Need Advice: Quickly Cycling QT tank

Nicholas Scelzi · Jun 25, 2019

Hey everyone,

Need advice on quickly cycling a QT Tank. Long story short, I was unable to properly seed a sponge filter or any sort of filter media in my display tank for a few weeks in order to properly prepare to QT my next batch of fish that I ordered due to having to pull everything out of my display and run fallow (I think I had an inch outbreak but wanted to be safe and run fallow).

Anyway, I don't keep my 20gal Long (QT Tank) up and running at all times. I break it down and only put it back up when I need to, usually having a sponge filter ready to go with plenty of beneficial bacteria in my display/ sump. However, not wanting to use anything from my display at this time to seed the tank in fear of introducing any unwanted parasites etc to the QT, I need to cycle the QT in a different method. I have an order placed for fish that is cycled to ship and be at my house mid next week.

What is my best course of action? I was going to use a few jugs of the Nutri-Seawater (live ocean water) as well as a bottle of bio spira in order to jumpstart the cycle / nitrifying bacteria but have never gone this route. When should I set up the QT and add the bio spira to ensure the QT tank will be safe for the fish arrival next week. Should I set it up now? Or should I set it up the day before and add the bio spira and give it 24 hrs to run and should be safe to add the fish then? I've read both online and not sure the proper route to go. I plan on using a HOB filter with some foam pad filter media and some seachem matrix thrown in the HOB filter to help build up biological filtration. But the question is, do I need to set up the QT now , a week ahead of time, and dose/ pour in the bio spira and allow it to cycle / run its course, or am I ok with setting up the QT the day before using the nutri-seawater and pouring in the bio spira? Will it be safe to add fish after 24 hours like they claim? Just don't want to lose 100+ dollars of fish to ammonia poisoning.

PS only plan on adding two fish at that time so not a huge bioload

Equipment for QT:
20 Gal Long
Emporer 400 HOB filter (with the foam filter media and bag of seachem matrix thrown in for added biological filtration)
Fluval 200 watt heater

Any advice on QTing / setting up a QT using bio spira / needing to cycle /setup quickly in a pinch would be much appreciated!!!
Cheap light
Pvc pipe

LovesDogs_CatsRokay · Jun 25, 2019

I would be afraid of the bacteria going dormant without an ammonia source if you do it now. Although I’m not sure exactly how long that takes. I would do it the day before and dump the biospira directly on the sponge filter. I like to use a bigger bottle than is what is needed for the size tank. I’ve done this with hospital tanks and had no problem with ammonia. Just make sure to test for it everyday and it doesn’t hurt to suction out any left over food or poo. Have water made up and ready for water changes if needed. Some medications can be hard on the bacteria so maybe have extra biospira on hand also if you’re medicating.

Red1CA · Jun 25, 2019

Try Dr. Tims, might get expensive if you keep taking it down and starting back up though. I was able to cycle my 75tall in 1.5 weeks. probably shorter with your size tank

BestMomEver · Jun 25, 2019

@ngoodermuth @3Ford1AstonFamily @HotRocks

Nicholas Scelzi · Jun 25, 2019

So should I set the 20 Gal long up now and use the bio spira now a week ahead of time and allow the tank and equipment to run? Or should I set it up the night before and add the bio spira 24 hours before the ship are expected to arrive? I guess I am just worried that if I set it up now and pour in the bio spira, and the beneficial bacteria have nothing to feed off of, all the good bacteria will die by the time I'm ready to add fish / receive the fish next week.

Nicholas Scelzi · Jun 25, 2019

@LovesDogs_CatsRokay so you have setup QT/ hospital tanks with this method before and haven't had any problems? And yes, I agree, I was prepared to test the water daily to check for spikes etc. I also purchased a new Seachem ammonia alert badge as well for extra assurance.

So you think my best route is to wait until 24 hours before, and set up the QT then using the nutri-seawater and bottle of bio spira (pouring it directly onto the foam/sponge filter and I should be good to go? No need to wait after pouring the bio spira for a "mini cycle" or cycle? Never used this method so just nervous and would hate to lose fish to ammonia poisoning.

brandon429 · Jun 25, 2019

wet bacteria will never starve, you can't starve them. when you set up an aquarium with added bac, and then don't feed it, bac are still eating anyway.

microbes need only microscopic meals/can't see it being accessed etc but the home environment constantly feeds bacteria via air and direct transfer inoculation/feeding

set it up now to give colony growth/division time as much as possible. all bottle bac w work, refrigerated Fritz is shown in Dr Reefs testing to be the best/fastest/most reliable.

Nicholas Scelzi · Jun 25, 2019

This is why I am confused, some say set it up 24 hours before and pour the bio spira on the filter / in the tank, and others say it still takes weeks to cycle.

Why does the bottle advertise that adding fish immediately is safe then? My follow up question @brandon429 if there never was ammonia present in the system, what will the bacteria eating off of?

Just trying to figure out whether to set it up now ( a week in advance to try and give the benefical bacteria time to colonize before I receive the fish (just worried they would die if they have nothing to feed off of in the tank), or whether setting up the tank 24 hours in advance with nutri-seawater and bio spira will be sufficient enough before adding 2 small dwarf angels.

brandon429 · Jun 25, 2019

two ways bacteria have been accessing feed wo us, this includes aquariums we set up in the home:

1. a major source for bac feed not provided by aquarists can be seen any given morning as we recline in a chair and see breaking sun shining through slits in the blinds. angled just right, any day we check, there are millions of floaties in the air we can literally see them with the right alignment. all feed, they get into the tank. so does some gnats we didn't see. maybe an ant lol

some of that aerial floating material in every home are suspended bugs, bug parts, human skin cells shed, animal dander, dander out of your AC system ducting, bacteria attached to aerial floc, thousands of sources are simply in the air. they break down into carbon/are feed sources and some are biological material that degrade into ammonia as other bacteria digest biomass.

2. nonaquatic bacteria we seed the setup with during build time. Those bacteria can live shortly underwater, maybe even bloom...but they'll die soon bc they aren't the matched biota for an aquarium. We know how dirty our hands are at any given time of day, when those bacteria die and then rot in the system, they produce ammonia which is directly feed for nitrifiers. any aquatic system we assemble in a home, using nonsterilized media, is teeming with life immediately when created though we cannot see it. Bacteria are simply the best at finding feed without our help at all. Though they may be dormant in the shipping bottle depending on name brand, when we crack open that seal it all begins to change.

Your main focus should be on provided attachable surface area in the tank. good call on not using current seeded material/breaks tank transfer protocol/ so if you w get new sponges or siporax or any other media and fill it w water, dose some bacteria you'll be set.

adding liquid ammonia or ghost feed doesn't violate any fish disease protocols Ive heard, so you can--though the bac don't need it if we don't.

*in the early 80s I didn't have access to bottle bac in our pet stores in southern NM

we set up tanks of literally plastic plants, rocks, and then waited 30 days to buy platies gouramies and guppies and the tank self-cycled by then. no bac or bac feed reqd

HotRocks · Jun 25, 2019

You will be fine if you are adding biospira. I would prefer to have the tank running for a week or so after adding biospira before it sees a fish. However I have setup tanks in emergency situations plenty of times and dosed biospira and added fish a few hours later. All of those instances I used ammonia badges and never had any registering ammonia.

4FordFamily · Jun 25, 2019

I always seed my tanks with biospira 24 hours prior to the arrival of the fish. I recommend biospira over Dr. Tims -- Dr Tims is great but inconsistent -- for whatever reason, many bottles seem to be useless. I hypothesize that it's how they're stored. Some biospira bottles may have the same issue, but far fewer IME. You can re-dose biospira in a few days if you want for new tanks and quarantine tanks.

AcanthurusRex · Jun 25, 2019

I've been using AquaForest Life Bio Fil soaked in a bit of Biospira. I usually set up the day before the fish are scheduled to arrive. Using a SeaChem Tidal HOB.

Nicholas Scelzi · Jun 25, 2019

Perfect! thank you for the advice. So sounds like I'll set up the QT tank 24 hours prior to fish arrival, with my HOB filter (filled with new foam filter pads and a pad of seachem matrix biological filtration rocks) a heater, and a new sponge filter (for extra surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow on), and add the bio spira the night before to allow the filter etc some time to run.

Thanks everyone for the help!

LovesDogs_CatsRokay · Jun 25, 2019

Nicholas Scelzi said:
@LovesDogs_CatsRokay so you have setup QT/ hospital tanks with this method before and haven't had any problems? And yes, I agree, I was prepared to test the water daily to check for spikes etc. I also purchased a new Seachem ammonia alert badge as well for extra assurance.

So you think my best route is to wait until 24 hours before, and set up the QT then using the nutri-seawater and bottle of bio spira (pouring it directly onto the foam/sponge filter and I should be good to go? No need to wait after pouring the bio spira for a "mini cycle" or cycle? Never used this method so just nervous and would hate to lose fish to ammonia poisoning.

Yep and that’s what I would do. I have a royal gramma and 3 dartfish in a 10 gallon qt right now using this method. They’ve been in there over a week and no ammonia yet. And I agree that biospira is better than dr. Tim’s, I had a bottle of dr tims once that didn’t seem to do anything.