I am through messing around with this cycling stuff

[ppo8820]

Okay, so I have been testing my patience with cycling a 15 gallon column tank using ammonia from Ace hardware. I dosed up to 4ppm and have been waiting.............waiting.........for 2.5 weeks and no change.

I decided I was over this thing and went to a local fish store where I purchased the fluval beneficial bacteria, a hornwort plant, and then I asked nicely for a cup of gravel from their well established plant tank.

They actually did it, most likely because I bought the plant (which was my master plan). I then put the wet gravel into a filter media bag and have it hanging in the new tank. Will this work? Ammonia is still up, but I just did this tonight. I also added the bacteria and the plant.

Anyone have any advice or can tell me if I am on the right track?

 

[Fatboyfish]

This will work.

 

[Coyne]

I have cycled six tanks from scratch; both Fish In and Fish-less. It always took me 4-5 weeks.
I've never had any success with bottled bacteria, but some folks swear by certain brands.
The gravel might help. It's not likely to hurt at any rate. Patience is your biggest asset.

I'm assuming you're treating the water with dechlorinator and have verified that the pH isn't too low.


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[ppo8820]

Yes I use prime and my PH is high, but stable. I have a 10 gallon and a 5, but they are both only 2 months old and just finished cycling so I do not risk offsetting anything by taking things from them so soon. Im hoping this latest attempt of mine speeds it up as I would like to get rid of one of the other tanks. I also have 2 tanks at work so thats 4 I take care of if I get rid of one, 5 if I dont.

 

[Jmunroe]

2.5 weeks isn't enough time. It takes a couple months to cycle a tank. I've started many tanks over the last 25 years and I am not happy with a tank until it's been running for about 6 months or so. That's when I find they start to get really good and established.

 

[Alan79]

Yes I use prime and my PH is high, but stable. I have a 10 gallon and a 5, but they are both only 2 months old and just finished cycling so I do not risk offsetting anything by taking things from them so soon. Im hoping this latest attempt of mine speeds it up as I would like to get rid of one of the other tanks. I also have 2 tanks at work so thats 4 I take care of if I get rid of one, 5 if I dont.

I would squeeze the filter media from an established tank with the media in the new tank next time you do a filter clean out on either of those tanks. If you plan to shut a tank down then go ahead and move the cycled filter from the tank you want to shut down into the new tank. If that filter was handling the fish waste in the cycled tank you can transfer both filter and fish accross to the new tank. Keep the new filter running and squeeze the waste from the moved filter into the new filter regularly and things should move along quickly with the cycle.

I often just jam a cycled sponge into new filters with an uncycled one and remove the cycled sponge in a couple of weeks time. Even just cutting the corner off one of your sponges in the two cycled filters and adding it to the new filter will mean you have a small colony of both types of beneficial bacteria to kick things off with. I think the bottled bacteria they market probably dies off before you buy it but the methods above should get your cycle going far more smoothly.

 

[aqua_holic]

. I then put the wet gravel into a filter media bag and have it hanging in the new tank. Will this work?

Yes, but it will work better if you put that in the filter.

If you already have cycled tanks then why are you messing around with fishless cycles and bottled bacteria? Like Alan said, you've already got what you need to cycle the tank instantly, of in a matter of days (depending on how much media you transfer).

 

[dalto]

The established media should be in an area of high water flow.

As others have pointed out, cycling without seeded media will take 5-12 weeks. IME, 6-8 is more typical.

 

[dragon14]

We got lucky @ 3 weeks w our 10g. 5g may be almost done, it'll be 2 weeks on Wednesday.

 

[PNWaquarist]

2.5 weeks isn't enough time. It takes a couple months to cycle a tank. I've started many tanks over the last 25 years and I am not happy with a tank until it's been running for about 6 months or so. That's when I find they start to get really good and established.

It depends how you cycle it. If you start with ammonia and no bacteria, you're probably looking at about six weeks before you can lightly stock it. It takes about two additional months (not six months, IMO) before you can stock heavily without having to worry about ammonia spikes.

If you use media from an established tank or bacteria in a bottle (the kind that actually works), it can take as little as a week before you're able to stock lightly.

 

[dragon14]

If you use media from an established tank or bacteria in a bottle (the kind that actually works), it can take as little as a week before you're able to stock lightly.

What is the bacteria that actually works??

 

[wildroseofky]

IF you already have a cycled tank than the bacteria in a bottle is not needed. You basically have the same thing right there in your cycled filter. Just clean the cycled filter media in a bucket of tank water and then either dip the new filter media in the dirty water or pour some of the dirty water through your filter. I have done both. I had a really fast cycle by just pouring the water that I had used to clean an old running filter into the new one. The tank got a little dirty at first but it cleared up fast.

 

[dragon14]

I was just curious

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

[PNWaquarist]

What is the bacteria that actually works??

I've had success with Dr. Tim's One & Only.

If you have access to filter media from an established tank, that's probably the best option.


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[ppo8820]

Yes, but it will work better if you put that in the filter.

If you already have cycled tanks then why are you messing around with fishless cycles and bottled bacteria? Like Alan said, you've already got what you need to cycle the tank instantly, of in a matter of days (depending on how much media you transfer).

not so much. The other 2 tanks are less than 1.5 months old and I acquired them without full knowledge of how much work fish in cycling is. I am doing water changes daily and they are doing well, but not near enough along to use their filter media to boost another tank. That was where I ran into the issue, but things are looking up in the new tank. I tested ammonia this am and it was at .25. That was only 1 night after the bacteria and gravel were added. I dosed it back up to 2ppm, and I even have some nitrites forming. Im pleased, at least there is movement happening.

 

[ppo8820]

Also, it should be noted that with my tanks as a teenager, I always got my gravel and filters from established tanks at the store I worked at. That was not an option this time around, so here I am ...................re-learning the joys of the nitrogen cycle.