help seeding aquarium

[confusion]

I set up an old 10G aquarium to house some pregnant swordtails and mollies about a week ago. I have been trying like mad to get it cycled, but I'm not having much luck.

I have 3 other well established tanks (~1 year). Here's what I have tried:

Pulling filter media from each of the other tanks and putting it into the filter of the 10G
taking bio-rock (seachem matrix) from canister filters of other tanks and putting it into the filter of the 10G
taking gravel from the other tanks and putting it into the 10G

I've done these at various times throughout the past week. I have been keeping the ammonia pretty close to 0. I use prime to dechlor the new water each time.

What on earth do I need to do to get this tank established?

 

[tropicfishman]

I take it your doing a fishless cycle? lol your doing everything right, as long as all your parameters stay where there suppose to for about a week, your fine to go ahead and start adding some fish. but being its a 10 gallon I would only add one or two small fish to begin with, keep monitoring my water quality, and once ya feel its established enough ya can add some more fish or plants even. Let us know how things work out for ya

 

[confusion]

Well, that's the problem. When I add a fish, the ammonia continues to go up, no nitrites or nitrates ever appear.

My problem is that the things I am adding from the other aquariums (filter pads, bio media, gravel, etc) do not contain the bacteria I am after, so I'm trying to find out what does?

I am starting to have a theory, though.

The filter that is in the 10G was running on a 55G community alongside 3 other filters, assuming that it would stay "cycled" while on the 55G. When I moved it to the 10G, no dice. But, when I bought my 29G a while back, I got another XP2 canister filter hooked it up, took one of the 2 canister filters off of my 55G and hooked it up, and it was instantly cycled, and has been ever since.

Each of my tanks, except for the 10G has both a bio wheel HOB and at least one XP2/3 canister filter. I'm starting to wonder if the bacteria have found some place inside the cansiter (not the media) to be so advantageous that it outcompetes all other bacteria and hence is the only place it exists in my tanks.

plausible?

 

[LandGhoti]

Your tank would cycle a lot faster if you were not already adding fish and had a fishless source of ammonia (raw shrimp or actual ammonia). Adding seed material will always make the cycle go faster, but if you go fishless, that material has something harmless to populate on and break down.

By cycling with fish you are prolonging the cycle regardless of the presence of seed material. Your seed material does have the beneficial bacteria, but needs time to build up on the surfaces and establish itself. If it was in your tank for a week without an ammonia source, it likely died off. If you immediately (or a day later) put fish into the tank, they are your ammonia source and you are now cycling with fish. The seed material should help with the ammonia, but you will still have to do water changes to keep it down enough to not harm the fish.

I would stop adding fish and leave as is so the tank has time to accomodate the bioload.

 

[cabezon]

the ammonia is the food to the bacteria, so unless you have an ammonia source all those seed bacteria are starving.

 

[neilanh]

Cabezon nailed it. If you're need feeding the bacteria, they start to die off after about 48 hours or so. With all the seed material you put in it, you should've been instantly cycled, but if they starved, you're going to have to try again.