lowee said:
As i'm about to set up a new tank, I don't have any access to already matured filter media. Is there anyway to begin the process before i get the tank set up? I'm also going to be using aquasoil in the tank, so ensuring I already have mature media is quite important.
Hi,
If you have access to the Aquasoil then the best procedure is to simply put it in a bucket and moisten the sediment. Let it sit for 3-4 weeks while keeping the container covered and keeping the Aquasoil moist. Aquasoil is very high in ammonia, and this sometimes causes problems in the tank, however, allowing it to "ferment", so to speak, in a container gives enough time for the ammonia to be mineralized and for bacterial colonies to develop within the sediment. This is the essential principle of the technique known as The Dry Start Method (aka DSM).
In fact, if you have the tank and light as well as the Aquasoil, you should actually put the Aquasoil in the tank and arrange your rocks/wood and you can even put some plants directly in the tank which will then root and accelerate this process. When you have all your equipment you can then add the remaining plants and immediately flood the tank. This DSM method works brilliantly for foreground plants but can also be applicable to some midground and background plants.
As far as the filter media, you can do something similar by placing the media in a bucket and by keeping the media moist for several weeks. If you do not have access to the grunge from another filter just find someones lawn and dig up a small portion of it with some soil. Chop the grass up finely and allow it to dry out. Then mix the dried grass and a little of the soil with your filter media and let it ferment for a few weeks. In fact any organic gunk will do because bacteria are everywhere. The bacteria in your filter and sediment are special but they are not rare. You can find them everywhere there is sediment and plants. The dried chopped up grass breaks down and feeds the bacteria with carbohydrates which they need as much as ammonia. You can also throw in the bucket some KH2PO4 and trace elements because bacteria need these as well. In 3-4 weeks you'll have mature sediment which will not leach ammonia back into the water column and you'll have nearly mature filter media. Transfer the whole lot into the filter and start running it when you flood the tank.
Regardless of what you do, the tank takes about 6-8 weeks to firmly establish the bacterial colonies on all the whetted surfaces in the tank, but mineralizing the Aquasoil and seeding the filter media helps to stabilize the environment by nurturing a high population of bacteria and by minimizing the ammonia spikes.
Fishless cycling is completely useless in a planted tank because you are not gaining any ground. The high ammonia concentration kills the very same bacteria whose populations you are trying to build. Additionally, healthy plants do a very good job of consuming ammonia production in the tank both in the water column and in the sediment. The idea therefore is to get as many plants as you can right away when you flood the tank. Healthy plants will produce oxygen which will further accelerate the bacterial population.
The problem in this hobby is that people do not think holistically, or comprehensively, when contemplating a procedure or phenomenon. Everyone seems to have tunnel vision about nitrifying bacteria. They seem to think that these bacteria only need ammonia, when in fact they need a whole lot more than just ammonia to thrive. Adding healthy plants does a whole lot more to help mature the tank system than blindly dumping toxic waste into the tank. That's because plants and nitrifying bacteria share a special symbiotic relationship. The plants feed and nurture the bacteria while the bacteria detoxify the environment and returns nutrients to the plant.
Cheers,