Stupid question...probably...

[Tokis-Phoenix]

This is just somthing i have been wondering about, say you have a brand new tank and you are going to do a fishless cycle in it, where exactly do the good filter bacteria come from and how do they get into the tank ?

 

[leedham]

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

No, no i am not cycling any tanks at the mo and i know what happens with the bacteria when a new tank cycles, but i have just always wondered where exactly the bacteria comes from and how its gets in the tank? Does it float through the air or somthing(stupid suggestion of the day i expect )?

 

[mlee0332]

They come from spores in the air. I was thinking one day, maybe tanks would cycle faster outside, seeing as how very little things like that come inside. My tanks are upstairs very far from the doors, so that may be why they take so long to cycle.......

I feel an experiment coming on....................................

 

[OohFeeshy]

Could be from anywhere. In the water, in the air... Anywhere. Its like when things get mouldy in a sealed container- all it takes is one bacterium to multiply and your food (of filter media) is full of em

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks for the info, my mind is at rest now as to where filter bacteria come from

Its interesting though they float through the air, mlee0332 you have just inspired me to go experimenting too with new tanks and a hefty filter maybe

 

[OohFeeshy]

No, an experiment with a new filter, boiled water and an airtight tank Add ammonia, see if it goes down.

 

[mlee0332]

You could put an air tight tank outside, and a normal one outside. And then put an air tight one inside, and one regular one inside, and post your results. I think I want to do it too, so I'll see if I can...

That way we could figure out these things:

-Does it colonize better with sun light?

-Does the bacteria come from....
--... the air?
--... the water?
--... both?

-Are more spores present outside than inside?

And we couldn't use speed cyclers... Those would kill results (look at me talkin' to you as if you had no clue. ha ha, sorry...)

Edit: Oh shoot, I forgot about constants... How would we be able to keep temp constant? Or could we leave that as a factor?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If you had a heater in the tank it would help keep tank temp more stable, you could also see wether a tank cycles faster at higher temps than cold ones and how much faster- what about sunlight? That could also be a factor, wether a tank cycles faster in a dark room in comparsion to being in a light one.
How much does strength of filtration affect the speed of which the cycle happens?

 

[mlee0332]

yup, those too... But for all the filtration ones we would need oudles of tanks that we can't afford, well I cant at least...

you know, the air tight one wouldn't work... When we opened it to test ammonia, spores could get in, or even when we first started it, some spores could get in then too...

Maybe what you could do is not do a air tight, but do one with a very weak filter, and a strong filter outside and the same inside...

If we do 10s I know that a whisper 5-15 wont even ripple the water if it doesn't have a little bit of space between the bottom of the filter and the water level, s that'd be the one for that one. And maybe a strong fluval for the other ones?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

All you'd need it 2 small fluval filters which you can adjust the strength of current on and put them in 2 separate tanks and moniter how fast they cycle on different settings...

You could also see wether tanks cycle faster with carbon or just ordinary sponge in them too

Other posibilitys could also be wether having sand or gravle substrate effects the cycle or wether having live plants does and wether they are fine leaved or broadleaved plants too...

The posibilitys are endless

 

[mlee0332]

i know... We just need to have some set ones to "test" and then move on to bigger and more specifics later i guess

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would also be interested in how much the size if the tank effects the cycle too, and also which products which speed up a cycle are the most effective with all other factors taken into consideration...

 

[Synirr]

If you have an air conditioner/heater, there is actually more bacteria in the air inside than outside. I'm pretty sure that would hold true for homes without an air conditioner too just because our homes make such a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria of all sorts. There's an experiment repeated over and over every year at a local high school where they get petri dishes and scoop them through the air in various places then let the bacteria grow for a set amount of time... the petri dishes from outside air rarely have much more than a few tiny specks of bacteria colonies, while the ones from inside are covered.