redearslider.com

How does everyone feel about bottled concentrated bacteria to jump start the tank cycling? I just installed a new filter, and all this talk about tank cycling is daunting.

If you have an already-established tank somewhere else, put some of its bio-media and/or ornaments in the new tank's filter.

The bottled bacteria isn't really bacteria. It's a group of enzymes that help the bacteria establish themselves. I used BioSpyra many years ago, and it seemed to work relatively okay. I don't see a reason not to try it, but to be honest, RES aren't as strongly affected by the nitrogen cycle as fish, which "breathe" water and cannot exit dirty water. I think you would do just as well to wait for a non-supplemented cycle to complete itself. maybe even get some minnows to provide ammonia the natural way. Just remember to keep up your PWCs, and Do Not wash your bio-media.

I agree with Jeremiah. If you already have it from you filter, great, if not then just give nature time to do it's magic.

This is my first time establishing a tank, so I'm starting from scratch. Minnows sound like a good idea... though I know they won't last long. How many should I get? I have 3 eight month old YBSs. How often should I do PWCs?

If you already have the turtles, you won't need fish. Just put the turtles in the tank, and they'll cycle it for you. That being said, they produce more waste than fish--and they're faster at it, too. I would recommend 25-30% water changes every other day. Be sure to buy a reliable water test kit. A cycled tank has 0 ppm ammonia and nitrite, and ideal nitrates are no higher than 50 ppm.

How big is the tank and what kind of filter do you have? If it's a small tank and your filter doesn't have bio media, then I wouldn't bother with it.

I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with a Fluval 406 filter (set up per the Filter Media thread, with Bio Rings and Purigen). I got 10 minnows after work today, put them in the tank, and within 30 minutes, all 10 were gone! So much for that experiment. I'll let it cycle naturally. I just got my API Freshwater Master Test Kit today. I'll let nature take its course, do my PWCs, and test my water.

Thanks for the info.

You mean they died after 30 minutes? I've never bothered to cycle a tank with minnows. IMO, most from the store usually die within a few hours anyway.

They died by way of Elton, Bernie, and Roger eating them! I think I'll get them minnows once a month as a treat and playtime. I'm just going to cycle the tank the normal way. I did a water test yesterday, and I'll do one next Saturday.

If you're doing partial water changes, you probably don't have to worry too much about water testing.

How often should I do partial water changes? I started everything on Wednesday 4/1.

There's no hard rules on partial water changes. Some people do it once a week or twice a month. Or even less. Same with how much, sometimes it's 10% or 25% or 50%.