we tried that in the lab using 3 brands of popular hang on tank filters and it took a lot longer to cycle compared to adding at least a thin layer of gravel to the bottom of tank. I will admit it probably depends on your filter and the media in it but I am not convinced a no substrate tank will cycle just as fast.Bare tanks cycle just fine as just as fast
That's very interesting. I have often wondered where the bacteria come from if you don't speed things up by buying a bottle full of them from DrTim's.DrTim's said:the vast majority of nitrifiers are in your water system not the air
All I can speak to is my fishroom tanks, and my bare tanks cycle just as quickly as the tanks with sand. I'm not sure what a layer of substrate is going to do to enhance cycling time with anything other than a UG filter. Few here are going to use gravel, so I assumed the OP is using sand. Doesn't make sense, at least to me, that it would take longer. Unless the bacteria first settle and colonize the substrate, and can get going there more quickly. But then why wouldn't they just colonize the bare bottom? Maybe there's a reason. I seed my tanks and they take 7-10 days pretty much no matter what I do in regards to temp or anything else. It's pretty consistent. So, I think we can say if they're going to use gravel, lab results have shown shortened cycling times by having the gravel in place during cycling. But, like you say, unless you expand testing to cover different filters, etc. we don't really know for sure that the shortened times were the result of the gravel. Seeding is the best way to shorten cycling times. If you seed a tank, the rest pretty much doesn't matter, at least not significantly.I will admit it probably depends on your filter and the media in it but I am not convinced a no substrate tank will cycle just as fast.
This is pure speculation, but it could be that the sand contains bacteria and helps to seed the tank. This should only matter if you don't seed from another source. It could also be that bacteria colonize different surfaces at different rates. Glass is a particularly smooth surface, and it might take longer for bacteria to establish a hold on a large glass surface than on sand.prov356 said:I'm not sure what a layer of substrate is going to do to enhance cycling time with anything other than a UG filter.
That has been my experience as well.prov356 said:Seeding is the best way to shorten cycling times.
That's one way to "seed a tank".The Novice said:One thing that does help speed the process, im my experience, is to use some water vacuumed from the gravel of a "seasoned" tank. So if you have a running tank, use some of that water, or, alternatively, move a bio-sponge from the seasoned tank to the new tank. (Some pet stores will even help with this).
This is what they're referring to above as 'seeding', and you're right, it does speed things up significantly.The Novice said:One thing that does help speed the process, im my experience, is to use some water vacuumed from the gravel of a "seasoned" tank. So if you have a running tank, use some of that water, or, alternatively, move a bio-sponge from the seasoned tank to the new tank. (Some pet stores will even help with this).
Hi Glaneon,Glaneon said:I believe Dr.Tim stated in another thread, there's virtually no BB in the water itself.