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Question

I'm trying to speed up the cycling process so i added a handful of gravel from a pre-existing tank.

1) is this enough gravel? it was literally the amount my hand could hold.
2) will the bacteria proliferate in a tank with only river rocks that are smooth and larger than the gravel?
3) will the bacteria move into my filter and expedite the growth on the bio medium?
4) would exposing the gravel to air for 5 seconds kill the beneficial bateria?

thanks for your help, experts. cheers!

Answer 1

Here are answers to your questions:

(1) This depends on the size of your aquarium and the type of filtration. Most likely the answer is no, unless you are using an undergravel filter (which I am NOT recommending here), there is generally less nitrifying bacterial colonies of the beneficial bacteria Nitrobacteraceae.
Better is filter media such as sponges or even floss, ceramic bio media, ect. This is more likely to contain enough bacteria (although adding both gravel and filter media is good)

(2) Yes, there will just be less surface area for the bacteria to adhere to. This will result is less bio capacity.

(3) Yes again, although very slowly and as stated earlier adding bacteria via aged filter media is more efficient.

(4)Definitely not. The primary nitrifying bacteria, Nitrobacteraceae thrive in high oxygen content which is why some lesser quality bacteria such as Heterotrophic Bacteria used commercially that survive well in sealed container are poor nitrifying bacteria.

PLEASE read this article for much more in depth information about aquarium cycling and the nitrogen cycle:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

Hope this helps!

:~) C

Answer 2

1) It will help, but If you can add more gravel. If you don't want it in the tank permanently, you can put it into a mesh bag (like ones onions come in) and remove it later. Bacteria reproduce by fission (splitting in two) so the more you have to start, the more you have at the end of each cycle of division. Think of it as money in the bank. If you start with $50 or $100, think of how much your total will increase in a year, even if both have the same interst rate.

2) Yes they will, but you may not have as much overall. The bacteria attach to the surface of the rocks, so smaller stones provide a greater surface area. You may need to have increaded depth to gain the same amount of biological filtration.

3) Yes. They can attach to waste as well as the gravel, and bacteria are present in the wastes of the fish. As this gets stirred up during cleaning or by the fish, some wastes will get picked up by the filter and grow there (on the media).

4) Probably not. Since they'd need to be in water to be living, there will be a film of water left on the rock while it's moved - you just don't want to leave it exposed so long that it begins to dry out. If the rock is going to be out of water for a while, it's best to store it in a bucket with dechlorinated water. but for a few seconds, you're good.

Another way you can speed up the cycling process is to raise the temperature of the tank. Warmer conditions speeds up metabolism, including bacterial reproduction. A few degrees may take some time off what your tank needs to finish by a few days.

Answer 3

Biospira works wonders. It's live bacteria that the fish store has to keep in a fridge or else they'll die. It's expensive, but it can save many a tank from an ammonia or nitrite spike. That and it helps amazingly with cycling a tank. Not a lot of stores stock it so you might be out of luck, but if there's a PetLand near you I know they have it.

I suggest you get a lot more seeded gravel. If you just put the gravel in the tank and there's no fish poo to feed the bacteria, they'll just starve and you're back to cycling square one so put a couple fish in there that are hardy!

Answer 4

Any little bit of help will do good for the cycling process.

It will proliferate just fine on any surface.

Yes it will eventually spread to your filter, gravel, plants, and any other surface in the aquarium.

No it would not kill the bacteria unless it totally dried out, which is highly unlikely in only 5 seconds.

Answer 5

There is no doubt that this will help and the air won't hurt the bacteria, however it is probably not enough to really help. You can buy good bacteria in a bottle that will really help cycle your tank. The best kind that I have ever used is called Stability.

Answer 6

it helps,, but you really cant shortcut the cyling process.

when i do this, i take about 5 lbs of gravel from an older tank.

if you have a biowheel from a HOB. You can use this for the new tank and it will speed things up.

No, being exposed will not kill the benficial bacteria.

Answer 7

more is always better get as much as you can.
yes but the added surface area of the finer gravel will help in the future.
yes, but not expedite just grow, rate is dependant on the ammount of ammonia availible.
no.