Questions regarding cycling a tank

[St. Louis Cardinal Tetras]

Hi, I have a 29 gallon tank that I am going to be cycling soon. I did a bunch of research on Fritzzyme 7 and turbo start but no store around me carries it and a lot of reviews I read said the BB was dead because it wasn’t shipped/packaged/ stored properly. So today I went to my LFS and asked the worker if I could possibly get some filter media from one of her established healthy tanks to speed up the cycling process. She told me I could but even with the cycled media it would still take 6-8 weeks to fully cycle. Is this true because it completely contradicts all my research if it is. Also, after adding the cycled media in my uncycled tank do I need to add ammonia to the tank so the BB doesn’t die? And if so what form of ammonia should I use? I’m wanting to do a fishless cycle. Thank you!

[darkG]

Some source of ammonia is needed. You may have a rich substrate or plant fertilizer for example. When I did it, I put in some fish food and some human food. It didn't quite cut it, or I was too moderate, so I (calculated and) poured some pure ammonia and that did it. (I still add a drop or two, for now I have only a handful of cherry shrimp and small snails, so there's not a lot of food going in, and plants seem to thrive without much fertilizer [other than that ammonia]). 6-8 weeks sounds about right I think. I didn't add BB as such though, it is reported to speed things up somewhat. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by darkG

[St. Louis Cardinal Tetras]

Thank you for your advice. When I fill the tank I will test to see if there is any ammonia already in my water. If not I’ll add some to get it to maybe 1 ppm to start off, then maybe go up from there if I start seeing nitrates. Do I need to let the bb acclimate to my tank? Like wait a week to add ammonia or does it matter? I do not have intentions of putting any live plants In anytime soon. I want to get the hang of the basics first. Maybe if I have problems with nitrites making me do to many water changes I’ll look into it. 

[Ken]

Here's different opinion, ammonia only feeds a specific set of bacteria. If you use fish food, and/or plants, the entire ecosystem gets started. It may be slower but it will hold up better when the fish go in.

[lefty o]

agree with the above. if you use an established bacteria, whether from a bottle, or filter media from another tank, it needs to be fed. crushed up flake food or decomposing plant leaf etc. just something for it to feast on. if you just add bacteria to a tank and leave it, it will die off.

[awymorePDX]

1 hour ago, St. Louis Cardinal Tetras said:

Thank you for your advice. When I fill the tank I will test to see if there is any ammonia already in my water. If not I’ll add some to get it to maybe 1 ppm to start off, then maybe go up from there if I start seeing nitrates. Do I need to let the bb acclimate to my tank? Like wait a week to add ammonia or does it matter? I do not have intentions of putting any live plants In anytime soon. I want to get the hang of the basics first. Maybe if I have problems with nitrites making me do to many water changes I’ll look into it. 

As long as you don't have anything living in the tank, you'll want to add the ammonia as soon as you get your BB media. The ammonia is what fuels them. The more you add, the larger of a colony you will establish. Don't be afraid of 3-4ppm as long as you are fishless. 

[JettsPapa]

I don't know why you were told otherwise at the store, but if you add cycled media to a new tank you can add fish immediately.  The tank is "instantly cycled", at least up to a point (that point is dependent on the amount of bacteria in the media and the bio-load).

[St. Louis Cardinal Tetras]

Yea I got a game plan set up. After I put the BB in the tank I’m going to add a pleco or a molly to get it going. I’m not sure why she would tell me that though.  She is an older lady so maybe she’s just old school and has never tried cycling with established filter media. She is the owner and has ran this LFS since I was a little kid. It does kind of make me concerned to use her filter media just because I’m not sure if she quarantines her fish or not and she uses a sump for the majority of her tanks. Her comment made me lose a little confidence in her to be honest. I’ll ask her if she quarantines when I go back next before I get her filter media. I’m going to call some other really nice LFS in towns surrounding me. She is just the only LFS in my town. What would be the best way to transport the filter media if I’m traveling 40-60 minutes? Like should I put it in a bag with water so the BB doesn’t die? 

[marionmaymay]

I did a fish-in cycle and it took about...I think 3 weeks tops to cycle if I remember correctly...but I changed out about 20 percent of the water about every 3 days and I used seachem stability everyday.