new tank, but used biowheel

[Ali1]

i purchased a used 55g and a new emperor 400. I understand the nitrogen cycle, but confused on a few things. My buddy had a biowheel running in his 10G for several months now, but he is leaving the hobby now, so i took his biowheel straight from his filter.


this small wheel does not fit on my emperor 400, so do i just let the wheel float in the water? Does the tank need to be cycled, even though i have the floating biowheel?

 

[TCTFish]

The bio on a 10 gallon bio wheel is hardly enough to say the tank is cycled, whether it'd be a 10 gallon or a 55. It helps to kick start by introducing a population of bio, but without ammonia for the bio to eat, it will eventually die off. The tank still needs to establish a cycle.

The importance of nitrifying bacteria is oxygen. Bio wheels floating in water may or may not get adequate oxygen, plus if it doesn't turn, one side will dry out, thus losing half the bio on the wheel. It should be kept under a flow of water or over an air current from an airstone to provide this oxygen. You would be better off having the entire filter the bio wheel came from...but even with that, the tank still needs to establish its own cycle.

What type of fish are you planning this tank for?

There are two ways to establish bio...with fish and without fish. With fish, you would use up to 10 small fish or five medium fish (two to three inches) in a 55 gallon and should be durable species such as tiger barbs, danios, white cloud minnows, platies, mollies or a few feeder goldfish. These fish should be the only fish in the tank for at least one month and may end up taking up to two months for the tank to completely establish a cycle.

Without fish, the use of frozen fish food such as shrimp, squid and beef heart can be used in place of live fish to provide ammonia. Dead fish will also work. Just to note: I personally do not recommend using straight ammonia from any bottle. There is a difference between organic and inorganic substances. Stick with organic sources.

The tank water should be tested twice a week to observe the cycle trends. This includes testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Do keep in mind that initial ammonia levels may not read until after the first week.

Once ammonia and nitrite levels zero out and nitrates are less than 30 ppm, the tank will then be ready for new introductions of fish. A few at a time...allow a week or two in between introductions to allow the bio to adjust to the increase of waste load. This also helps the new fish establish territory prior to introducing more.

This in between time in the process of populating the tank is a good time to have fish in the QT. By the time the other fish are established and the bio adjusted, it'll be time for the QT fish to go in.

HTH

 

[Ali1]

thank you....


much clearer now

 

[7Enigma]

The importance of nitrifying bacteria is oxygen. Bio wheels floating in water may or may not get adequate oxygen, plus if it doesn't turn, one side will dry out, thus losing half the bio on the wheel. It should be kept under a flow of water or over an air current from an airstone to provide this oxygen. You would be better off having the entire filter the bio wheel came from...but even with that, the tank still needs to establish its own cycle.

I don't understand this part of the post at all. The bacteria on the biowheel is the same bacteria on the substrate of an established tank. The importance of nitrifying bacteria is to convert ammonia and nitrIte to nitrAte. Oxygen is required for this process but is in sufficient amounts in the tank (as long as there is an appriopriately-sized filter for the tank)....which Ali1 has. Drying out of one side is a concern (if floated), and so I would just submerge the wheel. Even better would be to take your hand and scrape all the gunk off the wheel so it is dispersed around the tank (and then submerge the wheel). This will get bacteria sucked into your new filter and sink to the substrate and start populating your tank.

This whole point is moot however if the filter has been out of the water for any appreciable amount of time....or without a food source.

HTH

 

[TCTFish]

For the most part, yes, the substrate, rocks, and everything else will establish this bacteria provided there's proper water flow, which is generally provided by filters, but water flow makes the difference in maximum cultivation. The more water flow over an area, the more concentrated the bacteria will be. Less oxygenated areas will have less concentrations of bacteria, but so long as there is some kind of oxygenation, will still cultivate.

I always try to opt for maximum effectiveness with bio filtration. The goal is for the bacteria to eat the toxins and convert them into less toxic substances, but oxygen is needed for them to effectively complete this task in the numbers needed (population to the waste load of the system).

...just clearing the air of what you couldn't understand

 

[7Enigma]

The goal is not, "for the bacteria to eat the toxins and convert them into less toxic substances", the goal is to get that bacteria off of the biowheel and into the tank so that at a later time it can be removed. That is the purpose of when I said, "Even better would be to take your hand and scrape all the gunk off the wheel so it is dispersed around the tank (and then submerge the wheel)."

This is a much more effective way in seeding the tank then just making sure the small biowheel has maximum levels of oxygen. In my description you are actively moving the biofiltration away from the existing established media into the actual filtration of the tank, in yours you are just trying to keep the existing bacteria alive and hopefully slough off and seed new areas of the tank. They both will work, one is just better.

 

[Ali1]

well, the wheel is definately submerged underwater.... i thought the whole idea is to transfer bacteria from an older tank to help out the new filters in the new tank

 

[7Enigma]

well, the wheel is definately submerged underwater.... i thought the whole idea is to transfer bacteria from an older tank to help out the new filters in the new tank

You got it. Check out this article for some other tips to speed up your fishless cycle:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=52

 

[Big Ben]

Yes the idea is to seed the new tank and get it cycled asap by adding bacteria from another tank to kickstart it. Warmer water will help it cycle more quickly, but dont make the temp change too rapidly. If you do a fishless cycle with pure ammonia, you could have the tank fully cycled within 2-3 weeks with the water temp at 85. Google fishless cycle for more info. I agree witt 7enigma, if you can get some of the bacteria 'sludge' into the filter, that works really well.

edit: if it wasnt clear before it is now, i type slow. 7enigma wrote 1 line before i could write all this

 

[7Enigma]

Yes the idea is to seed the new tank and get it cycled asap by adding bacteria from another tank to kickstart it. Warmer water will help it cycle more quickly, but dont make the temp change too rapidly. If you do a fishless cycle with pure ammonia, you could have the tank fully cycled within 2-3 weeks with the water temp at 85. Google fishless cycle for more info. I agree witt 7enigma, if you can get some of the bacteria 'sludge' into the filter, that works really well.

edit: if it wasnt clear before it is now, i type slow. 7enigma wrote 1 line before i could write all this

Dragon Naturally speaking has a pretty good dictation program that a couple people I know use. Takes a while to program but as long as you speak in a monotone it is pretty quick.