Donating Media

[littlenemo]

if someone was to donate good est media to start the cycle do u still need to do a full fishless cycle using amonia etc???

 

[Tizer]

no, but it helps to dose ammonia for a few days to check the media can process it before you put fish in and find out that it cant.

 

[minnnt]

It helps a hell of a lot. Basically, you need to work out how many fish (and type) the filter has been supporting and how much they have donated to you. Then theoretically, with a little care you could stock this amount.

i.e. if the tank had 12 fish in and the owner gave you a 1/3 of the media then you could stock 4 fish (similar to what the owner had) more or less straight away. You may have to do a water change the following day just to ensure the water is good, but a pretty quick and easy way to get a tank up and running.