I'm picking up a drilled 210g this weekend. My question is, after initial setup, how much time should I expect this size tank to properly cycle. I plan on this tank being freshwater, with SA Cichlids and a couple of native fish. I plan on using a wet/dry filter system. My salesman recommends adding "starter" fish and biological "booster" to speed things up. I need some good experienced recommendations. What's a good type of "starter" fish and how many??? or is that even a good idea?? I just want to do things right.
How long for new 210g to cycle???
- Thread starter chefrific
- Start date
It depends.
Are you adding a filter or filter media with BB in it???
If not it usually takes about 4-6 weeks.
Are you adding a filter or filter media with BB in it???
If not it usually takes about 4-6 weeks.
Yup.. it depends 
Can you steal some media from an existing filter for your new one? Run the new filter in an established tank beside an existing filter for 2 weeks? Move a small pre-cycled filter into the new tank?
Any of these will jumpstart the cycle and speed things up. The tank wont be fully cycled, but it will be safe for a few fish from day one. Then just build the fish population up slowly over 4-6 weeks.
If you have to start from scratch, then just set the tank up and add just a few hardy fish. If the tank is big and fish are small then there wont be a BIG ammonia spike and the tank will begin to cycle after a couple weeks. After that then again build up the fish numbers slowly.
The idea of starter fish is that they are your crash test dummies
Danios or guppys are normally the pick for smaller tanks, something hardy and easy to replace if something goes wrong. You might want to use something bigger with your tank size though. You should be OK with a couple of small hardy cichlids to start with. Just take the fish numbers slowly at first and you will be OK. Dont add the expensive fish first, they often need perfect water conditions. The cheaper common fish are usually the tough ones 
Cheers
Ian
Can you steal some media from an existing filter for your new one? Run the new filter in an established tank beside an existing filter for 2 weeks? Move a small pre-cycled filter into the new tank?
Any of these will jumpstart the cycle and speed things up. The tank wont be fully cycled, but it will be safe for a few fish from day one. Then just build the fish population up slowly over 4-6 weeks.
If you have to start from scratch, then just set the tank up and add just a few hardy fish. If the tank is big and fish are small then there wont be a BIG ammonia spike and the tank will begin to cycle after a couple weeks. After that then again build up the fish numbers slowly.
The idea of starter fish is that they are your crash test dummies
Danios or guppys are normally the pick for smaller tanks, something hardy and easy to replace if something goes wrong. You might want to use something bigger with your tank size though. You should be OK with a couple of small hardy cichlids to start with. Just take the fish numbers slowly at first and you will be OK. Dont add the expensive fish first, they often need perfect water conditions. The cheaper common fish are usually the tough ones Cheers
Ian
With that big of a tank I would get some convicts unless you plan on getting 100 danios or guppies. Just something with a little bigger bioload.
They aren't really bio "boosters" as much as they are bio "starters." If there's no fish (or other ammonia source) in the tank you won't cycle at all. Adding them isn't boosting anything really..
You can also get a bunch of bio-spira and be ready to go in 24 hours.
They aren't really bio "boosters" as much as they are bio "starters." If there's no fish (or other ammonia source) in the tank you won't cycle at all. Adding them isn't boosting anything really..
You can also get a bunch of bio-spira and be ready to go in 24 hours.
I like to start monster tanks with a bunch of feeders, that way theres a meal for my fish when I transfer them over.
Gr8KarmaSF;1194833; said:I like to start monster tanks with a bunch of feeders, that way theres a meal for my fish when I transfer them over.
feeders are bad mfk
I do the same thing but with shinners.
I would wait a week or so to let the tank get the temp stable, etc... than add some bait fish, than test the tank to see when its ready. Or you can purchase something called bio - spira and it should cycle your tank in 1-3 days. The best and cheapest thing to do is go to your lfs, and ask them if they can take some of there filter media and squeeze it into a bag, cup, etc... and take that home and dump it right into the wet/dry.
chefrific;1192978; said:
Fishless cycling is the best way to go. No fish are harmed or killed, and you can build up very large colonies of beneficial bacteria--large enough to handle the bioload of the fish that are going to live in the tank. When we were cycling our 300 gallon tank for our two large pacu, two large oscars and two large pleco, no amount of feeder fish could have produced the bioload that our big boys generate. When we fishless cycled our tank, we added enough pure ammonia to get a reading of 4 ppm. This is much more than our fish could ever produce. When the tank was cycled, we moved our fish to their new home with the full confidence that we had a system that would easily handle their bioload, and we had no fear of a mini-cycle occurring.
Here's an article on fishless cycling:
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/misc/fishlesscycling.html