cycling

[Aquarium Dude]

Could anyone out there please give a run down of how to cycle a large freshwater heavily planted tank.

Any help would really be appreciated

[HummingBird]

The same way you'd cycle any tank

[Caryl]

There are 3 ways to do it;

1. a fishless cycle. This involves using pure ammonia to start the nitrogen cycle. I know little about this method but a Google search will find you plenty of information. This method is very popular overseas and favoured over using fish these days.

2. Using fish. To do it this way you very slowly build up fish stocking levels, using hardy fish to start with. As the fish produce ammonia the bacteria starts building up in the filter. The idea is to add a few fish at a time over several weeks.

3. Cloning. Run a filter on an established tank for a month then transfer it to the new tank and immediately add a similar fish load.

[alanmin4304]

Caryl has said it all. The only difference the plant will make is to use up some of the nitrate, and continue the cycle as the plant dies (if you don't remove the dead stuff)

[Aquarium Dude]

so

place substrate

fill with cold untreated water

start euipment (heaters and filter)

add stress zyme

leave for 1 month + put fish food in every week

plants in

leave for week

fish in

[Aquarium Dude]

Is that right?

[SpidersWeb]

Sounds painfully long to me.

It's certainly a good way to do things, but I dont have the patience to wait a month to setup a tank, my head would explode, I'm captain antsy pants here.

What I do is either run the filter on an established tank for a week first, or just put a handful of media from another filter (or even gravel out of another tank) in the new filter, then setup my tank how I want, and add a low fish load (e.g. 10 danios).

I wouldnt add a heavy fish load until about a month in. I personally did find that StressZyme sped up the cycling process too (as you've mentioned) although others deem it unnessecary.

In the event of an ammonia or nitrite problem you can always do a quick partial water change, this might slightly elongate the cycling time but will save your fish if something has gone horribly wrong.

Beeing able to seed your tank seems to have a huge impact on cycling times as well. My first tank I must have killed sooooo many poor fish, but since then I haven't had a single problem using my impatient ways.

[Wok]

I must be more impatient that you spiders web.

All I do is move existing filter to new tank

1/2 Fill with tap water and the rest from and existing tank

Chuck fish in.

Done :roll:

to date no new deaths

seems to work ok.. had a convict tank up and spawning in 1 week.

[Caryl]

That's how I do it too wok. I always have spare filters running in my tank for this sort of thing.

[SpidersWeb]

Oh, if I have a mature filter, its 100% tap water, get to temp with hot water/heater, hook up filter and viola new tank pweety. No problems doing that so far. But my water is pH 7.2 from tap, and tanks sit at 7-7.2 so there isn't any real shock factor.

I only do tank water from one tank to another when transporting fry, otherwise its a pain in the buttocks.

[Alan]

What about the chlorine in the water those of you suggesting using a seeded filter then tap water.

The filter will get zapped by the chlorine and you have an uncycled tank.

It wasn't mentioned I don't think , that constant testing of the appropriate types must be done to check the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels while doing the cycling of the aquarium.

[richms]

...I just poured a cupfull of cloudy ammonia into the empty tank and kept testing till it was down to nothing on the test, then chucked some goldfish into it, running at about 22° so the shock to the bactieria when i started heating to put tropicals in wasnt too great.

[alanmin4304]

I wouldn't use goldfish as they tend to carry a lot of parasites.

[fish-unit]

i just put 100 percent new water in,use some of that fish cycle and water ager stuff and chuck everything in,no deaths so far and the fish seem happy as ever!

[Caryl]

Then you have been very lucky fish-unit!

[richms]

i just put 100 percent new water in,use some of that fish cycle and water ager stuff and chuck everything in,no deaths so far and the fish seem happy as ever!

I did that... once... got sick of changing the water daily to keep the amonia in the lower danger zone of the text kit, never again will I do that.

[alanmin4304]

I set up a tank and plant it out and leave a day or two. I use the mechanical sponge filters and put a used one in and add the fish slowly over the next couple of weeks. The bacteria multiply or die off in relation to the amount of food available so gradual changes can be accommodated. I put the new filter into an established tank and haven't had any problems so far.

[Aquarium Dude]

But will my meathod work?

and

Do I need stress zyme/water ager?

[Adrienne]

Pretty sure it would work but I'd be tempted to add a couple of not too valuable fish in place of just fish food and feed those small amounts.

I don't cycle my tanks because I have fighters and they love new fresh water with the chlorine removed at the right temperature. If I give them that I have bubble nests everywhere.

[Aquarium Dude]

Thanks

[Aquarium Dude]

You dont need plants to start cycle do you????????

[Caryl]

No, in fact plants can slow down a cycle.

[alanmin4304]

I don't think plants will make any difference to the cycle other than removing some nitrate. I plant my tanks out in the early stages because the plants need to be established before they become effective at removing nitrate. I would not use fish food because you are talking about the nitrogen cycle so you need nitrogen. This normally comes from the urea from fish waste after they have eaten the fish food. Bacteria break this down to ammonia then oxidize it to nitrite and then nitrate. You need a source of urea or ammonia to start the cycling process. Like most things in an aquarium it is about balance. There is nothing cruel about using fish to cycle your tank provided you do it slowly and allow the bacteria to multiply as the food source grows until the balance is achieved. I never use any additives to cycle with Christchurch water as there is no need.

[Aquarium Dude]

but hasnt fish food got lots of ammonia.

What actually introduces the bacteria into the tank?

[alanmin4304]

The only way you will get ammonia from fish food is when it breaks down by rotting. The bacteria are every where in the environment. What you are doing is encouraging the ones you want to go forth and multiply.