much as $350!

Right now am looking at ways to reduce the cycling time for the new tank. Below is a good article.

Instead of using fish food for ammonia production, we can also introduce pure ammonia to the tank.

After the tank has been set up (see above), add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 Gallons into the water on a daily basis.
Ammonia will rise to 5 ppm and higher. As soon as nitrites are measurable, reduce the ammonia input to 3 drops per day. Nitrites will rise to similar levels. Keep adding 2-3 drops until the measurements of ammonia and nitrites come out with 0 ppm. The tank has then completely cycled.

Seeding the tank can significantly enhance this process. 7 days for a complete cycle are not unheard of; otherwise this methods takes 2-3 weeks.

The bacteria colonies, using this method, are certainly large enough to handle a well-stocked aquarium.

Some aspects to consider:

The tank has to be well oxygenated as the bacteria require oxygen

The ammonia used should be free of any perfumes and additives

Do not treat the water with conditioners that remove ammonia

Water changes are only necessary if the ammonia and nitrite levels are far off level, which should only occur if more than 5 drops is used per 10 Gallons of water. After the cycle has been completed use activated carbon to remove any possible perfume or additives, which might have been in the ammonia.

After stocking your tank with fish, general maintenance of the aquarium is all that is required. The bacteria will adjust to the fish load and if you plan to add new fish the bacteria will have to adjust again.

Keep in mind to feed your tank with ammonia until you introduce fish. The waste generated by your fish will then provide the tank with all that is needed to balance the environment.

With this method, all aquarium types can be cycled in a very short period of time.

Professionals use the ammonia drop method to keep live sand and rock alive, which they sell in their stores.

We recommend you read about the nitrogen cycle so you have an understanding about what happens during this cycling period. You will also need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits to perform your daily testing of the water.


I will seed the water by transferring half a tank full of water from my existing big tank and half a bag of the biohome used. Maybe with a slab or two of granite slate.