Could my substrate still have some BB? Tank cycling help

Hello all,

I am getting back into the hobby by setting up a 40 breeder in my apartment. I last had fish around 3 months ago (a Festae trio in a 125), however that tank was still full until about 6 weeks ago. At that point I drained it so the water level was at about the substrate. I filled up my new 40b with the substrate from the old 125, and it was still very wet.
I am wondering if there is any chance that there is still BB in this substrate that could help with the cycling of this tank.

Anyway, I face a challenge I haven't had in quite a few years, cycling a tank from scratch. Previously I was always able to add some media from other tanks to skip the cycle, now I don't believe I will.

What is everyone's best advice for getting through a cycle? Buy some "burner" comets to cycle the tank (I don't want to do this, my girlfriend so no more feeder fish, and imo this is much worse), put fish food in the tank and let it rot?

Do you think a LFS would be willing to give me some used media if I buy new media and exchange it with them?

Thanks in advance.

Etan said:

You could try the fish store media.

If you aren't sure if there is enough BB in the substrate you could add a couple ppm of ammonia and see if it converts in 24 hours.

I would probably try the filter media idea, setup your tank and buy a bottle of tetra safestart or seachem stability and add a couple of fish.

If you go the safestart or stability route just make sure to test your water every couple of days and make sure your levels are stable. I've had great success with stability and safestart.

Click to expand...

With safestart do you feel comfortable adding fish right after you add the product?

I put the substrate and filled the tank yesterday, I have had my filter going since then to un-cloud the water.