Speeding Up Fishless Cycling?

[Jonno]

Hi there,

I am set to replace my biorb filter cartridge this week, would it be a good idea to rinse the old one in the dirty water and add it into the filter on my new one?

Jonno.

 

[GRJ]

Definatley! If your old biorb is a mature tank, the filter media will be full of beneficial bacteria and speed up your new filters cycle! I used donated mature media in my filter andit cycled rally quickly! Go for it!

 

[Jonno]

Definatley! If your old biorb is a mature tank, the filter media will be full of beneficial bacteria and speed up your new filters cycle! I used donated mature media in my filter andit cycled rally quickly! Go for it!

nice yes it's fully cycled, will get it added tonight

how long does it take for the ammonia to drop down to 1ppm? Added the ammonia yesterday but going away until Monday night on Saturday? Shall i just add a bit of extra ammonia before i go if it starts to drop?

 

[GRJ]

Definatley! If your old biorb is a mature tank, the filter media will be full of beneficial bacteria and speed up your new filters cycle! I used donated mature media in my filter andit cycled rally quickly! Go for it!

nice yes it's fully cycled, will get it added tonight

how long does it take for the ammonia to drop down to 1ppm? Added the ammonia yesterday but going away until Monday night on Saturday? Shall i just add a bit of extra ammonia before i go if it starts to drop?

I am sorry, but i cycled my tank with fish in as i didnt know about fishless cycling at the time, so i have never done a fishless cycle. I am sure someone who knows about it will post though. I would imagine that if you filter media is mature, it would reduce the ammonia straight away, however, i am not sure about how much you should add or if you should add any at all. Sorry i couldnt be of any more help. GRJ

 

[rabbut]

No strait answer to your last question Jonno. It will depend entirely on several factors. I would advise that if the ammonia is dropping when you leave, add enough ammonia to raise the reading to 5ppm, and hope you still have a reading when you get back. If the ammonia drops to 0, any sooner than a day before you leave, any bactiria that has already colonised will die, due to lack of food. Good luck wiht your fishless cycle.
Rabbut

 

[Jonno]

right and another question...

when the fishless cycling finnishes and both ammonia and nitrite are at 0, do i have to do the 90% water change and add fish on the same day? the reason i ask is if i'll do the water change, and add fish 1/2 days later wont the bacteria have died off?

secondly - how many fish are best to add at this time? Obviously if i only add a couple surely they won't create enough ammonia to feed all of the bacteria?

also, when refilling after removing 90% of the water, i'll be refilling it with a bucket. because it's a 190 litre tank it'll probably take about 15 bucket loads - how long do i have to wait for each bucket load to be ready to add into the tank after adding the declorinator to the bucket?

Any techniques for adding this much water safely - use more than one bucket? i've only ever had a 30 litre tank so water changes were never more than 1 bucket load!

 

[Jonno]

anyone?

 

[LakeyGal]

- how long do i have to wait for each bucket load to be ready to add into the tank after adding the declorinator to the bucket?

As far as I know dechlor tends to work immediately.. so add it to bucket fill er up then you should be ok to use it...

 

[GRJ]

From what i have read on here before, yes you do a large water change and 'fully' stock your tank as the bactria you have built up using the fishless cycling method means there are enough bacteria to cope. If you under stock your tank, you will start to lose some of that bacteria. As i said before, i am not 100% sure but thats the gist of what i understand of it. On the dechlorinater question, i always add mine to the bucket, so whatever is easier for you. It makes more sense to me to add it to the bucket. HTH. GRJ

 

[rabbut]

From what i have read on here before, yes you do a large water change and 'fully' stock your tank as the bactria you have built up using the fishless cycling method means there are enough bacteria to cope. If you under stock your tank, you will start to lose some of that bacteria. As i said before, i am not 100% sure but thats the gist of what i understand of it.

GRJ is correct. 90-100% waterchange, adding declorinator as you fill. Dechlorinator works instantly. Make sure you add water at the correct temp though, or you may put your filter bactiria into temporature shock. I belive this makes then dormant, thus absolutely useless when you add fish. You can stock fully strait away. Just remember to top off the stocking slowly, if you don't fully stock your tank, as the bactira built up will die off whithout a full bio-load.
HTH
rabbut

 

[GRJ]

From what i have read on here before, yes you do a large water change and 'fully' stock your tank as the bactria you have built up using the fishless cycling method means there are enough bacteria to cope. If you under stock your tank, you will start to lose some of that bacteria. As i said before, i am not 100% sure but thats the gist of what i understand of it.

GRJ is correct. 90-100% waterchange, adding declorinator as you fill. Dechlorinator works instantly. Make sure you add water at the correct temp though, or you may put your filter bactiria into temporature shock. I belive this makes then dormant, thus absolutely useless when you add fish. You can stock fully strait away. Just remember to top off the stocking slowly, if you don't fully stock your tank, as the bactira built up will die off whithout a full bio-load.
HTH
rabbut

See, i did learn something from you!!! Thanks for making me feel like i finally had something stick in my head! Hope your well rabbut! Gra.

 

[Jonno]

thanks guys!!!!

 

[Jonno]

another question....

it looks like my filter has a nitrate removal sponge... will this cause any side effect to the cycling? should i remove it?