I just purchased an Emperor 400 for my 40 gallon tank. It came with 2 media containers that i have read can have whatever media put in them. Is there something i can put in them to help cylce my tank? If so would i put the container in the back notch or the front?
Cycle Question
- Thread starter CagIII
- Start date
bio spira is a instant cycle but is a lot of money. i would just go with a fishless cycle using ammonia.
I agree with using a fishless cycle. Although a lot of people on this board have enjoyed success with bio-spira, I ended up getting a bad batch from my LFS. You don't want to risk having to cycle your tank with a full load of fish. Think of 4-6 weeks of daily (or even twice daily) 30-40% water changes...not good.
You could also try a combination of the two; fishless cycling while using bio-spira might be quick if the bio-spira works. While you have to make sure that there's already ammonia in the tank for the bacteria to feed on, you don't want to have too much. I don't know the specifics of how much ammonia to put in while using bio-spira, but someone else should come along shortly that knows.
Btw, you would put the bio-spira directly into the water, not your filter.
You could also try a combination of the two; fishless cycling while using bio-spira might be quick if the bio-spira works. While you have to make sure that there's already ammonia in the tank for the bacteria to feed on, you don't want to have too much. I don't know the specifics of how much ammonia to put in while using bio-spira, but someone else should come along shortly that knows.
Btw, you would put the bio-spira directly into the water, not your filter.
entropy311 said:
My Bio-Spira must have cost a lot when you factor the 3 hour round-trip gas money I had to drive to get it... and it did absolutely nothing for me. I think the store is very up on the up, it was cool when I got it and cool when I put it in.
The amount of ammonia to put in would be the same formula, whether or not you use Bio-Spira. (As far as I know.) It's usually considered to be 4-5ppm to get it started, and 2-3ppm once the NitrItes appear.