2.5 Mini bow....again.

[BettaCee]

Just bought two 2.5 Mini Bow's to upgrade two of my Betta's from critter totes. I've heard that you cannot cycle anything less than 2.5 gals. When I filled them up, they were only slightly more than TWO gallons, and I do not have that much gravel....anyways...will they cycle, in theory?
Also, the light fixture is 50% over the filter, cutting down on available light. I replaced with a CFL. Other than the disadvantage of less light, is there a benefit to lighting the filter cartridge? or is this just a flawed design? Do the bacteria like the light?
I placed a small piece of old filter material in each from one of my 5 gal tanks. It's only about the size of a half dollar. Will this help much? The 5 gal Betta is healthy, BTW.

Thanks!!

[1fish2fish]

I have a minibow 2.5 that has been cycled since November and it is perfectly stable with 2 50% water changes a week. I don't have a problem with the light and the filter. My bulb lights the tank just fine. I would replace the incandescent bulb with a CFL however.

[dolfanjack]

There is no minimum when it comes to cycling, bacteria will always colonize any surface. That includes the glass, plants, rocks, decorations and gravel in the tank. But any surface you clean will kill the bacteria on that surface and will have to re-colonize.