DSwofford

Hi all,
I am getting ready to set up my 135 gallon tank and want the quickest cycle possible and don't want to spend a small fortune on Tetrasafe (formerly biospira).

I am letting my three emperor 400s run in my established tanks and plan on doing so for a few more weeks before I transfer them to the 135. I also have about 60lbs of lace rock in my 120 gallon tank that I will be transferring over to the 135 as well.

Should this provide a relatively short cycle period? I.E. less than a week.

TedsTank

I think it is great you can do without chemicals!!!!

Time to cycle? Thats a tough call to make!!! (there are lots of variables at play) It certainly will greatly decrease the cycle time ...BUT...you would need to monitor it very closely and add the fish to it over time so the bacteria can adjust to the added fish waste and food, etc. So it might spike a bit when you add the fish...be diligent with water changes til it settles in and establishes itself.

DSwofford

Yeah, I'm planning on starting with a few of my convict fry since I currently have about 80 of them. I figure I could handle losing a few of them much easier than losing a $65 Zaire Blue Kapampa Frontosa.

I can handle a week or two cycle, but the last tank I cycled without chemicals and fish took 7 weeks. It got stuck in the nitrite phase, my nitrite was off the charts with no ammonia and no nitrates. I finally broke down and threw two feeder goldfish in and literally the next day my nitrite had dropped to zero. When I set up my 55 I used the tetrasafe, I was impressed with it but it did cost a small fortune.

Lucy

I have some tanks cycling instantly and others a few days.
Like Ted said, keep an eye on the water parameters.

peacemaker92

Hi DS. Congrats on the 135g. You could try putting in a bit of the filter media from your other tanks into your 135. It should help speed up the cycle I think. Good luck and hope to see some pics soon.