Cloning/cycling Advice

[Grrrrrowler]

Hi Guys
Havent been on here for a while but have just bought a second hand juwel rio 180 which was being used up until 2hrs before I bought it (it had tetras in there if thats relevant).

I bought the tank whole and the guy threw in the gravel (still wet and under a couple of inches of water) and the filter (including the media).

I have filled the tank and it is now up to temperature and has been so for 24 hrs now.

I have tested the water and have no ammonia or nitrites and the PH is around 7.0.

Will I need to cycle the tank or can I start introducing fish?

I am not sure whether the fact that I have used 'mature' gravel and filter means that cycling is not needed, especially in view of my test results.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Dave

 

[saboy]

there is not going to be any ammonia as you dont have any fish making it. My suggestion would be to get some hardy fish, like 6 of them, danios are a good choice. then test every now and then to see if there are rises in ammonia and/or nitrites, if so then cycling has to be done, if not then the tank is cycled and you should be able to add some more fish. if you filled the tank with dechlorinated water then some bacteria could still be alive, if not then its dead and will need to be cycled

 

[Grrrrrowler]

Thanks for the reply saboy.

I filled the tank with treated tap water and also added an additive called 'cycle' which I used in my old tank to keep bacteria levels healthy.

I really wanted to set the tank up as a cichlid tank and so dont really want danios in there...

 

[Grrrrrowler]

Anyone else got any thoughts?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Araxen]

If there is no fish in the tank the bacteria will die as there is nothing to feed the bacteria. Your going to have go through a whole new cycle if it's been 24 hours without any fish being in the tank.

The only product on the market that works on insta-cycling a tank is Bio-spira(available only in the U.S.). Anything else doesn't work.