Cycle Faster

[seangee12 5]

My new tank (with fish) went into a mini cycle and I was getting frustrated at how long t was taking to drop the nitrite.

Nothing new here but two days ago I did this:

1. Dropped the temp by 2 degs to 23 (logic cooler water holds more oxygen)
2. Removed enough water so that the pump outlet was above the water (same reason - get more oxygen in)

No scientific proof and it may well have happened anyway but two days later and nitrite is zero. It wasn't planned as a fish in cycle - I cloned the filter and it didn't quite work out

 

[rdd1952]

I doubt that the lower temperature had any effect on the drop in nitrie. As a general rule, bacteria reproduce faster at higher temps. More O2 could be a factor but I don't think it would make that much difference. The bacteria had probably just had tome to catch up. In actuallity, lowering the water level would end up causing an increase in the toxin level as there would be the same amount of waste produced by the fish but less water to dilute it. Think of it as adding 2 ml of a toxin to 20 gallons and then adding the same 2 ml to 15 gallons. The ppm would be about 33% higher in the 15 gallons

 

[Dorkhedeos]

Dropping the water level and having your temp decreased wont really help because the bacteria already get all the oxygen they need to operate when the water flows through the filter media.