Cycling comparisons

BJP · 03-16-2007, 09:09 AM

I guess it's time to accumulate all the information from all the different tests into a single short thread for easy reference.

Tank A had nothing added to it.
Tank B Had 1/2 cup of gravel from an established tank added in in a baggie.
Tank C Had Cycle by Hagen added by bottle instructions.
Tank D had BioSpira from Marineland added.
Tank E had 1/2 cup of aged gravel sprinkled around the tank and into the filter.
Tank F had an entire 4 ounce bottle of Cycle added.
Tank G had a small amount of carbon and filter floss added from an established aquarium.
Tank H had Stresszyme by API added by bottle instructions.

All eight of those tanks can have the day to day test results reviewed in this thread if desired.
http://www.fishtankforums.com/5-fres...html#post19778 (The race is on.)

Tank I had BioSpira added and can be reviewed here.
http://www.fishtankforums.com/5-fres...s-mudcats.html (Bio-Spira versus the mudcats)

Tank J had Cycle added and can be reviewed here.
http://www.fishtankforums.com/5-fres...s-orandas.html (Cycle versus the Orandas)

All tests listed above, have been conducted under cold water/room temperature conditions 70-72 degrees F. Tanks B, E and G should recieve faster results using larger volumes of the media or gravel.

The tanks listed below are being conducted under heated conditions, approximately 85 degrees and are still in progress and can be reviewed here. http://www.fishtankforums.com/5-fres...html#post21789 (A new race)

Tank K had a packet of Bio-spira by Marineland added
Tank L is dosed with Cyclefrom Hagen by bottle instructions
Tank M is dosed with Stability by Seachem by bottle instructions
Tank N is dosed with stresszyme by API by bottle instructions

BJP · 03-16-2007, 09:17 AM

When did testible levels of nitrite first appear?

Tank K Day 1
Tank D Day 2
Tank Q Day 2
Tank I Day 3
Tank F Day 5
Tank C Day 6
Tank L Day 6
Tank J Day 7
Tank G Day 9
Tank O Day 10
Tank M Day 12
Tank N Day 17
Tank B Day 20
Tank E Day 22
Tank H Day 32
Tank A never had testible nitrite levels

BJP · 03-16-2007, 09:27 AM

When did testible levels of nitrate appear?

Tank K Day 4
Tank D Day 4
Tank I Day 6*
Tank C Day 6
Tank L Day 7
Tank F Day 9 *
Tank J Day 9
Tank O Day 10
Tank G Day 14
Tank M Day 15
Tank N Day 19
Tank B Day 21
Tank E Day 32
Tank H Day 32
Tank A never had testible nitrate

*** I chose to list the first day the nitrate increased since I believe the products themselves added enough nitrate on Day 1 to achieve the result instantly. Sodium nitrate is a common preservative I believe used to package the bacterial suppliments in.

BJP · 03-16-2007, 09:34 AM

What day was the last of the ammonia gone?

Tank I Day 7
Tank L Day 9
Tank D Day 11
Tank C Day 12
Tank F Day 13
Tank J Day 13
Tank M Day 16
Tank N Day 20
Tank G Day 19
Tank H Day 34
Tank E Day 42
Tank B Day 43
Tank A never had the ammonia removed

Nicholaa · 03-17-2007, 10:47 AM

Thank you for all your very very hard work! I think we can safely say that BioSpira is the route to go for the fastest cycling process.

Question - did you ever do a test of using an entire aged filter from a cycled tank and put that filter into the new tank's filter? I'd like to see how that test would go. You just said that " Tank G had a small amount of carbon and filter floss added from an established aquarium." -- What about if you use the entire filter? Think that would make any difference?

penna32 · 03-17-2007, 01:34 PM

wow thanks this is a great help to "newbies" and other poeple who dont realize about the cycling process, and have already added fish .. but i agree with nicholaa .. if you ever have the chance to do this again, try used aged filter materials

BJP · 03-17-2007, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Question - did you ever do a test of using an entire aged filter from a cycled tank and put that filter into the new tank's filter?

Quote:

if you ever have the chance to do this again, try used aged filter materials

I haven't in this series but I have many times in the past. It's possible if you add enough aged gravel, aged filters, or even aged media to get a result where you have enough bacteria transferred to never get testible ammonia or nitrite when stocking normally or lightly. Obviously some of the bacteria will need to relocate to more permanent homes which they will. After you get one tank cycled, you really shouldn't have to go through this again. The idea behind these tests is to point newbies to sources of bacteria for their first tanks. They want have a tank to raid normally and may not be able to aquire entire cartridges or larger quantities of aged gravel from stores. I used to make it a point to give out those cups bettas are usually in full when I gave some to customers. Good stores don't mind doing things like that for free or for a small fee to cover buying more gravel. Obviously many people start at the big box stores where they may not even have gravel in the tanks going with the blue bottom option and their only filters may be a bulk system. Another concern is there are some stores I wouldn't want aged cartridges or gravel from. I'd be worried about disease transference issues. I have to assume the bottled source should be disease free since they've been packaged longer than the lifespan of many diseases and parasites when no hosts are availible.

I'll tell you what, Tank A is still sitting there sterile and filled with water and ammonia. I'll transfer the filter from my aged 10 gallon that all the gravel and the media sample came from and let you know what happens. I haven't drained Tanks A, B, C and D yet since I'm still debating on chloroxing them and reusing them. I gave 3 of the other away this afternoon to friends.

penna32 · 03-18-2007, 12:58 PM

thanks, id love to hear trhe results, keep us posted

BJP · 03-24-2007, 09:50 PM

Day 7
The last of the ammonia was gone from Tank A this evening using the filter from the original established 10 gallon. It's taking a bit longer than I would have guessed but not surprisingly so. The instant supply of ammonia at 4ppm is probably more ammonia than the filter sees on the established tank in a two week time frame or more.

BJP · 03-26-2007, 08:18 PM

Day 9
The nitrite is gone.

The filter used was a generic Whisper E that had just had a new cartridge installed at the start of Tank G.

The interesting part is it seems that by comparison, Bio-Spira has matched the production of an aged filter. Both took 9 days. Reference this thread for the Bio-Spira test.
http://www.fishtankforums.com/5-fres...mudcats-2.html (Bio-Spira versus the mudcats)