This is a quote from a post I made. It shows some of the methods of cycling a tank. Can you guys add to, correct, elaborate on, comment on, or rate the ones listed below.
(EDIT: sorry this post was about a tank that already had fish in it so I didn't include fishless cycling. Fishless cycling is the preferred method of cycling a tank there are a couple pinned topics on this subject that you can read over.)
1. Get filter media from a healthy tank and seed your tank with beneficial bacteria. This will exponentially decrease your cycle time. gravel and ornaments also carry a good bit of beneficial bacteria but not nearly as much.
2. Go to the store and buy a cycling aid. There are several different cycling aids. Some of excellent repute and some considered not so hot.
2A BIOSPIRA is generally considered to be a great cycling aid. It is refrigerated and you can fully stock your tank immediatly. It claims to cycle a tank in 24 hours but this seems to vary from case to case
2B biozyme and other cycling aids which are not refrigerated and do not have a shelf life. These cycling aids are iffy. I've heard of them working great and also of them not working at all. Apparently the bacteria has a dormant stage or something...anyway I wouldn't personally recommend them but many people swear by them. EDIT: apparently these contain enzymes that make the tank more appealing to the correct bacteria rather than containing the correct bacteria to begin with...some also contain the wrong kind of bacteria...I'm a little confused about these products.
2C Beneficial Bacteria.... some stores sell ceramic balls that have beneficial bacteria colonized on them allready. These should work beautifully as long as the tank they come from is healthy and they are shipped to your house in water. I make aquarium ornaments and I'm testing them to see if I can use them for this.
3 Ammolock. This stuff supposedly locks up the ammonia into a harmless form that the bacteria can still consume. This keeps your cycle going while keeping your fish safe from ammonia poisoning. However I am not aware of an nI-lock so I would not recommend this method of cycling a tank
4 waterchanges... you can always go the old fashioned route =)...buy some test kits (which you should do anyway) and test your water atleast bidaily. If the levels get up to .5-1 then do a 20% water change. This makes your cycle take much longer because you are constantly removing the ammonia that keeps the cycle going. But lots of people use this method.
(EDIT: sorry this post was about a tank that already had fish in it so I didn't include fishless cycling. Fishless cycling is the preferred method of cycling a tank there are a couple pinned topics on this subject that you can read over.)
1. Get filter media from a healthy tank and seed your tank with beneficial bacteria. This will exponentially decrease your cycle time. gravel and ornaments also carry a good bit of beneficial bacteria but not nearly as much.
2. Go to the store and buy a cycling aid. There are several different cycling aids. Some of excellent repute and some considered not so hot.
2A BIOSPIRA is generally considered to be a great cycling aid. It is refrigerated and you can fully stock your tank immediatly. It claims to cycle a tank in 24 hours but this seems to vary from case to case
2B biozyme and other cycling aids which are not refrigerated and do not have a shelf life. These cycling aids are iffy. I've heard of them working great and also of them not working at all. Apparently the bacteria has a dormant stage or something...anyway I wouldn't personally recommend them but many people swear by them. EDIT: apparently these contain enzymes that make the tank more appealing to the correct bacteria rather than containing the correct bacteria to begin with...some also contain the wrong kind of bacteria...I'm a little confused about these products.
2C Beneficial Bacteria.... some stores sell ceramic balls that have beneficial bacteria colonized on them allready. These should work beautifully as long as the tank they come from is healthy and they are shipped to your house in water. I make aquarium ornaments and I'm testing them to see if I can use them for this.
3 Ammolock. This stuff supposedly locks up the ammonia into a harmless form that the bacteria can still consume. This keeps your cycle going while keeping your fish safe from ammonia poisoning. However I am not aware of an nI-lock so I would not recommend this method of cycling a tank
4 waterchanges... you can always go the old fashioned route =)...buy some test kits (which you should do anyway) and test your water atleast bidaily. If the levels get up to .5-1 then do a 20% water change. This makes your cycle take much longer because you are constantly removing the ammonia that keeps the cycle going. But lots of people use this method.
