Cycle question

[trickshot3102]

Hi I am cycling a new 50 gal and I was wondering if I put the filter from my established 10 gal, can I put fish in right away?

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Cycling

Hi I am cycling a new 50 gal and I was wondering if I put the filter from my established 10 gal, can I put fish in right away?

Hello again trick...

You absolutely can. However, the filter media from the 10 gallon won't begin to handle the waste load if you put too many fish into the new tank. When you're cycling a tank with fish, you want very hardy species like female Guppies, Platys, White Clouds, Zebra Danios and Rasboras. You should use no more than 3 for every 10 gallons of tank volume. So, for a bit larger tank like a 50, you can use 12 to 15 small fish. The waste the fish produce starts the nitrogen cycle. If you can add gravel, driftwood or other décor from the 10, then that would be helpful. Anything with a surface from an established tank will help.

Get the new tank planted too. Floating plants are especially good for the cycling process. Anacharis, Duckweed, Hornwort and Pennywort are good ones. Test your tank water daily. If a test shows a trace of ammonia or nitrite, you must perform a 25 percent water change. When several daily tests show no trace of ammonia or nitrite, the bacteria has grown enough to handle the waste load. You'll still need to do large, frequent water changes to maintain a healthy tank.

B

 

[Jmunroe]

Put the media in your filter for the 50 gallon from the 10 gallon filter. Add your fish from the 10 to the 50 if that's what your doing, and then wait a few weeks to add any new fish if your stocking allows that. Don't forget to fill the rest of your filter up with biomedia as your new should be a fair bit bigger than the other one.

 

[trickshot3102]

Hello again trick...

You absolutely can. However, the filter media from the 10 gallon won't begin to handle the waste load if you put too many fish into the new tank. When you're cycling a tank with fish, you want very hardy species like female Guppies, Platys, White Clouds, Zebra Danios and Rasboras. You should use no more than 3 for every 10 gallons of tank volume. So, for a bit larger tank like a 50, you can use 12 to 15 small fish. The waste the fish produce starts the nitrogen cycle. If you can add gravel, driftwood or other décor from the 10, then that would be helpful. Anything with a surface from an established tank will help.

Get the new tank planted too. Floating plants are especially good for the cycling process. Anacharis, Duckweed, Hornwort and Pennywort are good ones. Test your tank water daily. If a test shows a trace of ammonia or nitrite, you must perform a 25 percent water change. When several daily tests show no trace of ammonia or nitrite, the bacteria has grown enough to handle the waste load. You'll still need to do large, frequent water changes to maintain a healthy tank.

B

Hi B! Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate the detailed reply! Anyway in going to hold off on fish for the moment because there seems to be a slight problem...I think it's leaking! I just checked the bottom if the tank and it was wet, so I wiped it and just thought it was from filling it yesterday. So I checked again and it was wet. I have been playing with my makeshift hood (some bin covers) so I thought it had just been dripping. I'm a little worried and I'm going to wait until tommarow to see if it's still wet. What should I do? It's filled and ready for fish!

 

[Jmunroe]

Make sure the water isn't just running from your filter, fish splashing or water in a crevis from a spill that is leaching back out.

 

[trickshot3102]

Great news! I checked and it was dry I think I got worked up for nothing!

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Leaking?

Hi B! Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate the detailed reply! Anyway in going to hold off on fish for the moment because there seems to be a slight problem...I think it's leaking! I just checked the bottom if the tank and it was wet, so I wiped it and just thought it was from filling it yesterday. So I checked again and it was wet. I have been playing with my makeshift hood (some bin covers) so I thought it had just been dripping. I'm a little worried and I'm going to wait until tommarow to see if it's still wet. What should I do? It's filled and ready for fish!

Hello again trick...

Not much you can do. A leak will damage the tank stand, especially if it's made of wood. Drain the tank and see if you can determine the cause. Silicone for aquariums can repair the leak. I've used it before to make repairs. If the tank is new, see if you can get your money back or get a replacement tank.

B

 

[trickshot3102]

Hello again trick...

Not much you can do. A leak will damage the tank stand, especially if it's made of wood. Drain the tank and see if you can determine the cause. Silicone for aquariums can repair the leak. I've used it before to make repairs. If the tank is new, see if you can get your money back or get a replacement tank.

B

Hey B, I checked where I thought it was leaking and... It was dry! I think it was just wet from when I filled it I just got worked up over nothing! Anyway, I put the 10 gal filter in the 50 gal and my fish. I put a few drops of quick start in as well. Do you know if quick start actually works? The fish seem to be doing fine and have no signs of stress. I'm out of dechloranator, and it's snowing, so I'm going to have to wait to do a water change tomorrow. The water is a bit cloudy but I think that with the old filter with BB on it, it should clear up soon

 

[trickshot3102]

Make sure the water isn't just running from your filter, fish splashing or water in a crevis from a spill that is leaching back out.

That's exactly what is was! It was from when I filled it I got worked up over nothing

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Cycling

Hey B, I checked where I thought it was leaking and... It was dry! I think it was just wet from when I filled it I just got worked up over nothing! Anyway, I put the 10 gal filter in the 50 gal and my fish. I put a few drops of quick start in as well. Do you know if quick start actually works? The fish seem to be doing fine and have no signs of stress. I'm out of dechloranator, and it's snowing, so I'm going to have to wait to do a water change tomorrow. The water is a bit cloudy but I think that with the old filter with BB on it, it should clear up soon

Hello trick...

Good for you, I hope that's the real reason. It would have been a job to drain it and locate the leak. Though, I've done it before. Don't have experience with bottled bacteria. That's really what you have. The "tried and true" method is to use filter media, driftwood, decorations and gravel from the established tank and put it into the new one. Everything with a surface from an established tank will have good bacteria living on it and will help cycle the new one.

Good bacteria reproduces very quickly, but you'll still need to test the water in the new tank every day for traces of ammonia and nitrite. Change a quarter of the tank old water and replace that with pure, treated tap water, if you have a positive test for either. When you have several daily tests with no ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycled.

Don't fret over cloudy tank water at this point. Once the tank settles, the water will clear up.

B

 

[trickshot3102]

Hello trick...

Good for you, I hope that's the real reason. It would have been a job to drain it and locate the leak. Though, I've done it before. Don't have experience with bottled bacteria. That's really what you have. The "tried and true" method is to use filter media, driftwood, decorations and gravel from the established tank and put it into the new one. Everything with a surface from an established tank will have good bacteria living on it and will help cycle the new one.

Good bacteria reproduces very quickly, but you'll still need to test the water in the new tank every day for traces of ammonia and nitrite. Change a quarter of the tank old water and replace that with pure, treated tap water, if you have a positive test for either. When you have several daily tests with no ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycled.

Don't fret over cloudy tank water at this point. Once the tank settles, the water will clear up.

B

Hey B! Great news! The water is clear and I added 6 neon tetras! They are all doing great! I also bought some Prime and a bubble wand here's some pics do you think it's good to be in the Tank Of The Month contest? Lol

 

[trickshot3102]

Here are the pics: