Starting a New Aquarium, wanting to use some old items

[TiminPA]

Starting a New Aquarium, wanting to use some old items
I just purchased a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium, and read about cycling taking 5-6 weeks. Can I reduce that time by putting in some of the old plastic plants/shelters from the old aquarium? Wouldn't they have bacteria on them? (Diseases too, probably, right?)

Is there any faster way to cycle a new aquarium, perhaps with chemicals, etc?

Thanks for your help!

 

[TraceyB4602]

Starting a New Aquarium, wanting to use some old items
I just purchased a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium, and read about cycling taking 5-6 weeks. Can I reduce that time by putting in some of the old plastic plants/shelters from the old aquarium? Wouldn't they have bacteria on them? (Diseases too, probably, right?)

Is there any faster way to cycle a new aquarium, perhaps with chemicals, etc?

Thanks for your help!

You should never use chemicals in your tank it causes instability in the future.

Plastic plants won't do anything. Now if your old tank is fully established and you use filter media from that tank that would help out a lot.

About diseases, if your other tank went through some sort of sickness with the fish then yes diseases can be transferred over. But most of the sicknesses cant survive without fish in the tank.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium

 

[Marconis]

You should never use chemicals in your tank it causes instability in the future.

Plastic plants won't do anything. Now if your old tank is fully established and you use filter media from that tank that would help out a lot.

About diseases, if your other tank went through some sort of sickness with the fish then yes diseases can be transferred over. But most of the sicknesses cant survive without fish in the tank.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium

Any decoration will contain at least some beneficial bacteria from an established tank. Not much surface area on plastic plants, but still, it can't hurt.

 

[Rish]

Remember the old decorations must stay wet, once they dry the bacteria dies. And you cant rinse them in tap water.

 

[TiminPA]

I have a new filter and system for the new tank. However, I still have the black, sponge-like pieces that were inserted against the old filter. I thought about putting them in the new filtration system, temporarily to begin a build up of bacteria.

There is plenty of "stuff" on the plastic plants, ceramic decorations, and natural rocks, so I am also hoping it contains at least some bacteria.

 

[TiminPA]

Remember the old decorations must stay wet, once they dry the bacteria dies. And you cant rinse them in tap water.

That might be a problem. I rinsed them a bit. They are submerged in tap water too. Oh well, I guess it's still worth trying.

 

[TiminPA]

Remember the old decorations must stay wet, once they dry the bacteria dies. And you cant rinse them in tap water.

Will new, live plants help to cycle the water faster?

 

[BigJim]

Live plants won't help cycle the tank much. They do use up the products of the nitrogen cycle, but they'll do very little to establish your beneficial bacteria colonies.

 

[westy101]

I would use a chemical called bacteria life the person in my lfs said if your doing full water changes or starting again add this and the your tank will be going good sighing 48-72 hours

 

[carey]

Using chemicals to cycle your tank is not a great idea. First, do they work? Most people say no. I say no from my experience. Secondly, using chemicals is always a last resort. Try to keep your tank as natural as possible.

It doesn't always take many weeks to cycle. depends on your specific situation. can you get any seeding material from your LFS or a friend with a tank already? That would be the best thing you could do.

 

[TiminPA]

Thanks! Some great advice. Unfortunately, there are some differing views, but I will take it all into consideration and try to figure out what I want to try.

I was looking at this substrate for planted aquariums that comes with live bacteria already present. Anyone hear about this? Is it possible to get in a gravel form?

 

[Coleallensmom]

Thanks! Some great advice. Unfortunately, there are some differing views, but I will take it all into consideration and try to figure out what I want to try.

I'll think you'll find many differing views when it comes to chemicals in aquariums. Beyond a good water conditioner like Prime or Amquel, many chemicals marketed do more harm then good. In the case of bacterial supplements, I think they can't hurt but be prepared to accept the fact that they may not work. Make sure you have a non-expired bottle and use in correct dosage for your tank size for best results.

 

[BigJim]

Cycling products are one of the most hotly contested things I've seen in the aquarium hobby. Some people swear by them, others think they're a waste of money. I haven't tried them, but I'm skeptical. It's one of those things that sounds too good to be true, so it probably is. I prefer to use the tried and true method of using filter media from an established tank to seed my new filter.

 

[SteveChiller]

hey guys, I just set up a tank on Saturday and have been putting some fish food/frozen bloodworms in to make ammonia. so far nothing. but I am getting nitrates but I heard it might be from my water.

Also, I have 2 filters on my 29g (TopFin 30, Fluval 205). Do you think it'll be ok to take the one rated at 30g (TopFin) and put it in my 40g breeder to help speed the cycle up or will all the bacteria die in the filter because of lack of ammonia? Do I have to wait till I see ammonia before I add the filter?

I'm going to be moving everything over to the new tank eventually, I was thinking of taking some fake plants and putting them in there. I did put some gravel from my old tank to see if it does anything.

 

[Marconis]

I still swear by BioSpira. I think it's only offered in SW form now, though. It's bacteria in a bag.