Cycling???

Question

So I've had my 29 gallon up and running since Friday. I am in no hurry to add fish, haha, paydays not till this Friday! I have heard countless times that I should do a fishless cycle, how benificial it is, etc. I really do not want to add pure ammonia to my tank to develop the bacteria. I just dont feel comfortable with it. Can't I just add a scoop of gravel from my 10 gallon which has been set up for nearly 4 years? I hae added stress zyme, which is supposed to help add benificial bacteria. I also want to add 2 of my zebra danios from my 10 to the 29, in order to start the cycling process. Is this a good idea? Answerers, please take care to answer all parts of my question, recently only specific parts have been answered!

I have had a filter in the 10 gallon for about a week. Is that enought time to get the bacteria, or should I wait a bit more?

for the gravel, would rinsing off the gravel in room temp water kill or remove it all? I dont want that!

Answer 1

Pretty much everyone here have given you good advice in my opinion. I have to say if you can add gravel from your ten gallon tank, thats the best way to go. Sometimes if this is your first and only tank, you have to get that one cycled out to jump start future ones. I know some will say a pet store can give you some of theirs, as well as you may have other aquarist in your area to get from. It would work, but I wouldn't go that route if it was me, because thier particular tanks, you don't know if there is something in there or not. There could be a bacteria, or parasite, or virus in there. Sure over time it would show up, but if whoever you are getting your start up gravel from isn't the best at caring for thier fish, or in the case of stores, they have so many fish going in and out, you may not see exposed fish. Now if you have another tank like you do, then you already know what you're getting and thats ideal.

Now if I am understanding your input here on your question, you've set this tank up last week? Since friday and today is Monday, so you've conditioned the water and set everything up? I just want to be clear because I didn't see anyone else mention this, but this tank is empty? I may be really off the mark here, but it's not going to help you at all if you're trying to cycle out that tank, and there is nothing in there! In order for that bacteria to grow and stablize in the tank, you need a constant source of ammonia and nitrites for them to "feed" on. It's very probably whatever cultures you've started if you add anything have died off since friday because there is no fish in there to provide the fuel it needs to not only grow, but to maintain itself with. Since you have an established tank, then yes, use a cupful of your gravel from your ten gallon tank, put a couple of those danios in, nice choice on that btw, and just take some regular readings. You should see some small spikes at most, in your ammonia and nitrites, but you're going to shave off so much time having that other tank already cycled out, you'll be amazed.

JV

Answer 2

A fishless cycle is very complicated and I don't understand half of what they tell you to do. Here is the quickest way I know of to cycle a tank.

Take out 5 gallons of water from the 29. Do a 50% change on your 10 and put the water into the 29. Add your danios to the 29. Switch filters between the 2 tanks for a week. Scoop out about half your gravel from the 10 and seed the 29 with it. Do not rinse the gravel at all, the chlorine in the rinse water will kill the bacteria you are trying to move into the new tank. Feed them well for the week.

At the end of the week, the filter on the 29 can be put back into the 10 and the other filter moved back to the 20. Do 25% water changes every 3 days on the 29 being sure to use dechlorinating drops. In a week to ten days, you should have a mature tank.

This is the procedure I use all the time when setting up a new tank. I have 25 tanks, so it is easy to come up with mature water to kick start a new tank, and I just take a filter from one of the mature tanks and put it on or in the new one and put a brand new filter on or in the old tank. A older mature tank has no problem with seeding a brand new filter with bacteria.

Many of my tanks have been up and running for more than 6 years without a teardown. Gravel siphoning is the key, along with weekly partial water changes.

Answer 3

Cycling takes between 4 and 6 weeks to complete fully. Adding substrate or filter medium from your established tank will speed the process up, however, and should only take about 3 weeks to complete. Make sure to test the water frequently. When the ammonia and nitrites are at 0ppm and the nitrates are no more than 60ppm, then you are done and are ready to add fish.

I would be careful about adding pure ammonia, as its sometimes difficult to know whether the ammonia you purchase does not have any additional chemicals (unless you purchase a product from an aquarium store specifically designed for fishless cycling). Adding some gravel (I would definitely add more than a scoop, however. If you could spare maybe half that would be better) will help a lot. Adding some of the established aquarium water will help as well (make sure the water is free of disease), as will adding the danios (but that defeats the purpose of a fishless cycle). If you have a carbon filter, add some of the carbon from the established aquarium to the new aquarium filter. Again, this will help speed things along.

There is also freeze dried bacteria you can buy.

Answer 4

The gravel from the established tank will definitely help "jump-start" the cycling process, so long as there haven't been any diseases/algae problems in that tank recently - otherwise, you're adding these potential problems as well.

Danios are a farily hardy fish, so as long as you keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels and do water changes when necessary, it should be okay. You can speed up the cycling a little by raising the temperature (speeds up the bacteria metabolism so the reproduce more quickly). If you don't add the danios, you'll still need to add an ammonia source (piece of raw shrimp, pinch of fish food) otherwise the bacteria you add in the gravel won't have a food source (what is indended by adding the pure ammonia).

Answer 5

Adding a few scoops of gravel will help a little, but the best option for you would be to use the filter or filter media from your established tank in your new tank. I cycled an 80 gallon tank in less than 24 hours using this method. Some beneficial bacteria lives in the gravel, but the majority lives in the filter media. Adding the 2 danios should be perfectly fine. If you add a few scoops of gravel, use the old filter, and add the danios, your new tank should be cycled within a few days at the most. After your ammonia and nitrite reading drop to zero and you are getting nitrate readings, change out 30-40% of the water and then give it a few more days with the 10gallon filter. After that you should be OK to put in a new filter and put your old filter back in your 10 gallon.

Answer 6

yes yes, adding gravel or filter media from a mature tank is the only way I would ever cycle a tank - in fact, I always add plenty of it so that the tank doesn't go into a cycle at all (living bacteria + fish = mature tank). The way I do it is to fill up the filter of the new tank with media from a filter from an established tank. If another tank of mine doesn't offer enough, I'll go to the fish store and get stuff from their tanks for it (transporting it in a bag with tank water to preserve it). They help me out because they want my business again and it costs them close enough to nothing. Just make sure you add fish at the same time as the media, or the bacteria will just starve.


Cycling can be a thing of the past, though most people refuse to accept it. Why, I don't know.

In fishless cycling, if you prefer to do it the long way, you are so much better off with bottled ammonia then using fish food or rotting seafood, which adds further pollutants, clouds the water, and can create further problems.

Answer 7

The danios will be fine there. The gravel can go straight from the 10 to the 29. Washing will remove what you are looking to add.
On payday, don't buy fish. Buy an ammonia test kit and a pH test kit. Later you will need a nitrite test kit and a nitrate test kit.
Sometimes the complete kit is a much better deal than buying individually.

Answer 8

i think the danios would be a good idea. the bioload produced by danios in a 29 gallon would be quite small. i have read recent stuff that leads me to believe things like stress zyme and cycle aren't that great -- its better to grow your own then depend on foreign bacteria in a bottle.

Answer 9

There are no short cuts in cycling. I suggest taking the bio bags from your current tank and putting them in the filters of the 29. Thats the only way to have the tank cycle and ready for fish right away.
What fish are you getting?

Answer 10

Easiest way to cycle a tank is throw a dozen goldfish or mollies into it. Wait a week or two, and if any are still alive, give them to someone else or whatever you feel is appropriate.