Filter media from LFS for cycling?

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Lalaland

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This is partly related to my other thread ( http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27392 .

The LFS in my area is top-notch in terms of fish quality and knowledgeable (and super-friendly) staff. They have some of the prettiest specimens I've ever seen and I trust them with keeping their tanks and fish clean, disease-free.

I know they have a few planted tanks that use the same canister filters as I do, do you guys think it would be wise to ask them for some of their filter media to seed some good bacteria into mine?
 
that's really a judgement call on your part. I personally wouldn't do it since I'm wary of introducing anything outside of my tanks in. I will ocassionally switch filter pads for my emperor biowheel filters for a new tank to speed up cycling. But I rarely do this since I like to keep any chance of disease outbreak contained.
 
As mentioned-a judgement call. If you are just starting the tank-buying some fish/plants from them and they have no questionable recent intros to those tanks- then it is likely you will not have any problems.(Notice the likely, not impossible)
 
No, I would request media from one of their established demo "Not for sale" tanks. I don't think there would be a problem with parting with some of it on their side, the tanks are heavily planted and the bio-load is light. Would it really help my cycle along though?
 
OK I went and got two used sponge filters from the LFS. He would have given one to me for free, but I chose to pay for two of them (it's only 5$) to be fair. They came from a demo mid-sized planted tank that looks to be in great condition, as all of the others.

I installed the sponges in my Fluval and will be looking for results. How long should it take to see a difference in water readings? I suspect my ammonia will start to drop soon, should I expect a nitrite spike or would the established bacterial colony take care of that and convert directly into nitrates?

Thanks for all your help!
 
There will be a change right away, but it might be too small to see on test kits. As long as there is ammonia and nitrites for the bacteria to feed on they will reproduce, the more bacteria you have the faster your readings will drop. It should tack 2 to 3 days to see a nice drop in your readings. If the ammonia or the nitrites get over 4 ppm you should change some water, it has been said if it’s too high it can slow your bacteria growth (your gold fish would not like this anyway).

At some point the tank will reach equilibrium between the fish waste and the good bacteria. This will tack about 3 to 4 weeks.

**EDIT**
I missed part of the QU.

You should still see a small size cycle. The nitrite cycle I don’t think will get above 1.ppm and I think it will only stay there about 4 to 8 days.
 
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Well, i'll be donating these fish to the LFS's indoor pond in a couple of months, I'm getting a pair of convicts instead.

Even at 40g, my tank is too small for goldfish, they grow at a phenomenal rate. They're okay for now, but they'll outgrow it soon.

What's a good rate of water changes considering my tank conditions? I'm thinking 15-20% every 2-3 days? Or will that hurt bacterial growth?
 
as long as you don't remove ALL the water, you should be fine doing water changes. During a normal "fishy" cycle, I recommend changing 25% a day if you can, just so your fish will be comfortable. Since your tank is seeded now, every couple of days should keep the ammonia at a manageable level for the health of your pets.
 
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