Going away during fishless cycle

I have bought my daughter a 63 litre tropical tank for her birthday.

I have also just found out about fishless cycling and this is the route we intend to go. We know we may have to be patient.

We will be going away for a few days which would be likely to be in the middle of the cycle so during that time we would be unable to add ammonia or do any testing for that time. Because of this we cannot even start the cycle for another two or three weeks.

Does it sound feasible to start the cycle now with ammonia, testing etc. and then leave some frozen shrimps to decompose in the water while away and resume when back.

Any opinions on this?

Hi Bones, how long exactly do you plan to leave? When will you leave?

I always recommend the use of pure ammonia for fishless cycling whenever you can. It is cleaner, faster, and easier to control the amount of ammonia you want to add. Typical recommended ammonia concentration during fishless cycling would be anywhere between 2~6ppm.

Since you must take the trip in the middle of the cycling, you can add a raw shrimp or two about a week before you leave home (if) your absence will be longer than just 2~3 days (and if) your cycling is in the stage of nitrite showing up with ammonia decreasing fast. If you only leave for 2~3 days, just increase ammonia concentration to 6ppm you will be fine, and this is especially true when you still haven't had any nitrite reading and the ammonia still stay the same.

Thanks for the reply. I will be away for four days.
I will just make sure that the level of ammonia is about 6ppm before I go so that any nitrites or nitrates that are there are fed. I won't bother with the shrimp.

Without heavy seeding, typical fishless cycling can take up to 6~8 weeks to finish.
It could take more than 3 weeks just to see the first sign of nitrite. If your trip takes place before the appearing of nitrite, there is no need for any extra source of ammonia. Although ammonia might decrease slightly when it is released into the atmosphere, there will always be ammonia in the water until all of them are converted into nitrite.

How long ago did you start the cycling?

I have not started yet. I was originally going to wait until after I got back but I shall make a start now before I go away.

How long before you leave?

If it is going to be a while before your trip, you might as well start your cycling if you already have everything set up and ready, because it will take a long time to complete. Wouldn't you want your daughter to see a tank full of fish sooner?


There are also ways to get fishless cycle finished faster. The time required can be shortened to as little as a few days if you use bacteria seeding methods such as get a piece of filter media from an established tank, or the use of Tetra SafeStart.

Everything to make cycling faster is mentioned in this fishless cycling article.