Best way to speed up cycling process!

[BettaSplendens]

My father has now caught onto the fish craze (which is good because I can see fish and not have to pay for them). He is going up to auckland to buy a new tank and fish etc. Now, I am worried those fish will die because everything will be new and not cycled.

Is there a way of getting them in early, or do i need to hold them in a tank that is old, and if so how long?

Mike

[MarkLB]

One way of speeding the process up is to take some filter media from a mature tank and use it to 'seed' the new filter.

[DennisP]

Depends on bioload, type of fish and size of tank.

I've never really bothered to cycle my tanks properly.

I added 2 large discus, a bunch of neons, some cories, BGK etc etc into a uncycled Juwel Rio 240 and had no problems.

As long as you keep an eye on them, they should be fine.

It is just recommended you cycle tank.

Also, I'm pretty sure there are some chemicals you can buy.

I do not suggest this as chemicals are evil.

[Joshlikesfish]

Also, I'm pretty sure there are some chemicals you can buy.

I do not suggest this as chemicals are evil.

+1

[ryanjury]

One way of speeding the process up is to take some filter media from a mature tank and use it to 'seed' the new filter.

This is the best way to quickly cycle a tank,

Depends on bioload, type of fish and size of tank.

I've never really bothered to cycle my tanks properly.

I added 2 large discus, a bunch of neons, some cories, BGK etc etc into a uncycled Juwel Rio 240 and had no problems.

As long as you keep an eye on them, they should be fine.

This is very dependant on how big your tank is, how you feed and what fish/filtration you have.

[BettaSplendens]

What would you guys recommend putting with a school of electric blue ram?

[ryanjury]

Electric blue rams don't really school..

But a school of schooling fish usually looks good with rams, if you are going to do electric blue rams though don't skimp on the cycling aspect of things they are expensive and quite sensitive to water quality.

[DennisP]

And don't put all in at once if you can avoid it.

[the-obstacle]

For reference I've tried everything possible over the last 6-8 weeks on my 75L tank and while I *thought* it had cycled it really didn't even start to try until I gave up and stopped adding things like smart start and stress zyme (seperately of course because the bloody thing wouldn't cycle). I am a fool for not waiting because I'm sure my fish have been suffering for it. I now have white spot i'm trying to get rid of due to the nitrite spike once the actual cycle kicked in, i've been using prime to manage the impact with daily water changes to keep the levels down.

Bottom line - do it properly, wait it out. The cycle will start quicker with seeded media from an existing filter but depending on the bio load it will still have to cycle, it will just be a whole lot quicker.

[David R]

Why don't you just tell your dad to buy the tank now and wait until the tank is established (maybe get a couple of hardy fish) before adding more fish?

Fish keeping is all about patience, and IMO if he's bring back a "school" of electric blue rams for a brand new tank its a disaster in the making. If you have a couple of filters running on your tank then you could put that on there to help provide some beneficial bacteria, but if everything else is brand new its still a big risk adding delicate fish like rams.

[Stella]

There really is a big problem with the terminology we use with cycling.

Cycling is not something that we do.

Cycling is something that naturally happens

The active part that we do, is either understanding and controlling it in a way that limits stress and toxicity for the fish, or not understanding it and winding up with weak, sick or dead fish.

What people here are saying about patience is true. Add fish slowly, carefully. Read up as much about cycling as you can. Sure people manage to get away with 'not cycling' their tank (I certainly have). What this really means is that the tank probably cycled violently, stressing their fish, perhaps without visible signs that this was happening. If they 'didn't cycle the tank' but did add fish slowly, they were unwittingly managing the cycling process.

[Joshlikesfish]

What this really means is that the tank probably cycled violently, stressing their fish, perhaps without visible signs that this was happening. If they 'didn't cycle the tank' but did add fish slowly, they were unwittingly managing the cycling process.

My first real tank wasn't cycled. Boy did I regret that. Lost so many tetras.

[Windsparrow]

Bottle of Startsmart. each does 200L

[henward]

i think botled cycling stuff doesnt work as well and still tends to spike parameters.

Personally, seeding or just the natural course of time.

I would personally get the tank, get the filter going and get 3 to 5 cheap bronze comets.

Then use the comets as a form of cycler.... feed them a moderate amount. You will most likely get amonia - thats ok, they are hardy and will help cycle your tank. do regular small water changes daily to ensure they dont die, and it will cycle rather quickly.

[cliffy]

Yes bottle of start smart is the way to go what windsparrow said but make sure keep testing your water for amonia just in case.

[alanmin4304]

The only way to speed it up is to learn patience. Once you learn patience time flies.

[smidey]

i regularly setup tanks & add fish the same day. I use water, substrate & filter from an existing tank, job done.

[Mcculloch]

Existing filter media from another filter is the way to go. In saying that I tried the start smart as an experiment not actually expecting it to work as I'm as cynical as anyone on here and well it worked with no spikes on a fully stocked tank which really surprised me.

[AquaLife]

Would I get away with daily water changes by monitoring the amonia and nitrite level? If the level is higher than acceptable then I'd change more water. That's what I've been doing and seem alright, with reasonable stock of course.

[burrowssj]

when you buy fish ask if they will give you some dirty filter wool/sponge generally they will be happy to give you some an all you gota do is just put it in your filter an its away.

water changes will help

don't buy chemicals waste of time an money

if you don't buy young fish an you keep a close eye on them they should be hardy enough to handle the water changing but I wouldn't do it with rams aye... like its been said they are sensitive an you'll most likely have deaths if you do

[reef]

Just take your time when cycling, Rome was not built in a day