tank cycling?

[TaTeR ToT]

i just purchased a 25g tank.
dimensions - 24"L x 20"W x 12"T

Fltration - Eheim 2213

Flow - MArineland 300gph powerhead modified with a eheim 2217 spraybar for surface agitation.

Heating - Marienland Stealth 250watt Heater - temp at 89 degrees

been running for 2 days.

Eheim 2213 was seeded on a fully cycled 29g with a good sized bioload.

stocklist for this 25g will be -

1x WC Geophagus Sp. Red Head 'Tapajos' Female 4.5"
1x WC Hoplarcus Psttacus 5"
1x F1 Uaru 4"
1x Pair of Albino Bristle Nose Plecos m:4" f:3"

right now its running with no fish, i did a water test,

0 ammonia
0 Nitrite
0 Nitrate

is this because the tank doesnt have anything in it, and the cycle hasnt started yet?

if so, i want to do a fishless cycle.

is their a good way or a standard to doing this?

thanks in advance Brian

[mgarrido]

0 nitrate with a seeded filter doesn't make sense to me, check your test kit man. Also check your temp, 89F is a bit hot lol !!!

[nacra99]

ditto... 0 nitrAte sounds fishy (so to speak). It means either
1) your test kit is bad
2) you didn't shake enough "seeding" material (aka gunk) out of your old filter to deposit enough nitrogen compounds (ammonia, nitrItes or nitrAtes) into your new tank... which may also mean you also didn't shake out enough bacteria into the new tank.

You can do a test to see how well your tank is cycled with ammonia. (which incidently one of the ways to do a fishless cycle)
Go to ace hardware and pick up a bottle of 100% ammonia. Make sure it says "AMMONIA" and nothing else.. not the flowery scented kind. Also make sure are no surfactants (shake the bottle and make sure it doesn't form bubbles) otherwise you'll end up with a bubbly mess.
Make sure there are no live critters in the tank, then using a pipette, add enough ammonia to register 0.5 to 1.0 ppm. (usually a light green color in most test kits).
Leave it for a day or 2 and test again.
The tank is cycled if you will notice NO ammonia, NO nitrItes and SOME nitrAtes after a day or 2.
If you see any pressence of ammonia or nitrItes after 2 or 3 days, then the tank is not cycled.... if so, proceed to do a full blown fishless cycle..

To do a fishless cycle, add enough ammonia to register 4ppm or more. Seed the tank with tetra aquasafe or squeeze a cloud a gunk from an old established filter.
Test every few days.... when the ammonia and nitrIte become zero, your tank is cycled.
Before putting fish in, do a 80% - 100% water change to remove the excess nitrAtes.

I'm writing an article on how to cycle using ammonia and should have it up soon on my website.