Cycling In 8 Days...

[lordtrini]

I think i cycled a 29 gallon tank with fish in 8 days...
I used a cup of mature gravel and a piece of filter media from an established tank.
I also kept the water temp at 26C..
Note... the tank is "fully" planted... and i a seeing some great plant growth...

Right now Ammonia is 0 and Nitrates are 0...

Is this cool or what...

 

[OldMan47]

It sounds like you have not cycled at all. What you have done is put enough plants into the tank to use up all the nitrogen. It creates a healthy environment for the fish as long as the plants continue to thrive but it is not a cycle. Moving filter media out of that tank will not benefit the next one because it will have almost no bacteria in it. I have a tank that I run on the principle of the plants consuming all of the nitrogen and it is successful. The rest of my tanks are more conventional and have cycled filters in them.

 

[saz326]

Agree....

But also, what are the NitrItes like? If ammonia is 0 and nitrAte is 0 then could have high nitrIte thats not yet converted.

 

[backtotropical]

Agree....

But also, what are the NitrItes like? If ammonia is 0 and nitrAte is 0 then could have high nitrIte thats not yet converted.

True. There is some anecdotal evidence that plants will use nitrite as a food source, but nothing set in stone. Tom Barr believes that plants don't really use it at all. However, heavily planted tanks work on the basis that they will use all the ammonia (which they generally have an overriding preference for over nitrate) before any can be converted to nitrite, leaving nitrite levels at 0 at all times.

BTT

 

[Underwurlde]

Going back to the original point, actually, I personally don't see why a filter shouldn't be considered cycled after only 8 days if it is seeded in this manner. Perfect strategy IMO.

Andy

 

[saltynay]

Indeed if the filter is given mature media then it should very rapidly cycle e.g. 1-2 weeks and the plants are forcing the ammonia and nitrate levels lower. The combination of the two means that your tank is ready for its first occupants however remember slow and steady addition of fish.

 

[Schmill]

There is also no mention of the qty of fish in the OP, or or what sort.
With few fish, or small fish its quite possible that the transferred media already had enough bacteria on it to deal with the light fish load.

 

[Inchworm]

Sounds to me like the OP cloned the tank. That's an excellent way to get a tank started.

 

[jonnyf84]

Going back to the original point, actually, I personally don't see why a filter shouldn't be considered cycled after only 8 days if it is seeded in this manner. Perfect strategy IMO.

Agreed. I go by a similar principle in theory. In one of my catfish fry raising tubs (always heavily stocked) i pack it with anywhere up to 5 fluval 2+'s, then when i need a new fry tub or grow out tank i just take two of these filters, half fill with water from a existing tub and half fill with fresh (not sure that this makes too much difference though) and hey presto you got a fully cycled tank, ready to go in less than 20 minutes.

Even if your not a breeder my advice is always to keep at least one extra filter running for emergencies or new setups.

 

[lordtrini]

i will test the nitrites this afternoon....
Last night i put in 4 Neons and 2 Ghost shrimp from another tank...
This afternoon i will add a DIY CO2 yeast setup
Tomorrow i will start a 20% water change every other day for the next 2 weeks...
During that time i will attempt my first Ricca carpet...

But right now i am getting excellent plant growth...

I will keep you guys up to date... i hope that neons don't die... but 4 neons in 29 gallons aint too bad i hope...

 

[Underwurlde]

...but 4 neons in 29 gallons aint too bad i hope...

Bad??? Good grief no!

 

[saltynay]

Tetras prefer a well cycled tank but given the size of the tank, amount of plants and filtration and the small number of fish combined with the frequent changes then it should not be a problem.

 

[matchstickman47]

i cloned mine .... new tank sorted in 7 days ( without plants) why not , but easy on the fish mine only has four s. multis and they dont poop much will add plants on weeken then it would have been 2 weeks n definatly cycled woot

to the op cloning is very useful it is the only way i do it ant it is very possible your tank wil cycle within 1-2 weeks

 

[lordtrini]

i cloned mine .... new tank sorted in 7 days ( without plants) why not , but easy on the fish mine only has four s. multis and they dont poop much will add plants on weeken then it would have been 2 weeks n definatly cycled woot

to the op cloning is very useful it is the only way i do it ant it is very possible your tank wil cycle within 1-2 weeks

Is it just me or is this cloning method under utilized and under advertised... Someone should write a tutorial on how its done....
Hmmm who would do that... i wonder... lol

 

[Underwurlde]

It is! .... Well, I HOPE it is!