speeding up cycling?

[erin14]

I currently have a 55g cycling. I took a filter pad from another established tank and put it in this new tanks filter. It doesn't have very much "stuff" on it as i just put this pad into the other filter a week or 2 ago. So, my question is, since I can't buy ammonia to put in the tank to get some nitrites going what else can I use? I tested the water tonight and everything is still 0, although the pad has only been in for just over 24 hours. I think i read once that you can put a little bit of flake food into the filter and that will decompose and make ammonia?? How fast/long will that take? I was hoping to get some fish in there soon (maybe by friday) so what could I use for a source of ammonia without having to do a fishy cyle? I have a couple of goldfish from my pond that could probably make it through the cycle as they have once already (yeah, they went straight from the pond into a tank in one day... my bad), so I could put them in there, if need be. Also, I have 2 pretty tough platies that i've said since I first got my 20g. about 10 months ago. They made it through that cycle too because I was a newbie then and didn't know anything about cycling.

[CaitxSith]

I remember using a piece of shrimp cocktail.

Water smelled like **** afterwards, though.


I remember a while ago, someone suggested urinating into the tank. The poster got so angry when everyone told him not to actually do it (He actually urinated into the tank?).

[~Kswords~]

I think i read once that you can put a little bit of flake food into the filter and that will decompose and make ammonia??

Yes that will make ammonia. It's like feeding invisible fish.


How fast/long will that take?

I have read 2-3months.


Is there anyway of trying to get filter media from friends or people you know that have fish tanks or even through this forum? How about asking your local petstore for their filter media? Some people have been able to do that in previous when trying to cycle their own tanks. I would not add a goldfish to the tank, as it could put stress on the goldfish also a goldfish could very easily mess up chemistry by how much ammonia they personally produce. Two platies in a 55 gallon tank would not really do much good either.


http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-chem.html

[Mgamer20o0]

you could put the new filter on the old tank for a week. then switch it to the new tank. just stock it slowly and check the water.

[yourchoice]

Add 3 flakes a day for a 55g.Put some gravel in from the established tank and start testing every 12 hours..The ammonia might only spike to 1.0 and the nitrite to .5 then read a big zero.With the pad 1-2 weeks build up I think anywhere from 1-5 days you could start lightly stocking.

[erin14]

Heres 2 thoughts that i kind of combined from the previous posts... #1. What if i took one of the biowheels out of my "old" filter and put it into the new filter? there would still be one in the old filter so it wouldn't be like i was removing all the good bacteria to create a mini cycle.

#2. What if i put the new filter on the established tank and the old filter on the new tank and do the same thing as #1?? So that would mean putting new filter on old tank with 1 biowheel floating in there to keep the good bacteria so that tank doesn't go into a mini cycle but in the meantime i would still have that one biowheel left in the old filter which would be on the new tank...that could work couldnt it?

If this confused you please, don't hesitate to ask me haha. Thanks.

[Radar]

If you had any bacteria on the media you put in the new tank it will die if you do not put a few fish in there for a ammonia source.The idea you have about switching one boiwheel over would probably work.I have never tried the fish food thing.I have just always run the new filter on my old tank for a few weeks and then put it on the new one and add a few fish and a nylon hose full of gravel from old tank.

[Coler]

the reason your tests are 0 is because whilst you transferred some bacteria over they have no food source, so there is nothing on which they can work to produce nitrite and nitrate.

I would do as mgamer has said. Run the new filter in your old tank for a week, then swap it over and add fish, stocking slowly. People will say that you have to add mbuna all at once but this is not so. Presuming they are juveniles, get them in in batches of 5 or 6 every week or 10 days, monitoring parameters carefully and you should be good as gold.

[Dschwec]

Like most said..either run the new filter on the old tank for a week or so, or use someone's filter media from a healthy establish tank. I have always just used the live bacteria cultures, then added a few cheap pool comet's or feeder goldfish, and let the set up cycle for a week or so. In any case, the longer you cycle the tank the better.

[erin14]

I could take all three goldfish out of a temporary winter home i have them in and put them in the 55g and then remove them after a few days...like on thursday maybe? Would that work? I would put the old filter on the new tank and then the new filter on the old tank.

[Reddog80p]

you could put the new filter on the old tank for a week. then switch it to the new tank. just stock it slowly and check the water.

:iagree:

The easiest way to do it IMO. Run both filters at the same time on the established tank. Then move the newly established filter to the new tank. Stock slow and test should see little to no mini-cycle.