seeding new 55 gallon tank

[stussi]

Hi everyone, glad to be a part of the crew.
I started out looking for a fighting fish and ended walking out of the local FS with a 30L tropical starter kit 18 months ago,Awesome decision. out took a while to cycle and some hard work due to not being patient and adding a couple guppys. Turns out it payed off, haven't had water quality or clarity issues yet.

Finally I have just set up my new 55 gallon tank and can't wait for the cycle to begin.
It's been 3 days water was De chlorinated 24hrs before I added 2 Hardy fish to get it.going. Seeded the tank by squeezing my established filter sponge near the filter inlet.

PH = 6.8 steady
Still no ammonia yet. Hopefully this cycle won't for ever due to the tank size.
photo is on my profile album.
do the bubbles help?

 

[Pton46]

Can you put a piece of the "old Filter" in the New Filter. I don't think just squeezing the filter sponge will do it....

 

[stussi]

Should I wait for an ammonia reading 1st ?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Even if there is no ammonia reading on the test there will be ammonia. Fish are always giving it off. Adding a good sized bit of seeded media and very few fish to begin with can almost instantly cycle a tank.

Btw welcome to AA!

 

[stussi]

How instant we talking here? the established one is only a small filter but I reckon I can get away with a handful of those ceramic tubes and black plastic thingys.

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Well it depends on how much seeded media and how much ammonia the fish produce and if the bacteria go into 'shock' from temp change, pH change, etc. eg: I have instantly cycled a Betta tank with a half handful of ceramic rings from the canister in a goldfish tank. No detectable ammonia or nitrite only nitrate after about a week.

 

[stussi]

The temp has been slowly rising from 26 and steady at 27 for the last 2 days. PH I keep at 6.8. So hopefully it's ticking along nicely, I'll put a handful in the new filter tonight and see what readings I get tomorrow. Do you think keeping the bubble curtain on oxygenating the water will help the process?
Coz there's heaps of tiny bubbles.floating around ATM.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

The bacteria do benefit from lots of oxygen but IMO they get enough from the water churning in the filter. If you like it leave it but if not its fine to turn off.

 

[stussi]

Awesome thanks for your help.

 

[stussi]

Just added a handful of used media to the new filter Day 4 still no readings.
Ph 6.8
NH 0
NO2 0
NO3 0
Th inking about adding a couple tetras.

 

[stussi]

10 days later and still no levels
the ammonia readings barely register and nothing for the others. What am I doing wrong?

 

[jetajockey]

Hi stussi, sounds like you are doing fine, just be patient. Have a look at the link in my sig for a little more information. In a 55g you'll probably see more movement by putting more fish in initially, but just be warned that the bigger the fish load the more you have to be on top of water parameters.

Adding seeded media does help to speed things along sometimes, but in many cases it still takes several weeks for a tank to get established, especially if it's a large one.

 

[LyndaB]

Patience is a true virtue in this hobby. It takes the standard tank 4-6 weeks to cycle. It'll be quicker with any amount of seeded media.

Remember, once you add fish in, as jeta said, you need to be vigilent with parameters and you'll have to do lots of water changes to keep them safe.

 

[billberet]

what was said above is true, it will take at least 4-6 weeks to finish your nitrogen cycle. Keep an eye on the Ammonia, and do water changes as needed, they will be your best friend during this process, try not to do more than 20%, you don't want to starve your bacteria.
Make sure to treat your water before doing water changes, so you get rid of the chlorine.

i just finished cycling a new fluval Fx5, i already had other Fx5's so i just exchange the media and seeded the canister. it cycled in 7 days. just taking water from one tank to another won't help, squeezing out a sponge won't help, you need to have actual media from another canister, or gravel from an existing established tank, since bacteria don't float around, they attach to everything, you will need the physical media. if you have multiple tanks it helps to buy the same filters, that way everything is interchangeable. i have multiple tanks, all running the same filtration. It helps when you have an issue, and make sure to only clean one tank at a time, so you always have an untouched colony that you can fall back on, in case something happens when you are doing a cleaning. and never do a water change the same day you do a cleaning. just my .02
so be patient, it will come.

first you'll have your ammonia spike, then Nitrite spike, then Nitrate.
once you start getting Nitrate, your cycle is complete.
there are 'break in' fish you can use, meaning they are hearty and can handle the break in process.
in your larger tank, just having guppies might take a little longer.

 

[spoonman]

once you start getting Nitrate, your cycle is complete.
QUOTE]

Not entirely true. You will have nitrAtes when you start converting. That doesnt mean your cycle is done. When ammonia and nitrItes are 0ppm, then you will do water changes to get the nitrAtes down and you are cycled.

 

[LyndaB]

once you start getting Nitrate, your cycle is complete.

As mentioned above, there's more to it than that.

there are 'break in' fish you can use, meaning they are hearty and can handle the break in process.

Not all fish referred to as hardy fish are all that hardy..... it's still up to the fishkeeper to be very diligent when cycling with fish, this means daily testing, most likely daily water changes, etc. Hardy doesn't mean bomb-proof.

 

[billberet]

sorry i should have been more specific when referring to break in fish.

by break in fish i mean Smaller barbs (tiger, gold, rosy), larger tetras (head and tail light, red eye, red minor, buenos aires), danios (zebra, leopard, pearl, gold) and rasboras (heteromorpha, scissortail, redtail, brilliant) are hardy enough to withstand the temporarily high ammonia and nitrite levels and inexpensive enough to replace if some perish during a particularly rough cycle. Anywhere from two to five inches of fish may be used per ten gallons of water - any less and the tank may go through another, but lesser, cycle when more fish are added later; any more and the ammonia and nitrite levels may rise beyond what even the hardy fish can tolerate. A few hardy Corydoras catfish (green or albino) may also be added to reduce the risk of overfeeding. The total cycling time for most aquariums at 78-80 degrees F. is about thirty days, although it may take quite a bit longer at lower temperatures. water changes will be your best friend during this process, so test your water every night if you have too. I went thru a 'new tank syndrom' recently on a tank that was established for 15 years, i replaced my substrate from crushed coral to sand, destroyed my bacteria, not fun. but after 5weeks, all is well again


Also when i was referring to nitrates, i was assuming ammonia and nitrite were at 0. my bad, somtimes i leave out information as i type, mind seems to work faster than my fingers, lol

OH yea, and don't be fooled by instant cycle products, they are junk, save your money, bacteria cannot live in a bottle.

 

[stussi]

Thanks for all the info guys, so...... 2 rainbow widows and 10 neon tetras.... 18 days later PH 6.6 ammonia big fat zero.... Nitrite 0......nitrate 0 .. General hardness 13 drops..... The other hardness one 6 drops... Water temp 30•C .. Fish are all eating well and I've done 1 10%water change. My 20 litre one was almost already cycled by this time. The 0 ammonia worries me slightly.

 

[stussi]

Does anyone think my water hardness could be the reason my tank hasn't started cycling?

 

[stussi]

After 20 days