What Do You Think Of This Method Of Cycling

[xoedusk]

A lot of people seem to recommend putting a handful's worth of gravel (from an established tank) into a nylon stocking or something similar and putting it on the substrate of the tank you're trying to cycle.

What about putting the rocks directly into the filter? Since most of the bacteria will eventually form there anyways, this seems like a great place to put the rocks. Of course filter material from the established tank is probably best, and some gravel-in-nylon on the substrate helps, but I think rocks in the filter may help a lot.

What do you think?

Ohh yeah, the local fish store may be more willing to part with a small handful of gravel than part of their filter!

 

[vancouver]

I've done that.. I don't know how much it really speeds the process up..

 

[andywg]

Putting gravel in is a throw back from the days of undergravel filtration where most of the bacteria was found in the gravel. These days you are better putting cycled filter media (sponge, bioballs, alfagrog, bio-max etc).

Anything with a surface area will contain some of the bacteria colony, so the rocks wouldn't hurt, though I doubt they would hold a very large amount as a result of their being a lower surface area:volume ratio.