big vs. small

StevieM · Dec 22, 2002

Do small tanks cycle faster than larger ones, or is it the other way around? Does it depend on bio-load in the respective tank? Just curious because after about 2 weeks of cycling two tanks I am seeing Nitrites show up now in my 6 gallon , but the 20 gal shows only Ammonia thus far, even though they started at the same time. Just curious....thanks

steve

SusanA · Dec 22, 2002

A few months ago I cycled a 55 and a 5 at the same time. They took exactly the same amount of time. That kind of surprised me - I really thought the smaller one would cycle faster.

RTR · Dec 22, 2002

Why should they vary? Given adequate and comparable filtration, the size should not matter. Cycling is based on concentrations, not volume.

morleyz · Dec 22, 2002

Also, keep in mind that one of the biggest reasons cycling takes the amount of time it does is based on the reproductive time of the nitrifying bacteria. This time does not change based on the size of the tank.

cacti · Dec 22, 2002

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Plus it depends on how big you think is big and what size is small. I would say anything less than 200 gallons is small. Bigger is medium sized.

Shiftaltumlock · Dec 22, 2002

Originally posted by cacti
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Plus it depends on how big you think is big and what size is small. I would say anything less than 200 gallons is small. Bigger is medium sized.

So what size tanks do you have?

I would have to say that from your perspective, my tanks would be goldfish bowls.

cacti · Dec 22, 2002

None at this time. I had many aquariums at one time, I think it was 5 the biggest was only a 55 gallon. Since I like the big fish I need a 300 gallon tank if I get one next time. Only want one tank but I want it to be of decent size not tiny, for tinfoils, oscar, bala, leporinus, distichodus, asian upside down catfish, T barb. A small tank like a 55 would be good for a large group of tetras though.

morleyz · Dec 22, 2002

Originally posted by cacti
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Plus it depends on how big you think is big and what size is small. I would say anything less than 200 gallons is small. Bigger is medium sized.

Size still doesn't have any influence on the length of time it takes to cycle. No matter what you call the relative sizes.

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big vs. small

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