okay ... last year I got myself 4 young angelfish, within a few months I had a pairing that I wanted to try breeding from. In my shed was my old Juwel Rekord 800 fish tank still complete with it's internal fitler. I decided I'd have it brought into my flat and I'd set it up for my angels to see if I could get them to breed but the problem was that I'd need to cycle the filter for them.
Once the tank was inside I removed the filter sponges and got them into a bucket. One of my external filters from my main community tank was due a clean anyway so I opened it and tipped the water, and the brown gunk into the bucket with the Rekords sponges. Inside this filter was a small spare sponge that fits my emergency filter for my hospital tank so I pinched that out too. I also run a fine filter wool at the top of the external to polish the water of fine particles - I threw that in the bucket too. I then added an air stone to the bucket and let it sit for about 10 days. Every day I went and got my hand into the bucket and squeezed the sponges under the water. I also threw in some fish food and some dying plant leaves to create ammonia in the bucket. I wasn't certain this was going to work but I decided it was worth a try. After the ten days (or so, I can't remember exactly) I decided to get brave and move my angels into the new tank. I tested my water daily for two weeks but saw no signs of ammonia or nitrite. What I was looking at was an instantly cycled tank. It did surprise me but it did prove it can be done by cleverly seeding a filter.
Now, I'm not going to say it will definitely work for someone else - that would be irresponsible but what I am saying is - if I can do it, why can't it work for someone else. It's worth a shot. Just keep an eye on the stats and do water changes if necessary
Once the tank was inside I removed the filter sponges and got them into a bucket. One of my external filters from my main community tank was due a clean anyway so I opened it and tipped the water, and the brown gunk into the bucket with the Rekords sponges. Inside this filter was a small spare sponge that fits my emergency filter for my hospital tank so I pinched that out too. I also run a fine filter wool at the top of the external to polish the water of fine particles - I threw that in the bucket too. I then added an air stone to the bucket and let it sit for about 10 days. Every day I went and got my hand into the bucket and squeezed the sponges under the water. I also threw in some fish food and some dying plant leaves to create ammonia in the bucket. I wasn't certain this was going to work but I decided it was worth a try. After the ten days (or so, I can't remember exactly) I decided to get brave and move my angels into the new tank. I tested my water daily for two weeks but saw no signs of ammonia or nitrite. What I was looking at was an instantly cycled tank. It did surprise me but it did prove it can be done by cleverly seeding a filter.
Now, I'm not going to say it will definitely work for someone else - that would be irresponsible but what I am saying is - if I can do it, why can't it work for someone else. It's worth a shot. Just keep an eye on the stats and do water changes if necessary