Hi there, i am new to fish keeping so this probably sounds really silly but when is the best time to add the established media to a new tank as to speed the cycling process up? Do i add it when i put the first dosage of ammonia in or not until the nitrites show up?

Also if i use gravel as a media how much would i need, would a cup full be ok (say for a 100 litre tank)?

Finally i have access to a tank at my workplace and the nitrate level is higher than normal, would using media form this tank speed up the process even more?

I'm sorry for all the questions but i really want this to work. Many thanks in advance for reading this.

Jonny

Add it at the very start of adding ammonia, or (if you prefer fish to chemicals) take the media and add fish straight away.

Look at the bioload of the donor tank and that will be your guide. If you take about a quarter of the donor tank's media you can stock with about a quarter of the bioload.