How long will my 140g take to cycle?

[sushiluver]

Hi everyone,

I just got a used 140g tank. I kept most of the gravel and rocks as well as the Eheim wet/dry that came with it. However before I set it up I rinsed off the old gravel which was really grimey and rinsed off the substrate from the filter. I tried not to clean too much and just did a quick hose off.

Now I've got 6 Rosy reds and one comet from my pond that I moved in just to help cycle. It's been about a week since I've added the fish and the nitrites are still around zero.

I was wondering since it's such a large volume of water would it take a full month to cycle even though I have old gravel and filter?

 

[malkore]

its not about the volume of water...its about the ammonia levels, and availability of surface area for bacteria to grow on.

Its possible all the bacteria died during the cleaning process. Was the wet/dry kept wet on the wet side or did it dry out?

are you testing ammonia? you'll see ammonia before you see nitrites. do you have a nitrate test kit? no ammona, no nitrite, and increasing nitrates indicates a complete cycle...at least for the current fishload. if you add more fish, your bacteria won't be up to speed, and you'll likely get a mini-cycle for a few days, up to a couple weeks depending on how many fish you add.

 

[TomK2]

Depending on how the biomedia in the filter and the substrate were cared for, and how long the tank was down in the move, some of the biofilter could have survived and would help jump start your biofilters growth. Like Malkore says, its all about how much bacteria went in and how much substrate they have to grow on, and how much nutrient (ammonia) they have.

But I am guessing that the tank was torn down, sat around a while, and then given to you? If so, it is not likely that the bacteria survived in signifigant numbers. Thus, you are cycling all over again. If you stock lightly, and are patient, you could grow a new biofilter without seeing any ammonia or nitrite. But 7 goldfish in 140 gals probably will show ammonia and nitrite spikes (those are golides you put in?). The ammonia phase usually lasts 1 to 2 weeks, and the nitrite phase about the same. Thus, check your ammonia level, it is probably high.

 

[sushiluver]

The filter was kept moist and sealed for about 3-4 days before I started pumping H2O through it. The gravel was kept slightly moist in a bucket for the same period.

The fish in there are mostly minnows (feeders). Only one goldfish.

I think I'll add a few more minnows and wait a week then slowly introduce fish. Thanks for your advice.

 

[TomK2]

I would not count on the filters bacteria to have survived anywhere near full strength under those conditions. But I think with a low stocking level of minnows and one goldfish, yuo probably could get the filter re-established without any significant ammonia or nitrite spikes, IF you keep the fish load low and are patient. You can actually get the cycle done with undetectable toxin levels with low stocking and waiting. It will take around 40 days. I have done this with FW tropicals, I don't really know how many FW goldies/minnows it would take to keep the ammonia undetectable. But I think it is important to realize that when cycling with fish, you don't have to have a certain level of ammonia or nitrite to make the bacteria grow. Rather, the bacteria will grow with levels of less than 0.25 ppm, if given enough time, and you can spare your fish the exposure to the toxins.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomstank/tomstank_files/page0017.htm

 

[malkore]

yeah, 3-4 days with no moving water, no moving air, and a lack of ammonia, i bet all the cycling bacteria died off.

 

[Zagz]

With no ammonia source I can almost guarantee the cycle died off. I had a 75 gal that was torn down for 2 days, everything was kept wet but the bacteria died and I had to do a recycle. Fortunately I had a ton of media from other tanks to cycle it with and did it quickly.