"BenignVanilla" m
wrote:

"Sam Hopkins" wrote in message
. ..
If you grab any rock that's under water from your pond and put it in the
tank it'll contain bacteria and will immediately cycle your tank.
snip

Would plants do the same? I had a tank in my home office that was opaque
with green algae. I was going to clean it, but the only inhabitant, a pl*co,
was growing like crazy. He seemed to really like the water. I tossed in some
anacharis from the pond, and topped the water off. Within days, the water
was gin clear.

Yep, everything in a pond or aquarium gets covered in bacteria.

It does help, otherwise it takes a couple of weeks for a bare sterile
tank to build up.