Any way to avoid the cycling thing?

[krap101]

Biospira isn't a "instant" cycle, but since bacteria multiply exponentially, starting with 2 bacteria instead of 1 would give you a pretty good headstart, but by adding however many bacteria that are in Biospira, its that much quicker (assuming theres a food source).

And adding the shrimp is merely a source of ammonia, as it decomposes, nothing more.

 

[musicman]

I recently learned one thing that will help keep you from slowing your cycle down. I was told that partial water changes are always a good thing. They are NOT a good thing while the tank is still cycling. PWC's have made my tank take about three times longer to cycle.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

They are not good to do during a fishless cycle. But if you are cycling with fish a pwc is essential to keep the fish from being harmed due to the ammonia burns and ntirite poisoning. It may take longer to cycle with fish while doing pwcs, but it will save the fish from perminent damage or death.

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

Not to get off subject or anything but I have a 10gal FW and joined this site when my koi started acting weird. I don't really know what cycling is and as far as I know I've never done it. I just change the water and filter once a month after letting the water sit out in milk jugs over night.........

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

although i do add a chemical that says it removes chlorine, and i've never had a problem with fish dying before, though koi are pretty tough fish

 

[Brad.Sedore]

if theres a Koi in a 10 gallon. they likely are cramped. once a month is not consistant enough for PWC and it sounds like your doing whole water changes.

-Brad

 

[Freezekougra]

Biospira isn't a "instant" cycle, but since bacteria multiply exponentially, starting with 2 bacteria instead of 1 would give you a pretty good headstart, but by adding however many bacteria that are in Biospira, its that much quicker (assuming theres a food source).

And adding the shrimp is merely a source of ammonia, as it decomposes, nothing more.

Hm...Well I don't really know what biospira contains, but assuming it contains bacteria(like you said ), do you think I could just take some gravel or filter stuff from an already cycled tank to get more bacteria? ^^

 

[krap101]

I'm pretty sure its concentrated bacteria, so you'd get alot more than from just some filter floss or something..

 

[booginish]

yes you could, but just be sure that the tank your taking the substrate from does not contain any harmful bacteria/parasites that could harm the fish you eventually purchase. do extensive testing on your tank before exchanging substrate, study all your fish from the tank you want to take bacteria from and make sure all of them exibit regular behavior. Zebra danios make a great cycling fish, if you do decide to do a fish cycle, there very hardy, produce minimul waste, and stay small for pretty much there whole lifes(2-3 years).

 

[booginish]

fishless cycles take a long time, but as stated before, yield alot less death. And i live in a the city, with MULTIPLE LFS's and veternary offices, at not one locations carys biospira and wont even order it in. im pretty sure biospira is restricted to one area of the world because of how delicate it is, and the refrigeration methods used to keep the bacteria alive while shipping, if u ever find it on the shelf in a unrefrigerated area, you can guarantee that it is dead, thus useless for your tank. it must be refrigerated to keep the bacteria alive. I dont even bother with that stuff, all natural for me, few fish to start, safe tested substrate. i can usual cycle my tank fully within 15 - 30 days sometimes more sometimes less.

 

[krap101]

I think biospira doesn't even last that long in the fridge, which is another reason why no one wants to stock it..

 

[booginish]

i never recommend any of that stuff to anybody, iv never had success with any product that claims to speed up your cycle. i always go o'natural......

 

[krap101]

Well, if you get a live batch of biospira, its supposed to be the only thing that actually works.

 

[missileman]

And the thing is, If you get good Bio-Spira it absolutely will work and will work very well, Like I said before I fishless cycled a 75 gallon tank in 10 days with it. The thing is once you have a cycled tank in your house you have all the seeding bacteria you will ever need to cycle your next tank right there in front of you.
If you know someone with a known clean and healthy tank you can get seed material from them.
Bio-Spira, if you can get it, is the best and safest source of live bacteria if you don't have access to bacteria from an established tank.

 

[Freezekougra]

And the thing is, If you get good Bio-Spira it absolutely will work and will work very well, Like I said before I fishless cycled a 75 gallon tank in 10 days with it. The thing is once you have a cycled tank in your house you have all the seeding bacteria you will ever need to cycle your next tank right there in front of you.
If you know someone with a known clean and healthy tank you can get seed material from them.
Bio-Spira, if you can get it, is the best and safest source of live bacteria if you don't have access to bacteria from an established tank.

Hm...My friend's cousin might be selling his fish tank along with stuff like gravel. Is there any chance that the bacteria on the gravel will die before I get to bring it home?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That depends on if it is kept wet and a constant ammonia source. If the gravel dries out or the fish are removed, the bacteria will die.

 

[missileman]

It really needs to be taken from an active tank. I would try to get it in your tank ASAP, I don't know how long it will take for the bacteria to die off but as you would guess the longer you wait the less the chances are of getting good bacteria.

 

[Freezekougra]

:O

I use a gravel vac when changing the water in my 10g tank, so would rinsing the gravel(with bacteria) in cold tap water kill them :X

I was planning to add it into a 40g tank

 

[Fishyfanatic]

When you clean the gravel you are removing the bacterial colonies. And if your tap has chlorine or chloramines in it, the bacteria will be killed.

 

[Freezekougra]

Aw I guess about half of my bacteria got killed a week ago :X

Is there any way to remove the fish feces in gravel without killing the bacteria ^^