Starting up the cycle of a tank

I have a new tank, its a 5feet x 3feet x 18". It will house five stingrays. My filtration is a five feet 3-layer ohf and an eheim 2028. How will i cycle the tank? can i just let the filtration run for a week?

I assume you have freshwater stingrays. A large aquarium like that could need over a month to cycle. You can speed things up by adding gravel or decorations from an established aquarium. Adding a small amount of fish food every day will also help. If you get in a real hurry, you can buy aquarium products that contain live bacteria. Live plants also help, and some people will speed the cycle with goldfish, which can tolerate ammonia and nitrite. Before adding expensive or delicate fish, be sure the ammonia and nitrite stay at zero.

Yup, this tank are for rays. This tank will be their tank until they reach their adulthood and hopefully breed in the future. Besides from adding up a fish like goldfish, can i add a little water from my present tank to at least help the process? or use the wool that I'm using in my canister filter to add some bacteria? I need to cycle up the tank for about one to two weeks because the rays are now in a temporary tank. the rays got stressful because of the aro's aggressiveness which makes me decide to build up a tank that are only for rays.

Another additional question, i'm planning to use a 3-layer 5ft overhead filter and a small eheim canister filter. is my plan ok? or do you suggest other filter?

In my opinion... Which may not be worth a hill of beans... I am thinking the only way to cycle a tank that big that quickly is going to be with the live bacteria... i.e. bio spira?

The water itself doesn't hold all that much bacteria... It lives on the sides of the tank, in the filter media, and on decorations. I know you don't have gravel or plants... So... I don't know.

I'm not a filter expert in any way, so I'll let the other more experienced folks answer those questions...

What's the opinion on quick cycling a tank? Is live bacteria the only way to acheive this quickly... With no established gravel to be had?

The only time I got zero ammonia in a new setup was when I threw in several bunches of hornwort. I suspect that duckweed would grow faster and provide the same benefits.

Does that mean that i can't put the rays even if the tank is not fully cycled? or can i put them while the cycle is on process? the problem is the rays now are in a emergency tank and it is only run by a sponge filter.

If the tank is not fully cycled, it will probably have toxic ammonia. If you have to add the fish right now, at least put in a bunch of floating plants, the used sponge filter, and a bottle or two of the commercially sold beneficial bacteria. Duckweed grows very fast and should cut down on the ammonia. Hornwort will also work but does not grow as fast. After the tank is cycled, you can toss the floating plants into the yard if you don't want them. You should also test frequently for ammonia and nitrite and plan on doing partial water changes every day for a while. If you can wait a day to move the fish, try the beneficial bacteria and duckweed and/or hornwort right away. If you turn off the light on the temporary tank, the rays should be less active and thus less uncomfortable in the small tank.

The problem is, i don't know where to buy duckweed and hornwort here in the Philippines. the tank will be built sometime this weekend and after the tank has been build, i would like to start the cycle right away.

Do you have access to aquabid.com? Both Aquabid and ebay list plant sellers from Maylasia. That's at least close. You could also try Google for local aquarium shops. If you can't find the plants or bottles of bacteria, put in a bunch of goldfish. They make a big mess and tolerate ammonia. Many people use goldfish to help cycle an aquarium. You can also run the light on the big aquarium 24 hours a day. That will grow algae, which will support the beneficial bacteria. Please be nice to the goldfish after they have served the aquarium cycle.

In this tank, since they will be a tank only for stingrays, I might decide to put some fine white sand and paint the bottom of the tank black. will this help the cycling? my filter would probably 2 eheim canisters and one 5ft ohf.

If the sand is from an established aquarium, it will help. I would skip the black paint. If you can get filter media from an established tank, that will also add beneficial bacteria. A bunch of goldfish will eat quite a bit and produce abundant fishy feces, which will also get the cycle going. After the goldfish serve their purpose, remove them from the stingray tank to a more suitable location.

Nope the sand is not from an established tank, now I'm still thinking of the sand because it will be very hard for me to clean the tank. right now, I have 2 canister filter, one is eheim and the other one is with UV. my other filter is an 5feet overhead filter. This time I would like to make it sure that my filtration is good enough for my tank that is why i want to know the correct way to cycle a tank. i have another question, is painting of the glass does not affect the fish inside the tank? some says that the fumes of the paint might reach the inner part of the tank. is it safe?

Painting the outside of an aquarium will not hurt anything so long as the paint and fumes stay outside. You can also buy or make removable backgrounds. I assume the aquarium is glass and not plastic.

The beneficial bacteria that power the nitrogen cycle live in filter media, sand and gravel, decorations, plants, algae, etc. The UV filter may kill them, so I would turn it off. A large aquarium could take six weeks or more to cycle. During that time, several types of beneficial bacteria will become established. Fish, food, and plant wastes create ammonia and nitrite, and the beneficial bacteria convert it into harmless stuff. Before you add fish, you can give the bacteria some regular fish food. Since your options are somewhat limited, adding goldfish is probably the quickest way to cycle a tank. They can tolerate ammonia much better than other fish can. When the cycle is complete, ammonia and nitrite will stay at zero.

does that mean that it is not advisable for me to have a canister filter with UV? The reason why i wanted a canister filter with UV is that the tank will be placed outside my house which means that sunlight might produce algae which is unpleasant to see.

If the aquarium is in direct sunlight, it will grow algae, and a UV filter can help reduce it. However, the filter can kill small organisms, so you should not use it while the tank is cycling. In any case, you probably should not run it all the time.

Algae spores travel on the air, so they're difficult to avoid. You can control algae growth by not feeding it, which means you can keep the aquarium very clean or you can put in enough live plants to consume the nutrients that would otherwise feed the algae. I'm sure that some of the vendors selling plants on Aquabid will ship to international locations. Of course, some countries have strict import rules, but aquarium enthusiasts are everywhere.