speed of cycle in various tanks
- Thread starter wolf13
- Start date
I don't know about faster, but I've read a few times on these forums and the tetra forums that larger = easier to cycle.
It doesn't depend on the size of the tank as much as the filter. Fluidized bed filters will cycle faster than any other type because the little bits of media are constantly moving around and bumping into each other, allowing the bacteria to colonize the whole thing exponentially faster. I remember this biological media called "Cell-pore" that is supposed to be pretty good stuff too but I don't think it's being produced any longer. The fastest way to cycle a tank in my experience is to:
1) get ahold of a really dirty filter sponge from a healthy, established tank, wring it out into a bag, then dump the contents of that bag into your new tank.
2)Turn on your filter.
3)Then add clear surfactant-free ammonia until you get a reading of 4ppm, wait for the ammonia and nitrites to drop to 0 (should take less than 24 hours if you have a good filter and did it right)
4) Repeat step 3 a couple more times to get a good bacteria colony established
5) Do a 90% water change and add your fish. BAM! fully cycled in just a few days. Be sure to keep an eye out for ammonia and nitrite spikes anyway though and do water changes as neccesary.
1) get ahold of a really dirty filter sponge from a healthy, established tank, wring it out into a bag, then dump the contents of that bag into your new tank.
2)Turn on your filter.
3)Then add clear surfactant-free ammonia until you get a reading of 4ppm, wait for the ammonia and nitrites to drop to 0 (should take less than 24 hours if you have a good filter and did it right)
4) Repeat step 3 a couple more times to get a good bacteria colony established
5) Do a 90% water change and add your fish. BAM! fully cycled in just a few days. Be sure to keep an eye out for ammonia and nitrite spikes anyway though and do water changes as neccesary.
