Fishless Cycling With Mature Media

[Winterlily]

My new 55 gallon will be up and running and mature filter media picked up this weekend. I'll be doing a fishless cycle. How do I do this? What I mean is, I read the sticky about HOW to cycle fishless, but do I just follow that exactly even with the mature media in place? Nothing done differently when there is mature media? Anything different I ought to be looking for? Will it be relatively obvious to me when I've finished cycling and can add fish?

Also, I'm getting media from her canister, I believe. What filter I get will be decided today for sure, but, if I get a canister, do I just add her media in PLACE of something similar in mine? If I get a couple HOBs (AquaClears), again, do I just put her media right in the basket instead of filling it with the new stuff? Really unsure how I'm supposed to do this for the best?

I don't want to mess any of this up. Never cycled without fish before and never done it with mature media, either!

Thanks!

 

[bagu]

hmmm

make sure water is declor

also, if the filter is mature media i don't think there is any need to cycle

 

[waterdrop]

Mature Media should be used to -augment- a fishless cycle, not replace one. If the colonies transported via mature media are extensive enough and are not damaged by the disruption of their move then the fishless cycling procedure can show you that you are cycled within a day or two.. much better than assuming.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Winterlily]

Okay, so add the mature media and do the fishless cycle exactly as outlined here on the forum? I just basically assume that it will go tons quicker - but proceed as if I didn't add the media, yes?

 

[waterdrop]

Okay, so add the mature media and do the fishless cycle exactly as outlined here on the forum? I just basically assume that it will go tons quicker - but proceed as if I didn't add the media, yes?

Yes, Winterlily, that's correct. Just relax and follow along as best you can make out from the article and your other readings and the questions and answers here. Both the process and the filters are messy, so there's no "perfect", but that's -ok- and overall its pretty forgiving. Unfortunately, the benefit of a mature media "seed" is just about as unpredictable in my experience as the length of a cycle. [Why? Well, have you ever thought about why you can have healthy gums despite how imperfect the process of teeth flossing is? The dental researchers will say that if you just "disturb" the biofilm below the gum line on the tooth at least once each 24 hours then the biofilm (tooth decay and jawbone loss are both caused by biofilms) will break down and not manage to re-form. There's a bit of the same in transporting mature media. It gets a little disturbed physically and environmentally, but in general we hope most of it arrives and stays intact!] But still, taking the trouble to at least attempt a mature media seeding is indeed the one thing known to add a high chance of speeding up the fishless cyclling growth process.

Yes, its a free-for-all, the business of fitting someone elses strangly shaped media into your filter! You basically have to do the best you can. Often, yes, you replace a bit of your own new media. In general, adding mature media might result in a bit of overcrowding but you shouldn't make things so tight that you slow down the filter flow too much. Observe your filter running prior to get an idea. Perhaps even measure how many inches your spraybar can through the water streams out (if you've got that type) or something like that. But again, filters are basically pretty messy and forgiving, not precision instruments, so hopefully you won't go too wrong! Good luck!

~~waterdrop~~
ps. will try to chek in from my travels!

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks so much waterdrop! I understand better now I think. My timeline got messed up because of having to order the filter (rather than getting it locally) and its slow arrival.

Your travels, eh? Hope you had a good time!

 

[Cdarmychi]

My media im giving you is fairly similar to the stuff that is going to be in your filter to begin with, it just isnt in a mesh bag like i remember seeing in the one you have. And filter floss can be crammed into any old space lol. Did I hear you want MTS? hehe......boy do I have some you are WELCOME to have. hehe.....Ive got a few big ones in my tanks, remind me and Ill fish some out for you. How many do you think you'll want? ten? twenty? maybe more??? lol they are little aquatic bunnies! lol

Sakura

 

[Winterlily]

Aquatic bunnies eh?? Too funny...!

I'm told that MTS are good for sand tanks because they keep the under-bits stirred up to avoid those dead areas and anaerobic bacteria and all that stuff. I had one snail that came in with the plants, but I haven't seen him lately - not sure what became of him.

Oh boy! Mature media AND snails! (Funny, not so very long ago, I posted a question about how to make sure I didn't get ANY snails with live plants, now here I am adding them on purpose!)

Hmm. Doesn't sound like you are finding that you only have as many snails as can survive on the available food? I sure don't want a tank overrun with them.

And yes... I figured the media from you would be just the same as normal filter media and I'll just use in place of my "new" stuff. My mesh bag for that old biowheel was only because I couldn't figure a way to get the biowheel into the new filter without really manhandling it - which seemed a bad idea.

 

[Cdarmychi]

lol

yeah no.....i have more snails then I can account for, unless *someone* (looks at the OH) has been feeding them behind my back again.... but that might just be the case.......*glare*

lol

Sakura