another newbie learns something tip i have found useful

I set up something that might sound silly to people, but seems to really be working well for me.

I have been breeding bacteria.

Since i started this hobby a little less than 4 months ago with 1 10gal tank, I have produced some serious MTS. Friends everywhere have been showing up at my house with tanks and i can't stop setting them up. Now i have

1 29 gal
3 20 gal
1 10 gal
1 5 gal
and a 40 gal on the way.


So, being the impatient person I am, I wanted a way to speed up cycling and save money.

So, I turned the 10 gal into a "parts/bacteria" tank. What I am doing in my 'parts' tank:

I cycled it. I keep a few danios in there. But it really isn't my 'pretty tank'

I keep bags of bioballs/ceramic cylinders in there.

disposible tupperware containers of PFS with holes in the lids and airstones in the substrate

home made sponge filters


Why I am doing this:

I can't afford to buy things a lot. BioSpira is not readily available here either.

So, I am breeding pre-treated media and substrate to kick start my new tanks when I get them.

When I set up a new tank, I mix 1/2 a container of pre-treated substrate in with the new, rinsed substrate, then sprinkle the rest over the top of the substrate. Then add a pretreated filter bag to the filter. I sometimes put decor in the 'parts' tank to kick it off also.

I also add one of my fancy ghetto home made sponge filters to my new tanks.

I sometimes use the 10 gal as a hospital, when I don't need to add meds to it. Just to isolate fish as needed.

this is really helping me a lot. It has my tanks coming up to speed in half the time, and allows me to cycle without fish, just using dead shrimp.


Also, it lets me breakdown and clean the medication tank and get it back up and running ASAP when needed.

Hope someone can use this info.
GL
P.



P.S.

I just started doing this recently as a result of all the problems i have had cycling my tanks. I had a ton of problems. This was the only tanks i cycled successfully, and since i started this, my ammonia levels in my other tanks have come down from 4-5ppm to .25 ppm. It seems to really be helping. Also, I used this to kick start a hospital when my orange african got sick, and then again for the sick Momma GBR.

I used this to start off the new 2 20gal tanks and am already showing .25 nitrite in 2 days.

hmm. I hate to say it but I feel you are overdoinng it. Say you have a AC HOB with three layers of filter media. If you removed 1 part and put it in the new tank it would speed your cycle significantely. You have enough tanks setup to seed new tanks with existing media IMO. I dont like BioSpira has to stay cold and I dont really trust it after all the transport. Also if you are tight on money, watch your electric with all the tanks. Good Luck

A QT is needed though so I guess it cant hurt

i guess i did it because tanks keep sowing up. and i can't get biospira here, so i made my own biospira factory. not to mention i have found i love building filters.

gives me a place to get them going. one 40gal rated air pump and a few gang valves runs all my airstones and filters in the tank.


my tap water is high in ammonia off the faucet, so this helps keep my fish healthy, and i am constantly tearing down and setting back up my hospital, with so many tanks. i got a lot of fish now.

yeah, the electric bill sucks some, but i can't stop myself =). i have been giving treated sand and filters away to friends too. some give me $$ for it, to pad my expenses.

yeah, the electric bill sucks some, but i can't stop myself

Ya, I hear you!

[TomK2]

Don't forget that when setting up a new tank, you can run the new filter on an established tank for a few weeks before set up, and save yourself the whole media juggling act.

BTW- if you tap water tests positive for ammonia, it is almost certainly chloramines not ammonia in the tap water. You must always use a dechlorinator if you have chloramines in your tap water.

BTW- if you tap water tests positive for ammonia, it is almost certainly chloramines not ammonia in the tap water. You must always use a dechlorinator if you have chloramines in your tap water.

Great reminder Tom, I can't even imagine how many people got out of this great hobby because their fish wouldn't survive and they had no clue why. That is why I recommend AA to people almost everytime I am at one of the LFS.

[Lonewolfblue]

Also depends where you live too. The power here is cheap. Compared to back when I had no tanks, now with 8 tanks and lights, filters, air pumps, etc, running, my power bill has only gone up 20.00/month.

[SCFatz]

Just a thought,but I would do it differently....

With just a few small fish...the bioload is small.That said the bacteria level is not going to large.
If you couple that last fact with the fact that there is much much surface area,then media transfer means lightly lightly populated media.

I like the idea,but if I were to do it it would be bare bottom with three filter pads...one for moving and two for leaving.

Just my thoughts on it...any objections are welcome...but I suspect the transfer will be much more effecient (more good stuff) this way.

[Purrbox]

Another option would be to remove the fish and dose with pure ammonia. More work to maintain, but you would be able to increase the size of the biofilter making each bit of much more effective.

[rkilling1]

Originally Posted by Purrbox

Another option would be to remove the fish and dose with pure ammonia. More work to maintain, but you would be able to increase the size of the biofilter making each bit of much more effective.

i was thinking the same thing. i think you could come up with a drip type adaptor for the NH3 bottle and then just regulate how much is being added. but there is a limit to how much bacteria a tank can maintain without becoming O2 deprived.

having a bacteria factory does seem a little overboard. As others have metioned, you have plenty of filter media to seed tanks.

[DeFeKt]

Well I think it's genius, and all without having to open a filter to seed a new tank.
Good thinking and well done.

Matt.