Is it better to start cycling my tank with or without a fish?

[Hawkfish3.0]

are u kidding us? I cant believe these posts even exist anymore. If you use "BIO SPORA" and u have ANY problems or lose a fish I will buy u a new fish tank my friends. The folks at Marineland labs have done all of our homework. Dont let anyone tell you any different,The stuff works just as stated and if you hear differently then that person has either NEVER USED IT or they work for the competition. Forget "cycle" cause that is just crap that supplies the bacteria that will have to build up in your water over time so that the bb will START to establish. With"BIO SPORA" you WILL wake up the next day with an established bio colony cause that is what it contains.... It is refrigerated because just as in our aquariums where temperature is key the cold water keeps the bacteria dormant or asleep and untill the temp rises these bacteria are dormant just as what accurs every year when temp drops in the natural environment, Don't take my words for granted , damn, just look it up online I'm not talking shi# this is fact so if you dont look this up you are keeping yourself ignorant to the truest form of the word and you will just not know the facts of the matter. This crap has been out for YEARS and I cant believe that people are still cycling their tanks the old way. OK, I'm done ranting but if people are still posting with cycling questions then I would have to say you are just wasting your time.

**rolling eyes**

It's called bio-spira, not bio spora.

 

[unknownuza13]

If you already have media with BB on it from an established tank there is no need to do any of these things. If you wanted to be safe you could throw one or two dozen goldfish in to make sure the bacteria is present in sufficient numbers. If you are only adding one gatf to a 300 gallon tank chances are you will be fine. I just did a similar thing about a week ago with a 2" armatus and a 55 gallon tank. The tank was set up the night before with a new HOB filter. After receiving the armatus I grabbed a few pieces of cell pore from an established tank and added it to the 55. The key is to make sure the BB can handle the bio load you will be adding to the tank.

 

[stevietennis]

Currently cycling my 240gallon tank. If you have an established tank just toss some of the filters into the new tank along with any plants/decor. Taking a hand full of gravel also works to help speed up the process. With my tank I just added ammonia myself instead of adding fishes since that seems wrong to me (making them suffer and then if they survive get eaten by my arowana). After I added ammonia and had a reading of about 4-5ppm I tossed in my old filters in my sump on top of my filters along with a handful of gravel (netted). I also threw in some fake plant decor from the old tank into the new tank. It has been about 3 days and my tank is almost done cycling. So if everything is done correctly with an establish filter from an establish tank you won't really need to buy bio spira unless you absolutely must have the fish in that same day.

Bio Spira is expensive and hard to find. If you do find it you will notice you need to actually buy a good amount if you have a 240 gallon tank like myself (300 gallon for you i suppose). I think a 3oz packet cost roughly 20 dollars online, more at a LFS most likely, so you will need at least 3 packets to cover 270 gallons.

Just do a fishless cycle with your established media. If you can't find ammonia you can toss raw market shrimp into your tank. I honest think it is better to just do the fishless cycle instead of relying on the bacteria packets cause if you get a packet with dead bacteria you risk killing your fishes. If you're like me you love your fish and wouldn't risk it and just be patient.

 

[West1]

Currently cycling my 240gallon tank. If you have an established tank just toss some of the filters into the new tank along with any plants/decor. Taking a hand full of gravel also works to help speed up the process. With my tank I just added ammonia myself instead of adding fishes since that seems wrong to me (making them suffer and then if they survive get eaten by my arowana). After I added ammonia and had a reading of about 4-5ppm I tossed in my old filters in my sump on top of my filters along with a handful of gravel (netted). I also threw in some fake plant decor from the old tank into the new tank. It has been about 3 days and my tank is almost done cycling. So if everything is done correctly with an establish filter from an establish tank you won't really need to buy bio spira unless you absolutely must have the fish in that same day.

Bio Spira is expensive and hard to find. If you do find it you will notice you need to actually buy a good amount if you have a 240 gallon tank like myself (300 gallon for you i suppose). I think a 3oz packet cost roughly 20 dollars online, more at a LFS most likely, so you will need at least 3 packets to cover 270 gallons.

Just do a fishless cycle with your established media. If you can't find ammonia you can toss raw market shrimp into your tank. I honest think it is better to just do the fishless cycle instead of relying on the bacteria packets cause if you get a packet with dead bacteria you risk killing your fishes. If you're like me you love your fish and wouldn't risk it and just be patient.

The bio balls were in a 1.5'x1.5'x1.5' acrylic chamber for bioballs and I threw them in with the bag load of bioballs that have nothing on them. also, about half of shoe box (size11) full of ceramic rings that were in an established tank (from my 3.5" Armatus tank) that is also in the sump.

I think Im just ganna see how 1 week goes without any fish or products, before I conclude other resources.

I like bare bottom tanks and dont have anything to throw in the 300 (for BB use). This will be my first big tank that i will be adding sand though

Im ganna add portions of my Goliath water into the 300 lil by lil, will this help or just do nothing?

 

[Hawkfish3.0]

If you already have media with BB on it from an established tank there is no need to do any of these things. If you wanted to be safe you could throw one or two dozen goldfish in to make sure the bacteria is present in sufficient numbers. If you are only adding one gatf to a 300 gallon tank chances are you will be fine. I just did a similar thing about a week ago with a 2" armatus and a 55 gallon tank. The tank was set up the night before with a new HOB filter. After receiving the armatus I grabbed a few pieces of cell pore from an established tank and added it to the 55. The key is to make sure the BB can handle the bio load you will be adding to the tank.

It really depends on how much colonized media he has for the system. If the size of the colony is insufficient, it won't keep up with the bio-load. If he puts the established media in the system and leaves it empty, the colony will die off quickly without any source of nutrition, i.e. ammonia and nitrite. As mentioned above, adding fish slowly to increase the size of the colony is the best way to go.

 

[stevietennis]

Adding the water might help I am not very sure but I don't think it will help much. BBs don't live in the water they live on surfaces in the water like the bioballs and filter media and gravel.

I tossed my old filter media on top of my filter and bioballs in my new tank. I think that sped the process up a little. Make sure you have a test kit so you can test the water everyday or every other day.

 

[dr_sudz]

I am really hoping that your "established" media has not dried out, all the benefit of your established media to help spread the BB could be lost if it is not fed and kept moist if not wet.

 

[West1]

I am really hoping that your "established" media has not dried out, all the benefit of your established media to help spread the BB could be lost if it is not fed and kept moist if not wet.

I had the media in the tank and I transfered it for about a 10 min drive and straight into the sump for the 300
Good Q thou

Oh yeah... I also added some water from the tank it came out from and threw it all in...