Finally got the 125! Now how to cycle...

[mikehawk]

Well, I finally got a 125gal aquarium, and I'm wondering how I can speed up the cycling process. For filtration I have two e400's. Can I take an old pre-cycled bio-wheel from the e400 on my 55gal and stick it in one of the new e400's on the 125 to help speed up the cycling? And, I was thinking of moving my driftwood from the 55 into the 125 to help cycle, too. About how long should I wait for the tank to cycle with the old bio wheel and driftwood in there?

And what's a better method to cycle? Cheap feeder fish, or something rotting(fishless cycling)?

Thanks

 

[Hakon]

To take cycled filtermateria from another tank is great, it is full of bacteria. The substrate in the other tank is also housing bacteria, so you might use some of it in your 125 gal tank.

 

[joeytoe]

also I typically toss in bout 1-2 dozen feeder comets as well.

 

[mikehawk]

Well, I can't really use the gravel from the 55gal because it's blue & black, where as the gravel in the 125 is a mixed brown (natural). It just wouldn't look right.

So, if I use the old bio-wheel, the driftwood, 2 dozen feeders, and add Cycle bacteria, about how long will it take? 2 weeks?

 

[danny boy]

put the gravel in a plastic bag tie it up and make a few holes this is then removable in a few weeks after your cycled. the bogwood wont help at all. and the filter media will help big time but dont forget none of this will work without ammonia in the water for the bacteria to feed from so you do need to add fish or all the bacteria you seed yourself will be dead within a matter of days

do all of the above add 4-5 fish and do 10% water change every few days intitally for a few weeks at the very most. if you have a test kit you'll probably find that testing the water within a week will show pretty good results

 

[shookONES]

put the gravel in a plastic bag tie it up and make a few holes this is then removable in a few weeks after your cycled. the bogwood wont help at all. and the filter media will help big time but dont forget none of this will work without ammonia in the water for the bacteria to feed from so you do need to add fish or all the bacteria you seed yourself will be dead within a matter of days

do all of the above add 4-5 fish and do 10% water change every few days intitally for a few weeks at the very most. if you have a test kit you'll probably find that testing the water within a week will show pretty good results

I don't agree with two things. First, the bogwood, like any other piece of decor, is littered with beneficial bacteria. Naturally, I would add it to speed up the cycle. Second, water changes. Don't do them while cycling the tank. There is no need to. You'll only be removing the bacteria you are waiting to culture.

 

[gomezladdams]

put the gravel in a plastic bag tie it up and make a few holes this is then removable in a few weeks after your cycled. the bogwood wont help at all. and the filter media will help big time but dont forget none of this will work without ammonia in the water for the bacteria to feed from so you do need to add fish or all the bacteria you seed yourself will be dead within a matter of days

do all of the above add 4-5 fish and do 10% water change every few days intitally for a few weeks at the very most. if you have a test kit you'll probably find that testing the water within a week will show pretty good results

and definitly have a test kit dont let the ammonia/nitrites build up enough to kill the feeders youll be cycled pretty quickly this way

 

[danny boy]

I don't agree with two things. First, the bogwood, like any other piece of decor, is littered with beneficial bacteria. Naturally, I would add it to speed up the cycle. Second, water changes. Don't do them while cycling the tank. There is no need to. You'll only be removing the bacteria you are waiting to culture.

ok granted its possible the bog wood would help seed the tank but the amount would be negligible. if you DONT do water changes during a cycle the ammonia will poison the fish, this isnt something ive made up its common knowledge. until the tank has cycled the ammonia and nitItes will continue to slowly kill the fish.

sorry fella but you are wrong

 

[mikehawk]

Yeah, according to an article hosted by marineland, you're supposed to change 15% of the water every 3-4 days.

The second most common problem during start-up is high ammonia. When an aquarium is first set up there is an insufficient number of nitrifying bacteria to take care of the ammonia excreted by the fish. This is why it is recommended that you initially buy only a few fish. As stated earlier the nitrifying bacteria are slow growing so it takes them several days to start converting appreciable amounts of ammonia to nitrite. Research in my laboratory, for instance, shows that in a 10 gallon aquarium stocked with 10 adult-sized tiger barbs, the ammonia will continue to rise for 7 days before starting to decrease. Usually it is not until 11 or 12 days after set up that the ammonia concentration drops below 0.1 mg/L. In this same series of the tests, the ammonia level reached nearly 3 mg/L, a concentration toxic to many fish. Thus one needs to be prepared to do water changes for the first two weeks of a newly set up aquarium. To reduce the maximum amount of ammonia, don't overfeed the tank. Start with a few fish and feed only twice a day. I suggest about 5 fish per 10 gallons depending upon the size of the fish. Change about 15% of the water every 3 days for the first 2 weeks and you'll probably have no problems.

http://marineland.com/articles/1firstthirty.asp

 

[bLaZn420]

jus simply add Bio Spira in the tank. it makes ur water safe for fish within 24 hours. it also gets rid of the flucuations in ammonia and nitrite/nitrate level that would normally occur when setting up a new tank.