Cycling Question..

Oii

CA/SA CICHLID MAN
Jan 3, 2008
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Howell, Michigan
I'm confused.. I set up my tank (100gallons) last night before I went to sleep and its already cycled. :confused: Its only been 16 hours. I tested it with the api master test kit. Heres my paramaters.
nitrates 2, 3, and my ammonia are all at 0. My pH is at 7.4

I filled it up regular tap water, and put all my stress coat and salt in it.

Then I took my hydro 5 sponge filter (the huge one) out of my 60gallon and squeezed all the good stuff out of it and set it up in the tank with a good powerhead. I took my emperor 400 and squeezed all the bacteria out of the media, and set that up on the tank too. I took some of the scrubbies and loofas out of my whisper 5 that I have set up on my 55gallon and squeezed all the bacteria out of those too.

could what I have done actually cycled 100gallon in 12 hours? I'm confused..
 
Yes it is possible to cycle your tank that way you have done everything right I would wait a day or 2 to make sure.
Then just add fish slowly, and watch for an ammonia spike.
 
why are you adding salt? salt should not be added to a FW setup.

if you squeeze some media into the new tank, the cycle will not take 6 weeks. the cycle will take 6 weeks if you start from scratch. transferreing media from an established tank or giving it a good squeeze in the new tank should speed up the cycle considerably. if you stock smart, you may not even see any rises in ammoina and nitrite, especially since your tank is of considerable size.
 
I will be stocking 3 2.5" siggitae's from motorcitycichlids. I wouldn't doubt if the tank didn't even know the fish were there. I don't plan on buying them for at least another week so it should be 100% cycled by then. I'm not even going to get into the salt.. It helps your fish breathe and it keeps the diseases away. I'm not the only one.
 
Yeah, a lot of people use fresh water aquarium salt, its different than the salt you would use for a SW setup, think about epsom salt in your bath, same idea.
 
I was wondering if I should add my goldfish to the cycle too.. I've heard the .."Don't go to the petstore and buy 2 dozen filthy feeders to cycle your tank with." But I've had mine for around 3 months and I know theirs nothing wrong with them. I'm going to send 1 one in for a day anyways to see if he makes it then I'll start adding my "real fish" 1 by 1. Thats the way I've always done it but I'm wondering if a dozen will make a difference. They are all 2-4".
 
It could be cycled, it could not be. There are too many variables in play to make an accurate diagnosis over the internet. The only way to find out 100% is to test it. Add an ammonia source and test the water.
 
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