Fish in, or fishless cycling?

[Taiken5968]

I saw a good thread linked in another post about fish in cycling, and I can't seem to find it. If anyone knows the thread I'm talking about please link it.

I'm not new to aquariums, but I've only had to cycle one tank and that was about 6 years ago. After that I used old filters, old tank water, and substrate to get started easy. I took down all my tanks when I moved into an apartment, but I've bought a house and I'm starting from scratch. That beig said I'm going to be a bit rusty.
I'm not trying to get everyone to spoon feed me the answers here, but I bet some people here know the best, "how to" guides on the internet, so any helpful links are welcome. I don't mind doing the reading, but this would help target my research.

Any other helpful advice or opinions on fish in vs fishless cycling welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Taiken5968]

Forgot pic.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Tai...

The old water from an established tank won't do. There's nothing for the beneficial bacteria to live on. They have to have some type of surface inside the tank. Attached are the directions for fish-in tank cycling:

Preferably you’ve selected at least a 30 gallon tank to start. Once the tank is set up and running, add some individual stems of a floating plant like Hornwort, Water sprite and/or Anacharis. Let the tank run for 3 or 4 days to steady the water chemistry. Add 3 to 4 small to medium sized fish for every 10 gallons of water you want to cycle. Guppies, Platys, Sword tails, Danios, Rasboras and White Cloud minnows will easily tolerate the process. Feed the fish just a little every couple of days, they don’t need much during the cycling period. The dissolving fish waste (ammonia) combines with oxygen from the outside air and begins to grow the bacteria colony. Test the water daily for traces of ammonia and nitrite. If you have a positive test, remove a quarter (25 percent) of the tank water and replace it with tap water treated with an additive that removes chlorine and chloramine and detoxifies the three forms of nitrogen. Don’t remove more water, you’ll starve the bacteria and slow the process. Test every day and remove and replace the water when needed. When several daily tests show no traces of ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycled. Once cycled in a month or so, you change out half or more of the tank water every few days to maintain good water conditions.

B

 

[Taiken5968]

Hello Tai...

The old water from an established tank won't do. There's nothing for the beneficial bacteria to live on. They have to have some type of surface inside the tank. Attached are the directions for fish-in tank cycling:

Preferably you’ve selected at least a 30 gallon tank to start. Once the tank is set up and running, add some individual stems of a floating plant like Hornwort, Water sprite and/or Anacharis. Let the tank run for 3 or 4 days to steady the water chemistry. Add 3 to 4 small to medium sized fish for every 10 gallons of water you want to cycle. Guppies, Platys, Sword tails, Danios, Rasboras and White Cloud minnows will easily tolerate the process. Feed the fish just a little every couple of days, they don’t need much during the cycling period. The dissolving fish waste (ammonia) combines with oxygen from the outside air and begins to grow the bacteria colony. Test the water daily for traces of ammonia and nitrite. If you have a positive test, remove a quarter (25 percent) of the tank water and replace it with tap water treated with an additive that removes chlorine and chloramine and detoxifies the three forms of nitrogen. Don’t remove more water, you’ll starve the bacteria and slow the process. Test every day and remove and replace the water when needed. When several daily tests show no traces of ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycled. Once cycled in a month or so, you change out half or more of the tank water every few days to maintain good water conditions.

B

Thanks for the info. I use to add filter media and substrate to get the new tanks started, it seemed to shorten the process.

 

[Taiken5968]

Thanks for the info. I use to add filter media and substrate to get the new tanks started, it seemed to shorten the process.

Also it's a 60g, I'll probably pick up a few swordtails this weekend.