Fishless cycling wih a sump...

[Staallion]

It may be a bit of a stupid question, but can I cycle my sump a few weeks in advance using ammonia while setting the aquarium up?..
I plan on planting my tank out, and would like to put some algae eaters in there from the start, but want to avoid having to cycle the whole tank.
Is this possible? I can't see it being a problem in theory, but someone might know different...
The idea was to just have a small powerhead circulating the water over the bio media in the same way the normal cycle of water would flow.
Thanks!

 

[KaiserSousay]

Sure you can.
As long as you have food, oxygen, and water movement through your media..
The bacteria will grow.

 

[TheEelKing]

I would not put ammonia drops in the tank if you're going to put algae eating fish in there from the get-go. I'd use Nutrafin Cycle or Seachem Stability instead of ammonia drops if you are going to put any fish in the tank from the beginning.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Actually I would prefer cycling in the sump too. That is where you want the bulk of your BB to colonise. And also. By cycling in the sump, you don't need that much ammonia to maintain that 2~4ppm as compared to if you cycle the whole tank + sump.

Just make sure there is adequent flow in the sump and agitation to the water surface.

 

[ozzyboo]

I would not put ammonia drops in the tank if you're going to put algae eating fish in there from the get-go. I'd use Nutrafin Cycle or Seachem Stability instead of ammonia drops if you are going to put any fish in the tank from the beginning.

But he would not be adding anything to his main tank as he is planning to cycle the sump prior to stocking the main tank.I would imagine he will be cycling the sump and then using ammonia to feed the BB until he is ready to put onto main tank,seems like a great idea to me and will result with being able to stock the main tank as soon as it is set up.