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

[creepyoldguy]

Just so you (as I mentioned it Before!) using established tankwater IS better than tap water Especially IF it's Removed from the Established Tank, BY Syphoning the Established Substrate Sucking up a Ton of BB during the process! You tell that you have the good stuff when it's a light tan color and not Bulky Brown.

I've been doing it this way for years! I've never Lost fish with this process!

By the way this is a 180gal.

There is no benefit to using just tank water. What you are talking about is syphoning all the bacteria from the bottom of the tank, which is different than just emptying your tank.

 

[creepyoldguy]

There are a multitude of threads on this forum from people (including myself) who have done a 'first cycle' on a new setup using Seachem Stability, and most who have used it according to the instructions (to the letter) swear by it. A fishless cycle in 8 days cannot be put down to luck (that is how long it took to cycle a 40b I recently setup).
To each his own, but please don't right-off someone else's method of doing something just because it's not the same as yours, as long as the end result is the same - a cycled tank with a good base of established bacteria and 'happy fish' - then no-one is wrong.
I do think one thing is true nowadays however, as Juxtaroberto said "There just isn't any point making a fish suffer when there are other methods." just because a Zebra Danio may survive an Ammonia/Nitrite spike better than another fish doesn't mean we have to subject it to such. As a former rugby player (at school) I might survive a kick in the teeth better than someone else (cos it happened more than once) doesn't mean I enjoyed it!

Your tank still had to cycle. You don't just buy a brand new set up, fill it up with water and fish and throw some chemical in and your nitrogen cycle is complete. The op is wanting to add fish right away and expect bacteria in a bottle to magically perform the entire nitrogen cycle in mimutes.

 

[Laticauda]

I don't use gravel in most of my tanks. They rely solely on the biomedia in the filters. Much cleaner and nice looking IMO.

The only tanks that have substrate are my planted tanks, and that has both dirt and rocks for the plants to grow in, but vacuuming this would just cause lots of problems. The mulm is what helps fertilize the plants, and water changes are few and far between if you have enough plants! This is not to say that you shouldn't fishless cycle your tank, because you most definitely SHOULD make sure your tank is mature before adding any fish, even cheap ones.

 

[carsona246]

I'm pretty sure tanks don't just cycle once. It's a continous cycle of bacteria growing and dying off. Once you take the waste source out of the tank the bacteria will die. If you add more fish, more bacteria will grow.

 

[creepyoldguy]

I'm pretty sure tanks don't just cycle once. It's a continous cycle of bacteria growing and dying off. Once you take the waste source out of the tank the bacteria will die. If you add more fish, more bacteria will grow.

WHen a tank is cycled and has nitrates, the "cycle" is complete, which is what I beleive the op is referring too as most others when they have a question about how to "cycle" a tank.. The actual nitrogen cycle will continue as long as there is waste to feed the bacteria, but you will not have a continuation of spikes in ammonia or nitrites unless you add more fish than your load can handle.

 

[frnchjeep]

Just so you (as I mentioned it Before!) using established tankwater IS better than tap water Especially IF it's Removed from the Established Tank, BY Syphoning the Established Substrate Sucking up a Ton of BB during the process! You tell that you have the good stuff when it's a light tan color and not Bulky Brown.

I've been doing it this way for years! I've never Lost fish with this process!

By the way this is a 180gal.

Incorrect. As Laticauda said, that is a very old misconception. You essentially cycle a filter, not a tank. The majority of the BB is in the filter. If you use an UGF, then there is a useable amount of BB in the gravel (I hope no one is using them any more). Otherwise, it is in the filter. When you use old tank water, all you are doing is putting nitrates in the new tank. Since nitrates are the end waste result of the nitrogen cycle, which we remove through water changes, reusing old water is counterproductive.

 

[aclockworkorange]

There are a multitude of threads on this forum from people (including myself) who have done a 'first cycle' on a new setup using Seachem Stability, and most who have used it according to the instructions (to the letter) swear by it. A fishless cycle in 8 days cannot be put down to luck (that is how long it took to cycle a 40b I recently setup).
To each his own, but please don't right-off someone else's method of doing something just because it's not the same as yours, as long as the end result is the same - a cycled tank with a good base of established bacteria and 'happy fish' - then no-one is wrong.
I do think one thing is true nowadays however, as Juxtaroberto said "There just isn't any point making a fish suffer when there are other methods." just because a Zebra Danio may survive an Ammonia/Nitrite spike better than another fish doesn't mean we have to subject it to such. As a former rugby player (at school) I might survive a kick in the teeth better than someone else (cos it happened more than once) doesn't mean I enjoyed it!

I agree, Seachem Stability works. If you say it doesn't, you probably haven't tried it. I have seen it work over and over. It's not an instant cycle and doesn't claim to be. You simply add it every day until you get a nitrate reading, which in my experience takes 4-10 days. After that you don't need to add it anymore. You can also use it in conjunction with Prime.

 

[frnchjeep]

I agree, Seachem Stability works. If you say it doesn't, you probably haven't tried it. I have seen it work over and over. It's not an instant cycle and doesn't claim to be. You simply add it every day until you get a nitrate reading, which in my experience takes 4-10 days. After that you don't need to add it anymore. You can also use it in conjunction with Prime.

So, is it BB or ammonia? By what you say, it sounds like food for a fishless cycle to feed BB that would occur naturally. If thats the case, there are much cheaper options.

 

[Myarbro]

I still do not understand why people try and make cycling their tank more difficult than it has to be. It is not rocket science... It is a fairly simple process to understand. I am not trying to bash, but it makes me chuckle seeing all of these elaborate ways people go about doing it.

It is easy... I have used this method with all of my tanks since I discovered the product and never had gasping, stressed, or dead fish.

1. Add water
2. Treat water
3. Add stock
4. Use SeaChem's Stability and follow directions to a "T"

If you really don't trust Stability, just give it a shot with a a 10 gallon and some 10 cent goldfish. If you refuse to try it, then just dose with pure ammonia, and add stock weeks later when your water parameters are good.

Seriously guys... not that complicated.

 

[calioutlaw1a]

Your tank still had to cycle. You don't just buy a brand new set up, fill it up with water and fish and throw some chemical in and your nitrogen cycle is complete. The op is wanting to add fish right away and expect bacteria in a bottle to magically perform the entire nitrogen cycle in mimutes.

As mentioned before, Seachem Stability works. No one is claiming that the filter will be instantly cycled. Rather, Seachem Stability allows you to add your entire fish load immediately without causing ammonia spikes, while greatly reducing the cycling period.
You don't need to do a multi-week fishless cycle, or even a low density fish cycle where you build up to your desired fish load over time.
You literally can buy a brand new set up, fill it up with water and fish, and throw in some Stability (following the directions) and not worry about harming your fish.

So, is it BB or ammonia? By what you say, it sounds like food for a fishless cycle to feed BB that would occur naturally. If thats the case, there are much cheaper options.

It's BB, and can be used with a full fish load immediately. I just bought some for $7. Works like a charm.