Hey all!
We just cycled and partially stocked our 27 gal cube. 8 Harlequin Rasboras and a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami. Everyone looks happy and the water parameters are fine.
Last Christmas, a well-meaning family member gave my son a 5 gallon "complete" setup. It has been sitting in a closet ever since but now I'm thinking it might be put to use as our quarantine tank. We are planning to add some Cardinal Tetras in a week or two and possibly some inverts. Our LFS doesn't have any Cardinals in stock right now and I'm hoping we don't have to resort to shopping at Petsmart or the equivalent. But, if we do, I definitely want to keep those fish out of our main tank until they've done some time in quarantine.
So, my first question is whether a small school of juvenile tetras (say, 10 fish or so) will be able to survive for two weeks in a 5 gallon tank. Or will we have to buy them in a few smaller batches?
Secondly, is there a quick way to cycle the little tank? I've seen a few people who have mentioned putting a pad from their cycled tank into the filter of the new one. This is problematic for us because we have a canister filter on the main tank but a HOB for the little one. My husband doesn't want to mess with taking the canister apart to stick in a "just in case" spare HOB filter unless he knows for sure that's the best way to do it. Right now, I'm attempting to cycle the little tank using a clean new filter and a fake rock I moved from the cycled tank. I dosed it up with pure ammonia and it has been running for 2 days but I'm not seeing any changes in the water parameters. So apparently, there isn't much "good bacteria" on that rock. Should I transfer some of the substrate over from the cycled tank? Or could I take the filter pad from the new HOB and rub it on the inside of the glass of the other tank? There has got to be a way to get some of that good gunk from the cycled tank into the new tank without taking our canister apart...right??
Oh, and a quick bonus question: Is there some fish who could live in the quarantine tank on a permanent basis and keep it cycled while we aren't using it for quarantine? I realize we'd have to transfer that fish over to the main tank temporarily whenever we needed to use the little tank for it's intended purpose. We're planning to keep it pretty peaceful in the main tank. So is there some fish that would be fine living in the small tank with occasional random forays into the 27 gal?
Okay. That's enough questions for now. I'll sit back and patiently await your collective wisdom...
We just cycled and partially stocked our 27 gal cube. 8 Harlequin Rasboras and a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami. Everyone looks happy and the water parameters are fine.
Last Christmas, a well-meaning family member gave my son a 5 gallon "complete" setup. It has been sitting in a closet ever since but now I'm thinking it might be put to use as our quarantine tank. We are planning to add some Cardinal Tetras in a week or two and possibly some inverts. Our LFS doesn't have any Cardinals in stock right now and I'm hoping we don't have to resort to shopping at Petsmart or the equivalent. But, if we do, I definitely want to keep those fish out of our main tank until they've done some time in quarantine.
So, my first question is whether a small school of juvenile tetras (say, 10 fish or so) will be able to survive for two weeks in a 5 gallon tank. Or will we have to buy them in a few smaller batches?
Secondly, is there a quick way to cycle the little tank? I've seen a few people who have mentioned putting a pad from their cycled tank into the filter of the new one. This is problematic for us because we have a canister filter on the main tank but a HOB for the little one. My husband doesn't want to mess with taking the canister apart to stick in a "just in case" spare HOB filter unless he knows for sure that's the best way to do it. Right now, I'm attempting to cycle the little tank using a clean new filter and a fake rock I moved from the cycled tank. I dosed it up with pure ammonia and it has been running for 2 days but I'm not seeing any changes in the water parameters. So apparently, there isn't much "good bacteria" on that rock. Should I transfer some of the substrate over from the cycled tank? Or could I take the filter pad from the new HOB and rub it on the inside of the glass of the other tank? There has got to be a way to get some of that good gunk from the cycled tank into the new tank without taking our canister apart...right??
Oh, and a quick bonus question: Is there some fish who could live in the quarantine tank on a permanent basis and keep it cycled while we aren't using it for quarantine? I realize we'd have to transfer that fish over to the main tank temporarily whenever we needed to use the little tank for it's intended purpose. We're planning to keep it pretty peaceful in the main tank. So is there some fish that would be fine living in the small tank with occasional random forays into the 27 gal?
Okay. That's enough questions for now. I'll sit back and patiently await your collective wisdom...