Duckweed to speed up cycling?

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Matt724

Matt724

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jan 19, 2009
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Los Angeles, CA
I heard that plants will speed up the cycling process 10 fold, but I was wondering if I could just use duckweed since I don't want persay a planted tank, but I don't have time to take a month to set up a tank. I plan there to be only one juvie EBJD and maybe a couple other small fish, but not too much of a bioload, definitely not hitting the max bioload. I plan to get enough duckweed to practically cover up most of the top layer to start with and then over time cut back until there's hopefully nothing left (which I know is hopeless, but w/e).
Obviously I will try my hand at fishless cycling maybe for a week, with the plants in it, but 7 days max and then the fish gotta go in. Will this work?

All feedback is greatly appreciated, MFK. :D
 
Hmmmm, interesting. Just did a little research and I don't know if the whole bacteria colony could form that fast in just 7 days. Would you recommend using stability in unison with the duckweed? I also used a product: Superbac Aquarium the last time i set up an aquarium, and it worked pretty well, but I did have mini cycle a few weeks after that killed a few of my fish. Here's what my bottle looked like:
viewpic.php
. Now is there such thing as too much bacteria or can I just overdose like crazy on bacteria? I was also looking on Seachem's website and saw Prime and Matrix. Does anyone have anything good to say for either of those?
 
Plants do not speed up the cycling process. What they do is uptake nitrogenous wastes themselves, and so compete with the bacteria you are trying to grow. If you then remove the plants, you are left with nothing at all taking up the nitrogenous waste- you may as well be starting from scratch!

You can filter a tank with plants alone, but it's a totally different process from establishing a bacterial filter, so decide which you want to do and run with it.

I will also add that I personally have no faith in "bacteria in a bottle" solutions. By all means try it, but still check your parameters and be sure your filter is well-established before adding livestock.

Prime is a good, cheap dechlorinator. It can also neutralize ammonia temporarily in an emergency situation, but you shouldn't need to do this during a fishless cycle. I have not used Matrix biomedia.
 
Noto;3511424; said:
I will also add that I personally have no faith in "bacteria in a bottle" solutions. By all means try it, but still check your parameters and be sure your filter is well-established before adding livestock.
Click to expand...
Unless you have tried this product "STABILITY" from SeaChem, then you are speaking from only what you have heard or read...not what you have personally used.
This product does work.
I have started my 90 gallon, 1,000 scrubbie wetdry sump with a serious overstocking on a brand new 225g acrylic. Never have I ever had a single spike, and the fish are healthy and growing at a rate only proper water will yield...


and how can you establish a filter without bioload, that just doesnt make sense...
 
I have not used Stability, but I know enough about bacteria to be very dubious of the claims made by the manufacturers. I am glad that it seemed to work for you, but I suspect you would have had just as much success without adding the Stability.

If you are unfamiliar with the "fishless cycle", you should look it up. It will save your fish the unnecessary stress of living through the cycling process. The basic idea is to introduce ammonia into the tank from some source other than livestock living in the tank. There are any number of ammonia sources you can use: household ammonia, fish food, meat, your own urine, and so on. It doesn't matter to the bacteria.
 
Noto;3511917; said:
I have not used Stability, but I know enough about bacteria to be very dubious of the claims made by the manufacturers. I am glad that it seemed to work for you, but I suspect you would have had just as much success without adding the Stability.

If you are unfamiliar with the "fishless cycle", you should look it up. It will save your fish the unnecessary stress of living through the cycling process. The basic idea is to introduce ammonia into the tank from some source other than livestock living in the tank. There are any number of ammonia sources you can use: household ammonia, fish food, meat, your own urine, and so on. It doesn't matter to the bacteria.
Click to expand...
hahahhahha...
you do not know what you are even talking about. And I'd be careful of the claims you make. How could a overstocked 225g tank w/ wet-dry cycle itself without and spikes and dangerous nitrIte levels while it colonizes bacteria?
Stability is not bacterial in a bottle , it is a suspension of spores that colonize and grow according to the bio-load. It was designed to eliminate "New tank syndrone" and it does work just as it says....
as far as me being unfamiliar with fishless cycling, well click on this...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207575

It was after I wrote that thread that I discovered "STABILITY" and that's why I use it exclusively...

BTW, what do you keep and how many times have you started tanks anyway?
 
The spores of ammonia- and nitrate-feeding bacteria are ubiquitous. Starting with a higher number of spores can accelerate cycling, but does not replace it. In any case, you can get vast quantities of spores for free from an established filter or good old fasioned dirt.

If you know about fishless cycling, then why on Earth did you say the following?
zennzzo said:
..and how can you establish a filter without bioload, that just doesnt make sense...
Click to expand...
.
That's what fishless cycling is and what I suggested to the OP, so why dispute it?

As far as your question about my experience goes, I currently have approximately 20 aquatic setups ranging from 10 to 330 gallons, housing various fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. I have set up many other tanks as well.
 
i used stability and it didnt work really well.
try to get some media that has BB and use stability..that works good.
 
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