What Wouldn't Precisely Be Fish-In Cycling

[Nosphaer]

I'm gonna get some mature filter media from a nearby hobbyist this week, but I'll be gone, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, and I'm having a little bit of trouble of thinking on what I want to do. My idea, made with advice from my boyfriend (another hobbyist), has become one of two processes to keep that precious bacteria (and, more importantly, fish) alive.

The tank I'm using is a 36"x18"x16" 40 Gallon BR.

My first potential process is fairly straightforward; I will get a BN Pleco and later in the day, get the media to add it in...

... This raises a few questions that scare me, as far as courses of action go.

-"How long is a safe time for the pleco to be in the tank without that mature filter media?"
-"Should I put the mature media in before I even bring the pleco home?"
-"Will the bacteria survive without a significant amount of preexisting waste from the pleco?"


...Or

I could add in ammonia, which I worry that the bacteria could tear through in a matter of days. I wouldn't really want that, yet it would be the most simple, regardless of how easily it could be sustained.

As stated above, I'm mainly worried that, even with the amount of mature media that I'll get being rather small, it'll cycle through all the ammonia added to the water and begin to starve.

 

[fishlove75]

If your going to be gone for a couple of days here is what I would suggest.

Set up your new tank, filter etc. Go get the mature media and add it. Dose the tank up to 4ppm of ammonia, that should be enough to sustain. Unless you are filling your entire filter with nothing but mature media, dosing the tank to 4ppm should be enough to sustain it. When you come back check the stats, if the ammonia is less than 4ppm, redose to 4ppm of ammonia and watch, if you drop to 0ppm in 12 hours or less, do a water change, and add all your fish. If not then you still need some cycling to do.

If you decide to go with the plec. Then he should be ok in the tank without the mature media for the few hours it would take you to get the mature media.

If you are filling your entire filter with mature media, then go with the plec, because, conceviably, your tank would be fully cycled if you are using all mature media.

 

[the_lock_man]

If you're only getting a small amount of mature media, then dose ammonia to 4ppm, and you'll start to grow more bacteria on the immature media while you're away.

 

[Nosphaer]

I thank you both. I feel a bit more certain about what I need to do.