Cycling a gravelless tank

[fish_4_all]

I just set up a 10 gallon tank and I am using the aquaview I had running in my old tank. I also have a sponge filter that I can put in the tank to help the cycling.

My plan is to put the snails in the tank for cycling and then add some swords or guppies to finish the cycling.

Will the tank cycle with the snails? Can I add the plants in the tank that the snails are in and expect them to survive? (elodia) Can I run the entire tank with just the sponge filter? Will the established HOB and the sponge filter cut down on my cycle time? Should I add gravel to the tank or leave it gravelless?

I plan to eventually use the tank as a breeding tank for swords and eventually for corydoras once I am sure it has astablished to a point it is completely safe for them.

One other quesiton, does anyone have any advice on modifying the aquaview so the media is better? Can I put aquaview sponges in the chamber instead of the standard cartridge which I remove the active carbon from before using?

Any other suggestions will help a bunch. Thanks in advice.

 

[Tiffi]

If it's not a whole bunch of big apple snails, they won't help you much. They don't produce enough waste to cycle a tank. I would definitely make a completely fishless cycle.
You could use pure ammonia, fishfood or a raw shrimp (from the grocery store) for cycling.

The plants will survive a cycle, no problem.

The established HBO filter will cut down on your cycling time, since it is already housing beneficial becteria. That way the tank doesn't have to start from the very beginning.

I've never tried to breed corys before, but I think gravel will be good and bad. Gravel will host beneficial bacteria, but no gravel is easier to clean.

If you use the tank just every now and then, don't forget that there still has to be some kind of food source for the beneficial bacteria (extra biological filter). So if there's pretty much nothing in the tank for a week or so, add some fish food or other waste producers. That way the good bacteria won't die and you don't have to cycle all over again.

 

[malkore]

Ok, if you have a seasoned filter from an existing tank, you should have plenty of bacteria in your filter.

Fishless cycling would be easiest and the most 'fool proof' way to do it. However, in this situation, you could VERY lightly stock the tank right away...maybe 2-3 small fish. You'll have to be religious about ammonia and nitrite testing...but it shouldn't be too hard to pull off. After 2-3 weeks of 0 ammo/nitrite, you could add a couple more fish.

snails are not huge waste producers, so you'd need a ton of them...but then, what do you do with all those snails?

 

[FMJnaX]

snails are not huge waste producers, so you'd need a ton of them...but then, what do you do with all those snails?

Escargot

 

[izzycomosy]

Re Fishless cycling

Hi, I have just started another 260 litre tank and I used the fish food method, rather than risk putting my cichlids into the tank just yet,my question is how many times do I put fish food into the new tank? I have also transferred the 20% water change from my 29 gallon tank to the new tank,cant put any of the gravel over as I have put sand in the 260 litre tank. Is it only the once you put fish food into the tank?
Kind Regards

 

[Meredith]

I am cycling a tank at the moment as well. About a week ago I threw in about a half a cube of frozen fish food. I am pretty sure I am totally cycled at this point, but I put in a little flake food the other day just to be sure there was Something in there. I don't know how often you would need to put food in to start a cycle or to keep it going. I just threw it in towards the end to keep things moving along.

 

[izzycomosy]

Thanks for the help,much appreciated.
izzycomosy