Help upgrading to a canister filter

[ddot82]

Hi all! I'm new to the hobby and currently in the middle of a fishless cycle on a 55 gal freshwater tank. I started with two filters from walmart and just got a canister filter to replace them. Is there any way of swapping them without delaying the cycle? Can I take the media out of the old two filters and stuff them into the canister filter where I would normally put the carbon?

 

[ddot82]

One other thing. Today when I got home from work I was doing my daily water test ritual. Ammonia was at 4 ppm which was weird because it should have been around 1. I checked the nitrites and they were gone. A few days ago they were so high they were unreadable. I checked my ph and noticed it had crashed. I did a 50% fwc and got it back up to 7. Are the nitrites being gone something I should worry about or will the cycle continue on from where it left off? Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[calfishguy]

You can simply transfer the filter media from the old filters to the new and your cycle wont be delayed. As for your other question everything sounds normal, but to be sure what is your nitrate reading?

 

[ddot82]

You can simply transfer the filter media from the old filters to the new and your cycle wont be delayed. As for your other question everything sounds normal, but to be sure what is your nitrate reading?

Ammonia is at 3ppm
Nitrites back up to 1ppm and climbing since .5ppm this afternoon
Nitrates look to be at around 60-70.

 

[calfishguy]

I say you are close to the end of your cycle. If your tank has 0 ammo tomorrow evening you are done.

 

[ddot82]

Sweet!!! Its been a long 3 and a half weeks, I hope you're right. Thanks for the help.

 

[calfishguy]

Sweet!!! Its been a long 3 and a half weeks, I hope you're right. Thanks for the help.

Hopefully it goes down. If you really want to make sure raise it to 5 and if it goes to 0 within 24 hours your fishless cycle is complete. Good luck and remember to stock slowly.

 

[ddot82]

Thanks and will do! I already made that mistake and put 4 angelfish in a 20 gal. A few days after buying everything and the fish I did some research and learned about the cycle and overstocking. So here I am 1.5 months and massive amounts of fwc's later with a new, bigger, badder tank almost ready for the angels who are still in the 20 gal. They're all still alive, seem happy, and responsive. It was a hard and expensive lesson! Any ideas on good fish, if any, to compliment them? I'm gonna get some kind of bottom feeder(6 inch max preferably), and was thinking maybe some smaller schoolers for the top once the angels get assimilated in the new tank.

 

[calfishguy]

Thanks and will do! I already made that mistake and put 4 angelfish in a 20 gal. A few days after buying everything and the fish I did some research and learned about the cycle and overstocking. So here I am 1.5 months and massive amounts of fwc's later with a new, bigger, badder tank almost ready for the angels who are still in the 20 gal. They're all still alive, seem happy, and responsive. It was a hard and expensive lesson! Any ideas on good fish, if any, to compliment them? I'm gonna get some kind of bottom feeder(6 inch max preferably), and was thinking maybe some smaller schoolers for the top once the angels get assimilated in the new tank.

How big is the new tank?

 

[ddot82]

55 gal.

 

[calfishguy]

55 gal.

You could do a large school of rummynose or lemon tetras the angels and a bristlenose pleco.

 

[ddot82]

Cool thanks I'll look them up.