Quick Way To Cycle A Tank?

[Lawrence]

Hey again,

felt the need to post again cos am really sorry if you thought I was having a go - I really wasnt

but also cos have just been searching through the forum for info on mature pond media etc, and so far, the stuff ive pulled up is on the lines of what arobinson1984 just said, people have said they have done it, but even though they have cleaned any bugs and leaches off, other stuff has been hiding in it - and that it would have to be left in a good few weeks. From what I can see, it also depends on the ammonia levels in the pond and the fish. Ive just donated some mature media to my brother for his new tank, and thats been in my filter a good few months!

As oswaldy mentionned earlier, it might be worth seeing if anyone in your area is prepared to donate some mature media from a well established tank..

Would carry on having a scout around for you, but am hitting the sack shortly.

Hope you find all the info you need

T

hey i appreciate your concern to help. i apologise for maybe being rude too... maybe i will dscard the pond thing as there probably are hundreds of other bacteria i do not want in my tank. i just came up with a better idea, i could ast the pet store if they have any sponge media i could use...or i could squeeze their pondmedia into a bag and pour it into my tank.

Hi Lawrence

The only safe and fast way to set up a cycled tank is to "clone" one from another well established, and healthy, tank. To do this, just take some of the filter media and put it into your filter. You would then have to add a few fish immediately to keep the bacteria fed. Alternately, you could run your filter in another tank for a few weeks and some of the bacteria will start growing on it. I would not, however, recommend doing this with an outside pond. There are harmful bacteria, as well as beneficial bacteria, and it's just too easy to transfer them to a new tank. It's not easy to cure fish once they get sick, so don't take that risk.

You could do a "fish in" cycle if you are in a hurry to get at least a few fish in your tank. Don't start with very many and test your water regularly. Do water changes as needed to control the ammonia and then nitrite. Once they are staying at zero you can add more fish, a few at a time, and the bacteria will increase to support them. Until just a few years ago, when people started to do fishless cycling, this was the only way to do it. It just takes patience. Go slowly and keep your fish safe.

Here's the link for that:

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306[/URL]

Yes, my oldest tanks were started with a fish in cycle. The newer ones have all been cloned.

thanks for giving me all the options...i think i will take some fish media from the pet store, maybe just a small cutting from their fish media and then put that in my aquarium...would that be ok?

 

[Lawrence]

ok i just read again the 'GETTING STARTED' page on tropical fish forever home webpage (missed this part out). they say that if i install everything in my tank except the fish and leave it for a few days then after 3 days i can add fish. However this is different as compared to what others on this forum are saying.
advice please, otherwise i think i might have a go at leaving the aquarium for 6 days till im back from holiday.

 

[Tropical_Fish]

I put mature pond media in my filter which had been in a pond for months, it sped my fishless cycle up but didn't replace it - it still took over 3 weeks.

A small cutting will again speed things up - but seriously just slow down!

A fishless cycle is so much easier than doing hundreds of water changes to keep your fish alive,

Listen to the advice - what your suggesting has been tried (and can help a little) - the BEST ways are offered to you

ok i just read again the 'GETTING STARTED' page on tropical fish forever home webpage (missed this part out). they say that if i install everything in my tank except the fish and leave it for a few days then after 3 days i can add fish. However this is different as compared to what others on this forum are saying.
advice please, otherwise i think i might have a go at leaving the aquarium for 6 days till im back from holiday.

That won't do anything!

Why won't you listen? Feel free to follow that guide but it won't do anything! Do you think we all do fishless-cycles for fun!?

You can choose to do a fish-in cycle if you want - follow the guide on here for best results but it is A LOT more work, if you want the easiest route do the fishless cycle on here it will take about 1 month, things like a small cutting of mature media will speed things up, a large piece of mature media could get things down to a matter of days.

Also buy an API master test kit for about £18 which will let you know what's going on in the tank

 

[Lawrence]

ok thanks...i will take some of the water from the pet store, which has the needed bacteria, and put it into my tank with the fish. i dont think they will give me pond media. i will have a few fish- maybe 3-5 for a few weeks then i will buy more fish.

thanks everyone

I put mature pond media in my filter which had been in a pond for months, it sped my fishless cycle up but didn't replace it - it still took over 3 weeks.

A small cutting will again speed things up - but seriously just slow down!

A fishless cycle is so much easier than doing hundreds of water changes to keep your fish alive,

Listen to the advice - what your suggesting has been tried (and can help a little) - the BEST ways are offered to you

ok i just read again the 'GETTING STARTED' page on tropical fish forever home webpage (missed this part out). they say that if i install everything in my tank except the fish and leave it for a few days then after 3 days i can add fish. However this is different as compared to what others on this forum are saying.
advice please, otherwise i think i might have a go at leaving the aquarium for 6 days till im back from holiday.

That won't do anything!

Why won't you listen? Feel free to follow that guide but it won't do anything! Do you think we all do fishless-cycles for fun!?

You can choose to do a fish-in cycle if you want - follow the guide on here for best results but it is A LOT more work, if you want the easiest route do the fishless cycle on here it will take about 1 month, things like a small cutting of mature media will speed things up, a large piece of mature media could get things down to a matter of days.

Also buy an API master test kit for about £18 which will let you know what's going on in the tank

yeah i dont need to buy somtin for 18 punds...i will take some water testing kits from my cousin who owns a fish farm. ... will also take some of his water as it has the bacteria needed, as well as his water plants as the bacteria is already infested on them

ok dont need to post anymore...i have a solution...i will take some water as well as water plants from my cousing fish farm. They have the required bacteria needed, so if i put the water + the plants in my tank, i can add fish straight away

 

[H. Houdini]

No Lawrence, please continue to post.

I would love to know IF everyone is wrong and you are right. I'd also dearly like to know how your fish get on health wise.

Harry

 

[Lawrence]

No Lawrence, please continue to post.

I would love to know IF everyone is wrong and you are right. I'd also dearly like to know how your fish get on health wise.

Harry

ok will do but i first need to get a fish tank and then i will see what happens from there

will post in a few weeks to say what i did, and how it worked.

lawrence

 

[sheag35]

Lawrence,

Please for the sake of your fish do the fishless cycle even with taking water from your cousins fish farm you could be asking for trouble,
a )you dont know whats in his water so while fish in his facility may look and act fine they may be carrying some form of disease or non beneficial bacteria which may lie in the water till a stressed host is found and then it infests them... not casting doubts on your cousins operation but just saying if it was my tank i'd be very very wary
and
b) it will only reduce the cycle time by a week or two your still talking a good month before you really should add fish unless you have a full mature filter to put on immediately, when i do a new tank in my collection of 12, I add a filter to an existing tank 2 months in advance so it'll be mature when i set up my new one, even then its empty for two weeks running before I add fish for the health and safety of my livestock, even then i add fish slowly and build up my tanks capacity over months to reach full stock.

if you want instant setup i've heard of a product called organic aqua which APPARENTLY allows you to add fish to a new set up immediately but then you have to add more weekly to have the tank survive without having a huge filter failure....
but hey its your money, your fish so your risk, just offering some advise from my 26yrs of fishkeeping and believe me in that time i've made most of the mistakes in the book but more importantly learned from them

hope this helps, and hope whatever way you go your fishkeeping is successful

 

[aaronnorth]

have a look here for the "silent cycle"
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=299827

 

[arobinson1984]

Add water from an established tank will do NOTHING to cycle your tank. Beneficial bacteria isn't in water, it grows on surfaces where there is a good flow of water, hence your filter media

Andy