Cycling Tank

[Unknown10101]

Hey I posted this on some random topic. (I was trying to put it on the cycling page but somehow it didn't end up there So I was wondering, if cycling your tank is all about getting rid of that Ammonia and getting beneficial bacteria, can't you just use Ammonia Remover, or Bacteria Supplement and SafeStart? What's the difference? Will it work?

 

[Tizer]

If it was that easy we would all be doing it and the cycling section would be redundant Unfortunately bottled bacteria, like safestart i guess, is pretty pants and the general concensus on here is that its just a money making method sold to the less wise fish keepers.

 

[Tolak]

From this topic;

I was reading this and I was wondering, what's the point of establishing all these bacteria when you can add that Ammonia Remover stuff? Is that even effective? Does it work? I've been wanting to set up another tank and I was wondering if you could use that stuff instead of going through the trouble of adding all this bacteria? Also, what about the SafeStart chemicals.?

Problem is, it doesn't remove ammonia, it converts it to ammonium, which is harmless to fish at levels found in a cycling aquarium. The ammonium is used the same as ammonia by your nitrifying bacteria, producing nitrite. That is where the problem lies, you may not see an ammonia problem, but you will see a nitrite problem.

The products sold for instantly cycling aquariums do not work. You will be hard pressed to find any peer reviewed scientific documentation stating that they do. Bacteria are living organisms, and need a food source, in a cycled aquarium that food is ammonia and nitrite. There is no food source being sealed in a bottle for any length of time.

If you have an existing mature tank, you can clone another tank off of it. This works off of the principle of the ability of a mature colony of nitrifying bacteria being capable of doubling every 24 hours. Take some mature bio media, no more than 1/3 from a tank, guesstimate the stocking of the donor tank, and stock the new tank no more than 1/3 of that.

It helps to fast the donor tank for 24 hours before pulling media, as well as the new tank for 24 hours after setting up. Less food means less waste produced, giving the bacteria a chance to catch up. I usually feed both tanks lightly for the next week as an added precaution.

Knowing how this works makes it easy to set up or take down tanks as needed, this is common with breeders, importers, or folks who order in fish for sales. Most just run extra sponge filters, and pull them as needed.

 

[Unknown10101]

Thanks I'll do all of that!