The Reason for cycling a tank is to build BB for the Bio Load...

[Mastiffman]

This is ultimately the main reason for cycling a tank... Not to create amonia and nitrites... So why not use API Stress-Zyme+ which has Live BB inside the bottle?

Seems faster to me. Just have to make sure that the Water has been treated to remove chlorimines. Tap water has Ammonia in it already. That gets removes as well with Treatment though...

What about using 2 large Establish Canister Filters (An FX5 and a Fluval 404) and half of the new tanks water came from already established tanks that was purposed syphoned from the the substrate..... New Substrate though in the new tank.

So being that BB needs to Ammonia to thrive as well as Proper Temps, by adding fish to a tank that has established filters, half water from established tank with BB in it and Using Stress-Zyme+m the setup shouldbn't have to "Cycle". Being that you are adding BB Instantly with all of the measures.. It Should be fine!

 

[KaiserSousay]

Your wrong on way too many levels.
But, who knows..it could work if you keep a careful watch on water quality and are ready to do some WC to keep your fish alive.
I would do some more research before you tell anyone else how to cycle their tanks.
Good luck with yours.

 

[Burto]

I think a lot of people have 'instantly' or at least rapidly cycled tanks by transferring established media or filters to a new tank and adding a light bioload of inhabitants, no 'bacteria in a bottle' necessary. I know I have several times.

If any 'bacteria in a bottle/instant cycle' product contained any useful bacteria or worked as described, I would be surprised and impressed.

 

[creepyoldguy]

1.) There is no reason to cycle a tank. It happens regardless if you want it to or not, its called the nitrogen cycle and is how fish waste gets broken down to nitrates.

2.) I don't believe in buying bacteria to cycled a tank. The bacteria grows to support your bio load, and you cannot get the correct amount of beneficial bacteria from a bottle(that is if it is even alive).

3.) Using established filter media will not help the nitrogen cycle go any faster. The established media is already cycled and....well, established, and is able to support the bio load on the previous tank.

4.) Bacteria lives on syrfaces and there is no benefit to adding just tank water.

To answer your question, you can use established media to support the tank as long as the load of the new tank is not larger than that of the previous stock. If the bio load is larger, you will have ammonia spike and more than likely go through a mini cycle. I think your best bet is to understand how the nitrogen cycle works, but you're on the right path.

 

[creepyoldguy]

I think a lot of people have 'instantly' or at least rapidly cycled tanks by transferring established media or filters to a new tank and adding a light bioload of inhabitants, no 'bacteria in a bottle' necessary. I know I have several times.

If any 'bacteria in a bottle/instant cycle' product contained any useful bacteria or worked as described, I would be surprised and impressed.

I agree. I'm no expert, but the nitrifying bacteria in an established tank needs waste to live. Being that it is completely sealed off in a bottle tells me that over time this bacteria would die. I'm a huge fan of salt, plenty of bio media and higher temp can cure just about anything. I'm not a fan of any chemicals except for dechlorinator. Either way, telling a novice they can cycle their tank with a small bottle is a good sales tactic!

 

[West1]

When I first got my 300, I added my set up from my 150 n about 90% of the water to start my 300. Added my stock from the 150 n called it a day. No deaths.
RenaX4, 30gl sump that upgraded to 60gl the day of, 25watt UV, brand new RenaX3 and some sponge filters.

If I remember correct, it was 3 9-10" Tats, silver Aro n a couple other things.

Maybe I got lucky but it worked for me

I don't recommend this to newbies though

 

[creepyoldguy]

When I first got my 300, I added my set up from my 150 n about 90% of the water to start my 300. Added my stock from the 150 n called it a day. No deaths.
RenaX4, 30gl sump that upgraded to 60gl the day of, 25watt UV, brand new RenaX3 and some sponge filters.

If I remember correct, it was 3 9-10" Tats, silver Aro n a couple other things.

Maybe I got lucky but it worked for me

I don't recommend this to newbies though

You didn't get lucky, it's how it works. Your media was established to support the load of your fish, therefore when you moved the stock and filters to the larger tank, it didn't need to cycle.

 

[Juxtaroberto]

This is ultimately the main reason for cycling a tank... Not to create amonia and nitrites... So why not use API Stress-Zyme+ which has Live BB inside the bottle?

Seems faster to me. Just have to make sure that the Water has been treated to remove chlorimines. Tap water has Ammonia in it already. That gets removes as well with Treatment though...

What about using 2 large Establish Canister Filters (An FX5 and a Fluval 404) and half of the new tanks water came from already established tanks that was purposed syphoned from the the substrate..... New Substrate though in the new tank.

So being that BB needs to Ammonia to thrive as well as Proper Temps, by adding fish to a tank that has established filters, half water from established tank with BB in it and Using Stress-Zyme+m the setup shouldbn't have to "Cycle". Being that you are adding BB Instantly with all of the measures.. It Should be fine!

There is no guarantee that there is any bacteria inside the bottle. These bacteria are aerobic, eventually they'd suffocate within that closed bottle. Not to mention there isn't a constant supply of ammonia. They'd have to find a way to keep the bacteria in some kind of suspended animation, and while some bacteria and viruses can "shut off" when conditions are less than optimal, the nitrifying bacteria in our tanks can't (otherwise canister filters wouldn't go toxic after a few hours of not running).

If you're starting a new tank, you just need an established filter to speed things up. Don't transfer any of the old water, there's no point in that, unless the nitrates are so high that your fish will die of shock when experiencing clean water. Just start anew, you're just putting nitrates into your tank.

If you're simply moving all the same fish from one tank to another, you can definitely just fill the new tank up with same temp water, put the established filters on it, put the same fish into the new set up, and everything should go as planned. There might be a tiny hitch in ammonia (because the old tank had BB all over the tank walls, decorations, gravel, etc), but the majority of the BB should be in the filters, simply because this is the area with the most influx of waste (unless you have a dirty gravel bed).

If you're trying to start a brand new tank with new fish, then you can use media from an old tank, but you still have to wait for the BB's numbers to reach high enough amounts for your planned stock.

 

[Juxtaroberto]

1.) There is no reason to cycle a tank. It happens regardless if you want it to or not, its called the nitrogen cycle and is how fish waste gets broken down to nitrates.

I disagree with this point. The reason to cycle a tank is so that you don't put its occupants through having to endure ammonia and nitrites in the water. Enough ammonia, and even the hardiest fish can die. Which is why I also implore people to do a fishless cycle. There just isn't any point making a fish suffer when there are other methods.

 

[creepyoldguy]

I disagree with this point. The reason to cycle a tank is so that you don't put its occupants through having to endure ammonia and nitrites in the water. Enough ammonia, and even the hardiest fish can die. Which is why I also implore people to do a fishless cycle. There just isn't any point making a fish suffer when there are other methods.

To me, his question asked was the reason to cycle a tank, like you had a choice to cycle it or not. My statement was meant to say that the tank will cycle regardless if you want it to or not. I'm well aware of how the tank cycles and the result of putting fish in a tank while it goes through the cycle, but its very hard to prevent a cycle given the said tank has water flow and a place for bb to grow.