Tetra Safe Start and fishless cycle question!

[daniel2509]

What type of filter have you got. Make, model??

Top fin 10 for 10g

 

[Ian086]

Top fin 10 for 10g

They only have one cartridge right??. Is it a carbon cartridge??

 

[daniel2509]

They only have one cartridge right??. Is it a carbon cartridge??

Yes, 1 cartridge 1 filter media. Water comes to the cartridge first then the media.

 

[Ian086]

Yes, 1 cartridge 1 filter media. Water comes to the cartridge first then the media.

The sponge you get off your mate. You might need to trim it to size. I would put it behind the cartridge or next to the media. It doesn't really matter. You can leave it in there permanently anyway....

 

[daniel2509]

The sponge you get off your mate. You might need to trim it to size. I would put it behind the cartridge or next to the media. It doesn't really matter. You can leave it in there permanently anyway....

Thanks bro! I heard that Seachem Prime will make your bacteria starve to death by locking up ammonia and converting it to Ammonium. In that case, any suggestion for good water condition?

 

[Ian086]

Thanks bro! I heard that Seachem Prime will make your bacteria starve to death by locking up ammonia and converting it to Ammonium. In that case, any suggestion for good water condition?

I believe it only 'locks' it for 24hrs. If you just use the Prime to condition the NEW water, the Ammonia will develop in the tank for the BB. If your Ammonia in the tank is between 2.0/4.0, you would have to use a lot of Prime.
When you get this sponge off your mate, all you'll need is the Prime to just condition the NEW water. Nothing else, no TSS, just Prime....
Prime for me is one of the best conditioners out there. I use it myself, I have to import it...

 

[daniel2509]

I believe it only 'locks' it for 24hrs. If you just use the Prime to condition the NEW water, the Ammonia will develop in the tank for the BB. If your Ammonia in the tank is between 2.0/4.0, you would have to use a lot of Prime.
When you get this sponge off your mate, all you'll need is the Prime to just condition the NEW water. Nothing else, no TSS, just Prime....
Prime for me is one of the best conditioners out there. I use it myself, I have to import it...

From what u mean was I need to overdose prime even it could starve my bacteria. Low the ammonia level down to 0 to 1, then put the sponge in. Btw, i just made a test on my tap water and the ammo was 1.0. It's getting tricky over here a lil bit.

From what I understand is BB needs Ammo to eat and convert it to Nitrite. Too much ammo can lead the cycle to be stalled so i guess it's good to keep it under 4. However, that's just a method for fishless cycle some how.
When we face the traditional method. Basically, i need to keep my ammo under 1 to prevent burning gills and other things happen to my fish. Prime will detoxic my tap water with 1.0 ammo itself and hold it for 24 hrs, then it'll become normal if i don't have enough BB to finish off. Therefore, water change for every single day?
Seed material is useful in this case, but won't too much prime will block the food sources of BB, will it?

 

[Ian086]

From what u mean was I need to overdose prime even it could starve my bacteria. Low the ammonia level down to 0 to 1, then put the sponge in. Btw, i just made a test on my tap water and the ammo was 1.0. It's getting tricky over here a lil bit.

From what I understand is BB needs Ammo to eat and convert it to Nitrite. Too much ammo can lead the cycle to be stalled so i guess it's good to keep it under 4. However, that's just a method for fishless cycle some how.
When we face the traditional method. Basically, i need to keep my ammo under 1 to prevent burning gills and other things happen to my fish. Prime will detoxic my tap water with 1.0 ammo itself and hold it for 24 hrs, then it'll become normal if i don't have enough BB to finish off. Therefore, water change for every single day?
Seed material is useful in this case, but won't too much prime will block the food sources of BB, will it?

This is what I would do. When you get your sponge(from mate).Put it in the your filter. Do a very large water change->50-70%. Treat the NEW water going into the tank with prime. Forget the TSS. When you do this, you are just treating the new water for Ammonia and chlorine etc. The fish will provide the BB with the Ammonia needed to survive. Always remember to keep the sponge/media wet. NEVER wash the media in untreated tap water. You will have sufficient BB on the sponge to handle any Ammonia in the tank....
You only need to add Prime to treat the new water added.

 

[daniel2509]

This is what I would do. When you get your sponge(from mate).Put it in the your filter. Do a very large water change->50-70%. Treat the NEW water going into the tank with prime. Forget the TSS. When you do this, you are just treating the new water for Ammonia and chlorine etc. The fish will provide the BB with the Ammonia needed to survive. Always remember to keep the sponge/media wet. NEVER wash the media in untreated tap water. You will have sufficient BB on the sponge to handle any Ammonia in the tank....
You only need to add Prime to treat the new water added.

Ok, seems like everything is going smooth except my curious betta just scratched himself. A piece of his scale was out and still hung with him. What should i do at this point? Add Aquarium Salt, move him to the Q tank for treatment or? Will AQ Salt kill my bacteria?

 

[librarygirl]

Prime will detox ammonia but keep it viable for the bacteria to feed on, so no worries there. Do not add ammonia with fish in the tank. Also if ammonia is above .25-.5, you'll need to do some water changes to keep it down. With fish in the tank you don't want ammonia to climb or else it can harm them. You may want to read the guide on fish-in cycling: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice This one has some pretty good info on general fish care as well: Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[daniel2509]

Prime will detox ammonia but keep it viable for the bacteria to feed on, so no worries there. Do not add ammonia with fish in the tank. Also if ammonia is above .25-.5, you'll need to do some water changes to keep it down. With fish in the tank you don't want ammonia to climb or else it can harm them. You may want to read the guide on fish-in cycling: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice This one has some pretty good info on general fish care as well: Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Thanks!!