So unfortunately it seems like my house move is being put back a month so I have a nice new aquarium but its just sat empty (apart from the wood that's soaking in it). So I was wondering if I should get my filters going and in so getting the bacteria going to get them ready for when I move?
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Tank cycling
- Thread starter willzs
- Start date
An nicely kill all the bacteria and start the cycle again....why oh why....
Far better is patience or if you can't wait for patience then wee wee.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/fishless-cycling
Get out of it .An nicely kill all the bacteria and start the cycle again....why oh why....
Far better is patience or if you can't wait for patience then wee wee.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/fishless-cycling
A new bucket , new filter media an air line and 1 ppm ammonia isn't going to set anything back or kill of the bacteria-. There aren't any- its all new and clean.
We're not talking a planted tank, with plenty of plants to soak up fish waste.
:-/
:-/
:-/
Its blahblahblahblahing ridiculous.
As you say.
The substrate will release a lot of ammonia, probably 6 +ppm worth. This can be used to cycle the filter/ feed plants.
But using 1-2 ppm bottled ammonia to do the same thing is regarded as heresy.
Is it me?
I fully cycled my first noob tank with 2 ppm ammonia in 21 days.
After adding my fish, I never saw any detectable ammonia or nitrite, admittedly, my fish are tiny and have a low bioload.
Yes..I'd get the media going now, in a bucket, with some agitation and a drop of ammonia and when you've moved house, set up the tank and flooded the substrate, I bet you'd greatly reduce the time it takes to process the released ammonia via the filter.
Or just do water changes to deplete the ammonia.
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Or just use some substrate in a bucket to start the filter cycle?
Unless of course this is also an outrage?
:-/
It appears that the ADA ammonia is vastly superior to any ammonia you can possibly buy in a £2 bottle - might as well harness it.
My point is,
Something is often better than nothing.
Or perhaps the mega massive quality ada substrate ammonia brings with it a higher class super fun bacteria?.......
Hmmm
Unless of course this is also an outrage?
:-/
It appears that the ADA ammonia is vastly superior to any ammonia you can possibly buy in a £2 bottle - might as well harness it.
My point is,
Something is often better than nothing.
Or perhaps the mega massive quality ada substrate ammonia brings with it a higher class super fun bacteria?.......
Hmmm
Mr Cholmondley-Warner invites you to look at it this way...
No buckets, No Amazonia and No Ammonia required...
No buckets, No Amazonia and No Ammonia required...
Seriously tho' I'd be inclined to just wait till you move then all you have to do is hook up a filter, and in a week or two your tank should be cycled.
P.S. you can still plant from the outset.
P.S. you can still plant from the outset.
An nicely kill all the bacteria and start the cycle again....why oh why....
Ammonia based fishless cycling is a well documented process ... that would be the "why"
And voicing my opinion
I'm a great fan of fishless cycling, and pre-cycled filters on planted tanks are certainly not harmful & may be beneficial ... you (can) end up with a complex array of microflora/fauna established in your filter - and this allows you to add your algae crew at the outset of planting ... various shrimp, snails, otocinclus are far more efficient than human hands at algae consumption/control.
When moving, just drain the filter, rinse visible debris (not so likely in this instance) using "aquarium conditioner" treated tap water, reseal filter with a couple cm's of water in bottom (to maintain humidity) & this is good to go for a few days (or even weeks) - just be sure to open any shut off valves at destination as your filter crew does like air/oxygen
Of course if you leave the tank un-watered, you can play with hardscapes over the next month or establish moss on wood (re the macerated moss/water/beer/yogurt etc solution painted/rubbed on wood, then "dry-started") ... choose the option that most appeals
(note you can also just add small amounts of fish food daily rather than ammonia - this will provide a more varied array of building blocks (C H O N S etc) to your filter microflora - and in some areas is rather easier to find than unmodulated ammonia - check the ingredients!)
Not all aquarium manufactured "soils" release significant amounts of ammonia
tim
Member
You could scape it plant it fill it up and get the plants well on the way to being settled, drain it cover with cling film for the move, move it fill up and away you go add livestock maybe a week after the move that would be my approach because I can not stand looking at an empty tank
that would be my approach because I can not stand looking at an empty tank You could scape it plant it fill it up and get the plants well on the way to being settled, drain it cover with cling film for the move, move it fill up and away you go add livestock maybe a week after the move
I don't recon we'd be able to lift it with the substrate and hardscape in.
tim
Member
Probably not the easiest option anyway, just I've always chosen to do things the hard way
Ok so to understand correctly...if planting heavily and the substrate is ADA Amazonia where daily water changes are said to be necessary in the first two weeks,if someone has no fish in the tank, can they just let it be without any water changes and the ammonia will be used up by the plants and thus no algae will appear due to Ammonia?
In fact it is....The ammonia released from the substrate ADA or otherwise is released at a steady(ish) rate and will be neutralised by plants and filter microbes, who will quickly adapt to this steady level. Adding "inferior" ammonia from a bottle will give a nice sterilising peak dose to the tank, killing the very microbes you are trying to keep.
Hi all,
I'm firmly in the "you don't need to add ammonia in planted tanks" camp, but I realise that people cycle their filters successfully with ammonia. I have spare filters running on the tanks to keep media "cycled". I've probably given away 20 seeded sponges over the years (and a huge amount of plants) to non-planted tank keepers of Gold-fish, Axolotls, Tadpoles, coarse fish etc.
I know they are quite long threads, but the two PlanetCatfish threads cover both sides of the argument <"PlanetCatfish: Cycling Question"> and <"PlanetCatfish:Using deep gravel...."> in some detail.
If people haven't read Stephan Tanner's article on <"aquarium biofiltration">, it is good accessible read.
cheers Darrel
Come on folks, lets not fall out over this.
I'm firmly in the "you don't need to add ammonia in planted tanks" camp, but I realise that people cycle their filters successfully with ammonia. I have spare filters running on the tanks to keep media "cycled". I've probably given away 20 seeded sponges over the years (and a huge amount of plants) to non-planted tank keepers of Gold-fish, Axolotls, Tadpoles, coarse fish etc.
I know they are quite long threads, but the two PlanetCatfish threads cover both sides of the argument <"PlanetCatfish: Cycling Question"> and <"PlanetCatfish:Using deep gravel...."> in some detail.
That would be my favoured option as well, it is "belt and braces" and I would recommend it to every-one. I like my tanks to grow in, realistically if you let the tank grow in it doesn't really matter what you did at the start, by the time the livestock are added it will be a stable and resilient tank.
If people haven't read Stephan Tanner's article on <"aquarium biofiltration">, it is good accessible read.
cheers Darrel
