The Product "Cycle" does nothing. It's a waste of money. You could put some of the gravel from an already cycled tank in or squeeze some of the bacteria from a filter cartridge in a cycled tank.

Danios are good to cycle with, they are hardy enough to take it.

Get a Aquaclear 20 for the new 5 gal. tank. Get a spare sponge for it and just put 2 sponges in the basket. Once cycled, every other water change (25-50% a week) squeeze the sponges in the removed tank water to clean them. This allows the bacteria on them to survive.

Tom

I agree "cycle" is a useless product. Swipe some filter media from the cycled aquariums and place them in your new filter. Some gravel, rocks and other decor from the cycled tanks are good "seed" material also. At the end of "fairytaodmothers" thread about angelfish, I gave directions to do a fishless cycle using "clear" ammonia from the grocery store. You can also do a yahoo search for "how to fishless cycle articles" . Thats what I did a while ago, they are all pretty similar. The only store bought product that has proven to work is "Bio-Spira" by marineland. It is very expensive because it is live, refridgerated bacteria. Since you allready have live bacteria in your other aquariums it would be a waste of money.

Thank you both for your help. I had no idea 'Cycle' was not a good product. But it seems to me that neither do the people at the pet shop, which makes you wonder.

I'll borrow some goods from the other aquariums. I will add a Danio but only after I see that the cycling has started to progress.

I have looked at a lot of articles on the web site for different ways to cycle tanks but I also like to come here and get some advice from people who have hands-on experience. Sometimes, the experienced ones offer some really good tips and tricks. One of them right now is that 'Cycle' is a waste of time.

Thanks again! My Betta, Indigo, thanks you too :)

The cycle will not start until an ammonia source is provided. The danios poop and uneaten fishfood are the ammonia source. The aquarium will not cycle by itself. If you want to cycle with danio's put 1 per 5 gallons and use what you borrowed from the other aquariums. Keep the bammmonia level no more then 1ppm with fish.

I was recently looking at that product at Walmart, and I'd swear the girl did say, it includes the "bacteria" that are needed. Either she's misinformed, or it's another case of "false advertising" , though that shouldn't surprise me!!
I'm thinking of just trying the "fishless" cycling thing with the ammonia , since I have no tanks to "borrow" bacteria from at present. How bout water from a bird bath, or would there be a serious risk of pathogens with that??
I would assume as well, that even tap water that's been treated at a treatment plant would still have low levels of the desirable bacteria in it , just waiting to take off under the right conditions??

What ever product she was talking about may have had acteria in it at the time, but bacteria won't surrvive on a shelf for long. The only proven product over the counter is Marinelands 'Bio-Spira'. It is kept refridgerated. You can fishless cycle with an ammonia source or if a live planted aquarium is what you desire then just start with the plants. Once they start to grow nicely, slowly stock with fish. The tank will still cycle but the plants will process the ammonia. If you plan on a moderate to heavy plantted aquarium then a fishless cycle with ammonia is a waste of time.

I wouldn't reccomend the birdbath water. Rain water is usually very acidic and could contain toxins. It hasn't been "filtered" by the earth like well water or diluted in a reservoir for "city water" supply. Your tap water should be fine. If it is "city" water use a product like "prime" that removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Chlorine will kill your beneficial bacteria in your filter. Chloramine is ammonia + chlorine.

I wouldn't reccomend the birdbath water. Rain water is usually very acidic and could contain toxins. It hasn't been "filtered" by the earth like well water or diluted in a reservoir for "city water" supply. Your tap water should be fine. If it is "city" water use a product like "prime" that removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Chlorine will kill your beneficial bacteria in your filter. Chloramine is ammonia + chlorine.