Bacteria in a bottle?

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lectraplayer

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Joined
Feb 17, 2014
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574
Marineland® Total Care Aquarium Bacteria

I've heard of people using this with mixed reviews, and while I'm not looking to add fish for another couple weeks, I want to make sure it cycles right. It has been going for a month so far and holding 8PPM ammonia. Filter, tank "body," and initial water come from a tank that was already cycled, and were kept circulating in a bucket with my existing fish. Now I have my new substrate with plants, and only one or two water changes trying to get the biofilter built up.
 
Couldn't hurt, I use Fluval stuff, what size tank? If all the water and the filter came from a cycled tank it should be going faster than that?

I filled my 150 up with like 20g of tank water 80 of tap, 8 bags of eco complete and some rock put the HOB filter from my old tank on there and 2 fake plants, put my pictus in it like 2 weeks later, then a week later my rainbows its been about 2 months and everything is fine and I have it fully stocked.
 
I expected a cycle to be unnecessary. Same water, same filter, same fish, same everything but the substrate from a cycled tank. The filter was moved full of water, and just long enough to remove the intake line, hang on bucket, and replace intake. (Less than a minute)
 
I expected a cycle to be unnecessary. Same water, same filter, same fish, same everything but the substrate from a cycled tank. The filter was moved full of water, and just long enough to remove the intake line, hang on bucket, and replace intake. (Less than a minute)
And the decorations? Just not substrate? Yeah all the bacteria should still be in the filter idk why you have so much ammonia?

What are you fish in now and what fish do you have? An what size tank is it? The hardest part of cycling is getting it started and you have ammonia so the bacteria to convert it should be there. What are your nitrites at?
 
You should be fine with all that established hardware???? 8 ppm is crazy high? You sure you're testing correctly?

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The only decorations I had in it are live plants which I planted back. Could Quickcrete Co. have put some type of bactericide I didn't get out well this time? I set up my 29g several months ago from the same bag of sand with no probles though.

My nitrites are not rising as quickly as I would like either though. I started with 8 tetras, 4 molys, and 1 otto in this tank, and I did daily water changes for the first couple days to keep ammonia down below .25. When it soon befame clear that my cycle was broken and ammonia was becoming more present, I removed everybody to my 29g and "let it run," only changing enough water to keep ammonia between 4 and 8ppm. Until the other day, I haven't touched this tank in two and a half weeks except tg test daily.
 
Uphate: I have added that "stuff" on the OP a couple days ago but today still my ammonia is 4 and my nitrite is staying AWOL, as is nitrate. PH is 6.7. I have some water in the back I'm testing to check my supply perameters. So far, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are not to be found and pH is 6.5 in this batch.

While I'm thinking about it, could an algae bloom be tampering with the cycle?
 
Your PH is most likely your culptrit. Two things - below 7.0 ammonia is in the ammonium form. Less harmful to fish in that state..but not ideal to turn a cycle. The good bacteria you desire multiplies best at 7.0 - ideally 7.2. Raise the PH and you just might find a turn in very short order. Good Luck!

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Also...plant matter..and algae...love ammonium which - while not the whole answer I'm sure - is contributing your algae bloom

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Will that do it? I'm reading that it takes a pH below 6.0 to halt the cycle.

Activity of BB is tested as being perfectly fine down until 6.4 pH when it begins to slow down. At 6.0 it stops completely.

Uphate: I have added that "stuff" on the OP a couple days ago but today still my ammonia is 4 and my nitrite is staying AWOL, as is nitrate. PH is 6.7. I have some water in the back I'm testing to check my supply perameters. So far, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are not to be found and pH is 6.5 in this batch.

While I'm thinking about it, could an algae bloom be tampering with the cycle?

The only way an algae bloom would tamper with the cycle is by consuming ammonia / nitrite / nitrate. For all intents and purposes algae is a plant and consumes the same nutrients as plants. If the water is cloudy however, it's more likely that it's a bacterial bloom.


What substrate did you use in the tank?
 
That's what I was thinking Mebbid. At 6.7, I should still be A-OK.

Also, bacterial bloom is white and an algae bloom is green. My water is green (algae.) I am not losing ammonia or gaining nitrite right now.

I have sand in my tank now.
 
It won't halt it..but it will slow ya down..

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This will depend greatly on your area. But do you have any friends/family that also have tanks? If no, do you have a lfs that you are familiar with? At my lfs, the owner has ATI sponge filters on ALL of his freshwater tanks. Sponge filters are pretty cheap, but they provided me with a used sponge that was fully cycled and provided a lot of BB. All I had to do was throw it in a brand new tank hook up all of my gear and BOOM! Instant cycle. I still only added a couple fish at a time. But I'm guessing you may have already considered an option like this.
 
Yes, and since I started with a cycled tank (changing only ths substrate) it should have kept trucking as is (or so I thought) since I kept the same water and everything going in a bucket. However, it didn't turn out that way. Even stealing water and filter media from my 29g hasn't given me a working biofilter. It has been going several months now and is fully cycled. Neither has that potion I opened the thread with. It almost seems like there is some type of bactericide killing my BB.
 
It hasn't yet. I've lately been changing every couple days, taking water from my 29g. I've only been doing it the last week, so we'll see how it goes. I did the same routine a month ago for a week trying to get it started.
 
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