froggiegal

If a person wants to cycle their tank quicker and is unable to find bio spira or Tetra Safe Start, how good is "Cycle"?

LFS said it was better than the ones I just mentioned and safer. That I could drink it without any effects, it's that safe.

So, do anyone of you use it? LFS said you can put Cycle in, followed by your fish.

Hmmmmm

clinton1621

Sorry but LFS employees always crack me up with their ignorance and trying to sell people an absolute product.

Seriously though, cycle is probably the WORST "cycling product" there is... the bacteria in it are usually dead before you put them in the tank, or even if they are alive they will die within a day or two tops... its not true autotrophic bacteria so it doesnt live long enough to colonize your tank, thats why if you read the bottle it says you need to use it on a weekly basis!

Bio-Spira is by far the best product out there, either use this or do a FISHLESS cycle with ammonia in my opinion!

Oh and dont drink any of that stuff unless you want to get admitted to the ER.....

sgould

Skip it. Once you start using it, you have to keep using it regularly or your tank will experience continuous mini-cycles. You are better off to just cycle the tank naturally and be done with it. As to drinking it...well, I guess I can't comment on whether or not it would be safe, but "here is a bottle of bacteria spores, drink up" doesn't sound too appealing to me.

sirdarksol

Cycle is, in my opinion, garbage. The end result is that it keeps your tank in a perpetual mini-cycle. If you ever stop using it, it will be almost like you've never cycled the tank.
The reason for this is that they use the terrestrial, rather than the aquatic, nitrifying bacteria. The stuff essentially drowns in a few weeks.

You can also drink orange juice and it won't hurt you, but that doesn't mean it will do a good job of cycling your tank.

However, I have good news for you. You've got a pretty big tank that's been cycled for years. You've got the equivalent of Tetra Safe Start hiding in that tank's filter. If you take out half of the filter media and put it in the new tank's filter (you may have to jury-rig the stuff to fit in the new filter, if they're different types, but it can always be done with a little ingenuity). You can either dose the tank with ammonia to help build the colony up more, or I have put fish directly in the tank and had no ammonia show up. You just have to make sure that you only put a small amount of fish (it's always been a few small fish, the guppies would work in this case, or one medium fish). Either way, your tank will be cycled in a matter of days rather than weeks.

clinton1621

sirdarksol

Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week.
Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Seriously, though. Don't waste your time with Cycle.

froggiegal

I am so thankful and grateful for all your input. My fishes' lucky day was when I found this site last week! Ordered a master water testing kit online last week that should be here soon. I'm in limbo not knowing what my tank's readings are and know I have to be a lot more patient as far as adding fish. By week end, I'll have a better handle.

So, my boss is back from vacation and I can only come online early a.m. or after dinner. I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms! Have a great day.

froggiegal

sirdarksol - My new tank and the old tank both have the same filter medium so I'll take one of the cartridges and switch it over to the new tank. You guys are sooooooooo smart. Between tonight and Saturday, I'll be ready to bring home some a few of the fancytail guppies. Yahooooo. AND...tonight, I'm putting up the Q tank so I have it ready.

I'm just thinking...what if I transferred over water from my established tank, let's say fill the 10 gallon - 3/4 full and let's say 3 gallons of fresh water? Actually, what if I took the whole 10 gallons, set up the filter heater and swish the filter medium in the Q tank? I would have a cycled tank, right?

froggiegal

You guys are making me use my noggin! You know I'll be sneaking a look during the day when the boss isn't looking...

sgould

Moving water from the old tank will not help as the bacteria colonize surfaces rather than free float in the water. Moving some of the filter media is a good suggestion though, and will help.

Lucy

I wouldn't move the entire cartridge from your established tank, you could set off a mini cycle, just cut a peice off and put it in your new filter.
If you're really pateint, you can put the new cartridge in your older tank for about 2 weeks or so, that'll seed it nicely.

Swishing won't really help, the bacteria's attched and won't come off that easily.

Always rince your filter cartridges in used tank water, and only when they're really gunked up. Replace them when they're falling apart. You can keep extra filter sponges in your established tank so when you are ready to change them, they'll already have been seeded.

sirdarksol

Lucy, she should have two filter cartridges. One will likely be the bio-media (and will look like a sponge). The other will be the carbon bag (with or without carbon). You can safely remove one of these without a problem. Especially since other surfaces in the tank also have the bacteria (plants, whether live or plastic, are great for this), it will barely dent the cycle.

froggiegal

Lucy,

Okay...(here's my dumb question)...if I have a Whisper filter that has two cartridges side by each, then I can take one of the cartridges for the old tank and put it in the new tank. Since I had put two new cartridges in the new tank, I can take that cartridge and put it in the old tank so that in effect - I will have an one old filter / one new filter in each tank?

Filter sponges - one of my filters has these two black sponges in front of the cartridge. The older filter does not. Is that what you're referring to? If so, can I buy those sponges in my LFS? How do I care for them? I've been washing them out in water - duh.

Ohhh, so many questions!

lilsoccakid

washing them in water that has not been decholorinated instantly kills all of the bacteria you have worked so hard to build up, so always wash in tank water.

you can buy more sponges for very very cheap at ur LFS. these go in front of the carbon bag, so they shouldnt be getting dirty.

clinton1621

Actually in some filters the water flows through the sponge first... but either way the sponge WILL eventually get clogged up and need to be cleaned! You should always rinse your media off with used tank water or dechlorinated water at least once a month to prevent waste buildup and high nitrates!

sirdarksol

Yes, you take one of the cartridges from the old tank and put it in the new. That will give you one new/one old in each tank.

The missing filter sponge can be replaced. Ask at the fish store whether or not they have them (they're sometimes difficult to find). If you can't get the proper part, you can get a hunk of biomedia and cut it to the right size. It won't have the little frame, but it will work anyway.

froggiegal

Thank you once again. Very helpful.

sirdarksol

No problem. This is exactly what we're here for.

Lucy

Thanks for the correction SDS.

I don't mean to hi-jack or go off topic, so if this should be a new thread, feel free to seperate it.
If your tank grows X amount of bacteria to accomodate X amount of ammonia produced in your tank, wouldn't losing some of that bacteria also effect the cycle in some way?

My thinking is that since you should only add a few fish at a time so the bacteria can catch up, doesn't it stand to reason if you lose some there may not be enough to handle the ammonia.

Whew, I think I just confused myself. lol

clinton1621

You are correct on both, but usually even if you lose a little bacteria it will rebound in a day or two with no ill effects =)

Lucy

Thanks Clinton

sirdarksol

Think about it this way: Many bacteria need a matter of hours to double their number. In the case of nitrifying bacteria, the number we're looking at is between 7 and 20 (depends on tank temp, amount of available CO2, etc...) Removing half of the filter media probably removes 1/3 (or less, depending on the amount of surface area on the decor) of the nitrifying bacteria in the tank. After this, the colony will "double" within this time period (it will really just stop once it runs out of available ammonia).

The reason the cycle takes so long is that we're starting with a tiny number of bacteria, and those need to double many times over in order to meet the ammonia-consumption needs of the tank. We also need to wait for the second set of bacteria (the nitrite eating ones) to catch up, as well.

(And it may have been a bit of a hijack, but it's info that is good to have if you're doing a filter-switch)