Am I Cycled??

[jbarr]

So I got a 90gal to house a few of my lovable, soon-to-be-big-ones (Sen. Bichir, Oscar, 2 Grn Sevs, Managuense, Red-Tail SHARK not cat, and Pleco), and I just want to know where I am in the cycle.

I bought a dozen feeder goldfish (bad idea??) to start the cycle. A few looked unhealthy from the get-go, swimming erratically, and they finally kicked the bucket. I have about 8 in there now. I'm running a Magnum 350 on it, with a Visi-Therm 300W heater.

I set it up on the 25th. So it's been about 5 days. I added an old silk plant from my tank, and squeezed the filter sponge from my 30gal into the 90gal water. I think I'll add the 2 or 3 pieces of driftwood from my 30gal once I move the fish too.

Params (Aquarium Pharmeceutical Inc):
Ammonia: 0 ppm
NitrIte: 0 ppm
NitrAte: 0 ppm (I think I'm doin these right. Don't see how I'm doing them WRONG at least)

Sooo :? I'm kinda confused. Is my 90gal ready??

- Were the feeder fish a bad idea in terms of introducing disease to my brand new tank?
- Should I add more decorations from my other tanks before or during the introduction of my current 30gal fish?
- How slowly should I introduce each fish into my 90gal?
- Any advice at all!!

TIA appreciate it greatly.

 

[supermazz9]

IMO, the feeder fish were bad because there was no need to place a fish in the distress of a new tank, when you could have done a fishless cycle.

But, I digress.

Recheck your nitrates. I doubt that 0 is right. While you're rechecking nitrates, recheck everything.

How many fish do you plan on adding to your 90g? If you have a big list that you really want to dump in right away, I would advise you to do a quick fishless cycle. Realistically, your likely 80% complete, at least, so you can finish a fishless cycle really quick, and you will be able to max out your bioload immediately.

I'm sure that you've done enough seeding, so I don't think any more decorations are really needed, but hurry up and get some more ammonia in there...

 

[joannde]

Sorry - I don't think you're cycled at all. The end result of the cycle is Nitrates - if you're showing 0 then there is no ammonia being converted to nitrites and no nitrites being converted to nitrates.

I'd return the feeders and go fishless. This way you'll know the quanity of ammonia being converted. If you can take the filter material (not just squeezings) from the 30G and put it on the filter for the 90G you'll find that it will go alot faster.

 

[SparKy697]

Is my 90gal ready??

In a word, no.

I'm a little confused about why he has all zeros. Either goldfish don't process ammonia which I think is probably not the case, or the tests are inaccurate.

I see that you are not new to the whole aquarium thing so I assume you have tested water before . Can your test kit be problem? I would think that after a few days of those filthy fish ( not a judgment on the fish I just think that they produce more waste than most tropicals) there would be a little ammonia at least.

You should be seeing ammonia spike first, then nitrite spike and once these two start to settle down, the nitrate will spike. In the meantime you will become the water change master because to keep the fish alive you will be changing water almost daily.

I would suggest finding somebody with a hungry oscar and make a donation. The road you are on may take many weeks to travel. Also, when you are finally cycled you will have to introduce your fish slowly because the fish you are planning to add will really exceed the bio load of the gold fish and cause you to go through a mini cycle again.

Going fishless will you to really load the ammonia and build a healthy abundance of bacteria in the tank so that your new fish will not have to deal with such a swing of ammonia.

My $.02

 

[jbarr]

Really?? I thought cycling w/ fish was faster/more foolproof. How cruel of me.

So I should remove the goldfish? And then... What?

BTW I only recently got the Ammonia and NitrAte tests

EDIT: Upon retesting, it seems I may have misread the nitrAte test. It's definitly between 0-5 ppm. Possibly 5 ppm.
If I were to fishless cycle the rest, would I just add some rotting food in the tank or something? I don't want to try my luck with pure ammonia/surfectants.

 

[SparKy697]

Many people here like the rotting shrimp method. As I understand it, you go get some raw, uncooked shrimp (maybe 3 or 4 for a 90 I would think) and throw it in your tank. As it decomposes, it creates ammonia and the rest moves along.

I still refer to the article on fishless cycling on this site. It gives a good heads up on what to expect.

 

[joannde]

I used the rotting shrimp method - very easy - nothing to do at all but wait LOL. you might want to hide the shrimp behind some decor as it does get unsightly and the tank water will smell if you put your nose to it, but it was simple - you just wait for the shrimp to disintegrate.
Bring the goldfish back to the store where you got them. Transfer some filter media (not just squeezings) from the 30G to the 90G and you should be good in 2 weeks or so (my guess only YMMV).
You'll know you're cycled when you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and measureable nitrates. Make sure you use both bottles of the nitrate test (I'm assuming you have the AP test - its two parts - 10 drops of each solution) and shake the bejebbezes out of Solution 2 for 30 seconds and shake the final test tube for a full minute.
You should also test your tap water - mine has 5ppm nitrates, so you're looking for something more than that.

 

[SparKy697]

and shake the bejebbezes out of Solution 2 for 30 seconds

I had to go and look at my bottles to see if it really said bejebbezes

 

[neilanh]

and shake the bejebbezes out of Solution 2 for 30 seconds

I had to go and look at my bottles to see if it really said bejebbezes

I checked mine too, it's not there. I think I may have gotten a bum kit.

 

[jamesrm]

Just on a side note, your underfiltered anyway on a tank that size. A magnum 350 is only turning your water over 3.88 times per hour. You not only have some fish that are going to be big, but your tank will be overstocked with messy fish. You need atleast one more 350+ gph filter on there. I would get one of the serious ehiems or an XP3 or 4 on that bad boy pronto. Getting 2 more 350+ would not be unreasonable IMHO.

Good luck getting it cycled

 

[severum mama]

I agree with the others that the cycle is likely nowhere near complete.Why not just return the goldfish and transfer your fish, substrate, and filter out of your 30 gallon? I do that every time I upgrade a tank and it works fine for me. Think of it this way: the bacteria in your old filter and substrate are present in sufficient quantities to support the bio load in your 30 gallon, so really you're just moving much of it over. That's not to say you won't experience a mini-cycle; you may. But that is much easier to control than a regular fishy cycle. Or, just do a fishless cycle. Chucking a couple of shrimp in there is much easier than pwc's every day or two as in a traditional cycle.

Also, James brings up an excellent point about your filtration. Your fish are going to get large, and seriously messy. I would add AT LEAST an Emperor 400, but I do think that a large canister would be a much better choice. Try to get the intake tubes down near the substrate. If I'm not mistaken, a 90 gallon is 24" deep, right? You'll probably need to use whatever intake extension tubes are included with your filters.

One more issue, IMO: Do you plan to find a new home for your Managuense? I would strongly recommend that you do, before your fish hit sexual maturity and all hell breaks loose in your tank. At adult size a Managuense will be much more aggressive than your oscar or severums, and I really think they will be in big trouble. Your tank looks huge to you, but remember that it is still just a 4 foot tank- not a lot of room for large fish to claim territories.

JMO

 

[jbarr]

Yes, glad you asked, my Managuense is going to my LFS. I've read up on their extreme aggresion. I am going to return the goldfish to the LFS along with the jag cichlid as well.

joannde thanks for the advice, I retested and made sure I shook the 'bejebbezes' out of 'em. Nitrates are showing the shade inbetween 5 and 10 ppm. So that's good, right?

I also added 2 capfuls (10ml) of Kent pH Minus when I set it up, as per the article on fishless cycling.
I think I'll move a bit of the decorations as well.

How am I doing so far? I don't particularly have the funds for another filter, I may moove the 30gal HOB onto the 90 in the meantime? I also am going to get a python next Petsmart visit.

 

[joannde]

Good job on the shaking ! LOL. Did you test your tap also ? that will give you a baseline to determine where you are in the cycle.

Python - you'll love it ! I couldn't see having a large tank without one - even with my 35G and 10G it makes things ALOT easier.