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To me, the easiest way is with some good strong fish. For a 55, I would recommend about 5 to 7 danios. In a tank that size, this number of danios will cause the tank to cycle pretty slowly and your numbers shouldn't get too terribly high.

You can also do a fish less cycle by feeding the tank daily as if it were full of fish or using actual ammonia. I don't like doing, though.
 
If you have a tank going now, use some of its water to seed your new tank.
 
If you know someone who has seeded bio media see if they will give you some to add to your filter(remember to keep the media wet as I should not become dry,killing the bb)..I've fishless cycled all my tanks in less than 18 days individually... I choose not to put any fish in harm's way in order to cycle a tank...(fish-in cycling is old school&not necessary)...also fishless cycling is a lot faster&the end product allows for a large bb colony to established along with be able to add more stock at one time...
 
The New Rage is Fishless Cycling, however here is what i recommend!

1. get some live plants and plant your tank, this gives that tank a nice look but also help keep fish safer as plants use ammonia and nitrate!

2. get a good test kit

3. make a rough idea of what stock u want in your tank, each fish group will have its own set of needs and abilities to adjust to your water, with that said choose the hardiest group first and add them to cycle your tank

4. Check your water atleast once a day to keep water levels safe for your fish

5. Change your water whenever your levels are not safe for fish(i changed mine every time i have ammonia or nitrite) about 25-50 percent depending on how high levels are, this will keep your fish safe

6. Be Patient, it pays off : )

Im not saying anything about zebra danios, but unless u intend to have them in your tank dont use them to cycle, they are super hardy however if u dont like them or dont want them and just get them to cycle the tank, ur pretty much stuck with them after the tank is cycled, and the fishless cycling this is the "Best way" or the "humane way" to do it, however i see it this way, a fish in cycle is literally the most natural way, and nature has been doing this since the start of time, and the fishless cycle has only been around a few years so i trust nature well before i trust science on this one, also if u are doing water changes and feeding accordingly the fish in cycle is safe! u just have to hold up your end of the deal with keeping your water safe while everything cycles

Hope this helps
 
but if u can get seeded media, or decorations, or a dirty filter, or even a few hand fulls of gravel from a healty established tank this is a great way to get a just start on the cycle
 
BlazedSaint said:
The New Rage is Fishless Cycling, however here is what i recommend!

1. get some live plants and plant your tank, this gives that tank a nice look but also help keep fish safer as plants use ammonia and nitrate!

2. get a good test kit

3. make a rough idea of what stock u want in your tank, each fish group will have its own set of needs and abilities to adjust to your water, with that said choose the hardiest group first and add them to cycle your tank

4. Check your water atleast once a day to keep water levels safe for your fish

5. Change your water whenever your levels are not safe for fish(i changed mine every time i have ammonia or nitrite) about 25-50 percent depending on how high levels are, this will keep your fish safe

6. Be Patient, it pays off : )

Im not saying anything about zebra danios, but unless u intend to have them in your tank dont use them to cycle, they are super hardy however if u dont like them or dont want them and just get them to cycle the tank, ur pretty much stuck with them after the tank is cycled, and the fishless cycling this is the "Best way" or the "humane way" to do it, however i see it this way, a fish in cycle is literally the most natural way, and nature has been doing this since the start of time, and the fishless cycle has only been around a few years so i trust nature well before i trust science on this one, also if u are doing water changes and feeding accordingly the fish in cycle is safe! u just have to hold up your end of the deal with keeping your water safe while everything cycles

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

I'd have to say I agree. I'm not a fan of danios, but the long-finned variety is kinda cool. I just like my fish to kinda chill out and "be groovy." These guys don't chill out... They are quick and never stop.

This will defy belief, but the owner of one of the LFS cycled one of his show tanks in the store with cardinal tetras. I asked him about it and he said they have such a small bioload that they cycle the tank very slowly and he can keep the water at appropriate levels for them easily. Said he's been doing it for years.
 
CatoeSc said:
I'd have to say I agree. I'm not a fan of danios, but the long-finned variety is kinda cool. I just like my fish to kinda chill out and "be groovy." These guys don't chill out... They are quick and never stop.

This will defy belief, but the owner of one of the LFS cycled one of his show tanks in the store with cardinal tetras. I asked him about it and he said they have such a small bioload that they cycle the tank very slowly and he can keep the water at appropriate levels for them easily. Said he's been doing it for years.
Click to expand...

Agreed! i got sucked into the minnow/danio thing to cycle my tank, luckily my family and all my co-workers all have big aquariums and i was able to rehome them to my cousin who breeds zebras and giants! but it simply drove me nuts watching the danios as they seem to never stop moving lol

I Cycled my tank with Platys for the exact opposite reason, platys have a high bio load, and i wanted to have a stong bio filter : ) also my live plants seem to like having the platys in there as the platys are eatting the algae off the plants and providing more ammonia for them, they look alot better since i got the platys
 
Fishless cycling is the fastest, but if you are impatient and want fish that fish in is the way to go. The best way is to get gravel, decor or filter media from an established (and disease free) tank. BTW, the bacteria that use up ammo and nitrite don't float around in the water, they mostly stay on the gravel, decor, and filter.
 
BlazedSaint said:
The New Rage is Fishless Cycling, however here is what i recommend!

1. get some live plants and plant your tank, this gives that tank a nice look but also help keep fish safer as plants use ammonia and nitrate!

2. get a good test kit

3. make a rough idea of what stock u want in your tank, each fish group will have its own set of needs and abilities to adjust to your water, with that said choose the hardiest group first and add them to cycle your tank

4. Check your water atleast once a day to keep water levels safe for your fish

5. Change your water whenever your levels are not safe for fish(i changed mine every time i have ammonia or nitrite) about 25-50 percent depending on how high levels are, this will keep your fish safe

6. Be Patient, it pays off : )

Im not saying anything about zebra danios, but unless u intend to have them in your tank dont use them to cycle, they are super hardy however if u dont like them or dont want them and just get them to cycle the tank, ur pretty much stuck with them after the tank is cycled, and the fishless cycling this is the "Best way" or the "humane way" to do it, however i see it this way, a fish in cycle is literally the most natural way, and nature has been doing this since the start of time, and the fishless cycle has only been around a few years so i trust nature well before i trust science on this one, also if u are doing water changes and feeding accordingly the fish in cycle is safe! u just have to hold up your end of the deal with keeping your water safe while everything cycles

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

:ermm: Ummm, I don't see why you "trust nature more than science on this one". They both work, so there is nothing to "trust". It just depends on whether or not you want fish immediately or are willing to wait and cycle faster.
 
BlazedSaint said:
By no means do i mean to say one is better than the other its Just how I personally feel about it
Click to expand...

I know, and I don't want to start an argument (there are plenty of those in youtube comments ;)), but I was just saying you said that you trust fish in because it is more natural, and I'm just saying they both work, and there is no need to trust one more than the other.
 
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