How do I do a fish-less nitrogen cycle?
You will need a test kit, namely one for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. In a fishless cycle, you add the ammonia vs. having a fish add the ammonia. You can do this by two methods :1) adding something like fish food or a piece of shrimp or even a dead fish tot he tank to rot and produce ammonia for you, or 2) add pure liquid ammonia with no other additives. When you test, you want the ammonia levels to be below 5ppm otherwise the ammonia is too high and it will kill the beneficial bacteria (biological filter) that you are trying to feed and culture! Boiled the driftwood first. It will house some beneficial bacteria, so you do not want to go through the entire process, boil the wood, and thus undo so much of your hard work. Personally, I would leave the driftwood in. The browning is not harmful, and can be removed through water changes and carbon at the end of the cycle. Boiling will not get rid of it completely in the first place, but will help shorten the time the wood releases the col
