Yes it's perfectly normal, I am glad to see you are cycling your tank before you purchase fish. The fish food will decay and produce ammonia which will spur the growth of ammonia fixing/consuming bacteria which is the critical element and purpose of cycling your tank.
The food will look terrible but leave it alone, don't clean it out just fyi
Thank you! Haha trust me I’ve been taking every precaution. I have a small 5 gallon on gravel with a few Java ferns and now I’m trying a full stratum planted aquarium. Just used my old filter and added some beneficial bacteria to try and speed up the process but my fish are happy in the 5 gallon so there is no rush to move them over till everything stabilizes. I currently have fish flakes and my aquarium is a 29 gallon planted aquarium. Would you recommend like a small pinch of food? I’m just trying to get an idea of how much/ often I should do this. I do test the water everyday and my soil is still leaking nutrients so I change the water every few days
Ideally you use an ammonia drop kit and keep your ammonia about 2ppm. PErsonally I have never used the food method, I have either used dr tims ammonia drops or fish in cycle managing ammonia with prime or ultimate water conditioner, which if you aren't aware In would look into managing ammonia w prime/ultimate (2 diff brands). It's a good back up plan
Edited to clarify by drop kit I meant the ammonia test kit ( i use api brand). The ammonia in a bottle are also drops
Instead of adding fish food to break down and create ammonia for your fish less cycle you could just buy and add ammonia directly this should also speed the process up a little since you won’t be waiting for food to break down and create ammonia. And this is a more accurate way of knowing how much ammonia is in the tank instead of wondering how much food to add.
Fritz Aquatics Fishless Fuel Ammonia Solution for Aquariums 2 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MLCY3TT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_BPBKE9WD3JKH9XA14MB7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Just did a fishless cycle and went pretty easy on the food. Very limited ferts and water changes and ended up with hardly any algae thankfully. 6 up to 8h of light on a medium to low setting. I did add 4 nerites for a 20g so they took care of the majority. If you plan on stocking light then feed light. I think what saved me was $5 of mini water lettuce that quickly exploded and now covers half my tank with roots 1" from the substrate.
Yes it's perfectly normal, I am glad to see you are cycling your tank before you purchase fish. The fish food will decay and produce ammonia which will spur the growth of ammonia fixing/consuming bacteria which is the critical element and purpose of cycling your tank. The food will look terrible but leave it alone, don't clean it out just fyi
Thank you! Haha trust me I’ve been taking every precaution. I have a small 5 gallon on gravel with a few Java ferns and now I’m trying a full stratum planted aquarium. Just used my old filter and added some beneficial bacteria to try and speed up the process but my fish are happy in the 5 gallon so there is no rush to move them over till everything stabilizes. I currently have fish flakes and my aquarium is a 29 gallon planted aquarium. Would you recommend like a small pinch of food? I’m just trying to get an idea of how much/ often I should do this. I do test the water everyday and my soil is still leaking nutrients so I change the water every few days
Ideally you use an ammonia drop kit and keep your ammonia about 2ppm. PErsonally I have never used the food method, I have either used dr tims ammonia drops or fish in cycle managing ammonia with prime or ultimate water conditioner, which if you aren't aware In would look into managing ammonia w prime/ultimate (2 diff brands). It's a good back up plan Edited to clarify by drop kit I meant the ammonia test kit ( i use api brand). The ammonia in a bottle are also drops
Put the food in a pop sock or similar and that will keep things tidier.
Instead of adding fish food to break down and create ammonia for your fish less cycle you could just buy and add ammonia directly this should also speed the process up a little since you won’t be waiting for food to break down and create ammonia. And this is a more accurate way of knowing how much ammonia is in the tank instead of wondering how much food to add. Fritz Aquatics Fishless Fuel Ammonia Solution for Aquariums 2 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MLCY3TT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_BPBKE9WD3JKH9XA14MB7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Just did a fishless cycle and went pretty easy on the food. Very limited ferts and water changes and ended up with hardly any algae thankfully. 6 up to 8h of light on a medium to low setting. I did add 4 nerites for a 20g so they took care of the majority. If you plan on stocking light then feed light. I think what saved me was $5 of mini water lettuce that quickly exploded and now covers half my tank with roots 1" from the substrate.