New Tank, Cycling And Bogwood.

[vette]

Hi all. After reading a lot about fishless cycling and cycling with fish I have decided the best way forward is a fishless cycle.
I already have one tank setup and that was cycled with fish and is a nice little tank....I was just lucky I guess with my readings etc and the fish are all fine. This tank was cycled before I came across this site.

So, The new tank. Its small, only 64 litres but once the sand substrate has been put in and filled to a decent level, it actually only takes 40ltrs of water.

Here is the tank in the process of planting.

And then I took the bogwood out to soak and filled with water.

So, question one is how long do I need to soak the bog wood for before putting in the tank?
The second question concerns the filter. It appears to be a very small Rena filter, IV2 IIRC. Is this sufficient for 40ltrs of water? I did think about putting some of the ceramic media from my existing tank in to the center of the foam 'sock'. Would this be a good idea to help with the cycling?
Finally, is household amonia still available from Boots? that seems to be where most people seem to recommend getting it from.

TIA.
Any help or advice welcomed!

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to our forum Vette.
How long to soak bogwood is a personal choice. I do not mind the slight discoloring of my tank's water so I hardly soak at all. People who do not like the yellow / brown water color soak a very long time.
For your filter, The idea of using some ceramic media to jump start the new filter is a good one. The ammonia from Boots is the UK best source of the right material. I use a fishless approach to prove any newly cloned filter to be on the safe side of things. Most of my new filters are ready for fish in a week or less but I refuse to simply count the days and add fish. Instead I do the needed testing and ammonia dosing.