1 Week Fishless Cycle With Mature Media Then Fish-in Recommendations

I've been looking around the forums to try and see if anyone is doing similar, but doesn't appear so.  My plan (not the best I know so please give minimal critcism  ) is to run my tank for a week with no fish and then get a few as its for the kids birthdays so can't really make them wait the 1-2 months for a full cycle.

I've been chatting with @Littlefish who has kindly agreed to donate some mature media when the time is right and I'm just setting up my plan of attack to start this weekend. I also have a bottle of "Fluval cycle biological enhancer" to put in over the 1st few days (I know these products don't get the best wrap but thought as I have it, it can't do any harm)

Current plan:

Saturday - Wash Substrate, tank decorations etc and setup tank with filter, heater, substrate, decorations, water (with tap safe) and let it run for 24 hours to get water to temp and make sure everything is running as expected.
I'll take  water readings for everything immediately and then after 24 hours and then on a regular frequency as the cycle progresses.

Sunday/Monday - Visit LFS and pick some Elodea plants to help with the cycle and maybe some surface plants - duck weed seems to be recommended although there does appear to be some bad reports too, any advice?  Whilst I'm there, going to have a look at the local stock and based on my community fish selections see whats available and compatible.

At this point I know I need to get some ammonia in the tank so advice on the best course of action here would be appreciated.  I can't get seeded media ( thanks again @Littlefish) until Tuesday due to logistics of not being around to receive and install until then, so at this point I'm a little stuck as to the best way to move forward, do I need to get some ammonia to add during the initial week that I'll have no fish?  or could I just drop in some fish food and let it rot and produce ammonia that way (not too sure how long it takes to rot?)

Tuesday - Friday - Mature media arrives and installed, then looking for advice really on the best course of action from here. Assuming more ammonia at some point + more readings.

2nd Saturday - up to 90% water change and get 3 or 4 of the hardy fish from my Community Selection and then introduce the fish gradually to the tank, allowing time for water temperature to equalise and introduce a bit of tank water to the bag over several minutes to give them time to acclimatise.

2nd Saturday onwards - regular measurements and water changes as required to keep the levels down.

Please feel free to tear my plan apart, that's my reason for putting it up here in the 1st place TBH.  The only part that can't change is adding the fish on the 2nd Saturday, earlier is fine, but can't be any later.  ( I know, hit me with the beating stick  for being cruel to fish, but I'll be on the ball with water monitoring and as soon as levels rise I'll be doing immediate water changes to help them along the way.  )

Thanks again for all the advice so far.

Just a couple of comments:

Adding ammonia will keep the mature media fed till the fish arrive, but you must remove every trace before putting the fish in.
Our town has a small family run DIY shop which sells Kleen Off ammonia. But read the label as there are several products in the Kleen Off range and I once heard of someone trying to cycle with oven cleaner 

Throw the Fluval product away and get Tetra Safe Start.
When these cycling products were first invented they based the formulation on what worked in sewage treatment where both ammonia and nitrite are quite high. Although they managed to use a species of ammonia eating bacteria that work in fish tanks, they chose a nitrite eater which didn't because those bacteria need high levels of nitrite to survive and there are only low levels in a fish tank - once cycled the level is so low our test kits can't measure it.
Then a chap working for a company called Marineland did some research and discovered which bacteria the nitrite eaters in fish tanks actually are. Marineland and the chap who made the discovery patented or copyrighted (whichever is the correct term) the use of these bacteria. The chap left Marineland and set up his own company and because he was named on the patent/copyright he could make a product with the correct nitrite eaters. This is Dr Tim's One & Only which is hard to get in the UK. Marineland was taken over by Tetra, and they rebranded the Marineland product as Safe Start, which still uses the correct nitrite eaters.
Tetra Safe Start is sold widely in the UK - just make sure the bottle is still in date.



I would set up the tank and let it run to check all the equipment works, get the plants, then add the mature media when it arrives.

Since you really do want to do a fish-in cycle, get the barbs first.




Duck weed is not sold at fish shops, it is an unwanted weed for most people. But if you can cope with having a 'weed' it will do a good job of taking up ammonia. You may find some shops that have it in their tanks; if you find some, ask for it. The reason it is a weed is because it grows very fast and takes over. But this is what you need during a fish-in cycle. Once you have all your fish you can net it out and throw it away, it will have done its job. if you can't find it in a shop, there are people on Ebay selling it.
Alternatively, buy another floating plant. I used to have Salvinia which I bought on Ebay but it all died off a few years ago during a very hot spell when condensation from the lid dripped on it and rotted the leaves. This applies to all floating plants with furry leaves such as Amazon frogbit and water lettuce. Duckweed does not have furry leaves, and neither does water sprite if you can find that. Water sprite can also be grown rooted in the substrate. And elodea can be left floating as well as being planted.

Long term, the fish you are thinking about do not like bright light as they come from rivers with overhanging trees. They will appreciate whichever floating plant you get.

This is Dr Tim's One & Only which is hard to get in the UK.

Ah, you've reminded me - I stumbled across it for the first time the other day while looking for something else at this website https://www.realaquatics.co.uk/ which I don't actually recall seeing before.

Is this not it? https://www.realaquatics.co.uk/drtim-s-one-only-freshwater-nitrifying-bacteria-filter-start-60ml-120ml.html

Just to confirm, are you saying it would be better to get Dr Tim's or Tetra Safe Start? and do you have a link to the correct ammonia product? Ta

Thanks for the links to the tank & filter information.
I can send mature sponge media big enough for that filter.
Looking at information on replacement parts, it says to replace the foam every 90 days - DO NOT DO THIS, as you will be throwing out the bacteria and essentially starting your tanks cycle from scratch. Foam/sponge just needs to be gently rinsed in used tank water during routine maintenance.

Replace the long sponge with the sponge that I send. You may need to trim to size, as my sponges are more square, but I'll check the measurements of the sponge for your filter and make sure you get enough.
Looking at the information available for your filter, the 4 white things are 2 x water clear cartridges, and 2 x Bio-bact cartridges.
I don't know anything about this filter, so I'm only going on what it says on their site.
The water clear cartridges are described as chemical filtration, to keep the water clear, reduce algae, etc. According to another site it is activated carbon, and has to be removed when using medication.
The Bio-bact is described as biological filtration, and says it is "an excellent habitat for nitrifying bacteria". Again, it says to remove these cartridges if using medication.

If a filter comes with activated carbon it is common to remove it, and fill the space with more sponge, then just keep the carbon for removing any left over medication after a water change when a medication regime has been completed.
If any of the others have any experience with these filters or cartridges please let us know if they are surplus to requirements, or if we could go with more sponge. thanks. 

That would be really helpful, thanks. 

Sue you are a genius with these thivs but just wondering about your choice of the barbs for the first fish... I have never kept barbs but I know harlequins are incredibly hardy having been through a fish in cycle with me before I knew any of this stuff.  What do you think?

One way to approach it would be which are smaller in the shop on the day... smaller fish = less waste