would i go through a minicycle?

[kribkid17]

well i am getting a new tank and i want to know if i can get it cycled in time for the auction. i will be using all the gravel, filter media and decorations from my old tank.

[dennysfishroom]

That should help. There are "instant" cultures you can add, also. At our auction we'll have some plant holders as door prizes. If you put an emergent (?) plant in there (roots in water and leaves out of water), that could help also. Peace Lillies work really well. If you come to the auction look me up and I can explain it a little better. Denny

[mewickham]

If you're using gravel and decorations from an established tank, they will bring plenty of nitrifying bacteria with them. So cycling shouldn't be an issue for you. There's a very good chance you will be able to fill the tank with fish and see no ammonia or nitrite spikes at all.

[kribkid17]

I have a decent amount of java moss and valseria(sp?) in my tank do that should help. By instant cultures you mean tetra safe start and other products like that? I would like to avoid those because they cost a lot(IMO).

[pinkrblu]

I haven't cycled a tank in years and years. I take the filter media from an established (and healthy, of course) aquarium and put it in the new tank. That alone seems to make all the difference in the world. I did have someone tell me that they had read that you could use the gravel from an existing tank to jump-start their new tank, but "it didn't work". After discussion, it turns out this (moron!) person rinsed the gravel thoroughly with chlorinated tap water before putting it in the new tank. Kind of defeated the purpose of using it in the first place.

[mewickham]

Adding plants helps or eliminates the cycle, too. Plants not only bring a large complement of helpful bacteria with them, they also utilize ammonia directly. I keep heavily planted aquariums. When I set up a new one, well planted, I can never detect any ammonia or nitrite in the cycling-- and that's with putting in a full load of fish on day one.

The products Denny was referreng to are products on the market that purport to seed your tank with helpful bacteria. Unfortunately, most of them use the wrong kind of bacteria. They contain heterotrophic bacteria instead of nitrifying bacteria. While those products will break down any ammonia that is there, the bacteria then die off. DrTim's One and Only, Tetra SafeStart, and BIO-Spira are products that contain the correct nitrifying bacteria. But save your money. If you're using old gravel and decorations (and did not sterilize them or dry them out), you'll be fine.

[dennysfishroom]

From what I've read and my own experience, the plants with emergent leaves take care of a significantly higher percentage of the ammonia and nitrites than even the regular aquarium plants. The only downside that I'm aware of is that the leaves above the water must have a good source of light. When Mike says he has lots of plants in his tank, that's an understatement. Most people don't want to spend that much on plants even though it is really beneficial and attractive. I only mentioned the biological additives to be thorough. I've always held them in some suspicion because of shelf-life issues. Denny

[mewickham]

Denny's right that it's an understatement that my tanks are heavily planted, and it's worse than usual right now because I've been letting extras accumulate to send to the upcoming club auction. I would note that, when setting up a new tank, I use far fewer to start. I try to cover a third or so of the bottom in new tanks.