fishless cycle question

[EmptyH]

I recently got a 90 gal tank I thought if I seeded the tank with some of the decorations from my cycled 10 gal Q tank and some filter media from the 55 Gal that I would have little or no cycle. So I moved my 4 neon tetras and my one surviving Panda Cory into the big tank. After a couple of days I saw the Ammonia rising to over .5 and still no Nitrites. I was really not wanting to do massive PWCs every other day to a 90 Gal so I decided to move the fish back to the 10 Q tank and go with a fishless cycle. I cannot find any pure Ammonia at any of the stores around me so for now I am just feeding the empty 90 Gal.

Will this work? Will I get enough Ammonia from just feeding the tank? Why didn't the added decorations and filter material kick start the cycle? It has been set up since Sunday, I would have expected to see at least some Nitrites. Does this mean it will take 4 weeks before I can put fish in?

Thanks,

MTH

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Do you mean Nitrates instead of Nitrites? There probably wasn't enough bacteria in the materials used to bypass a cycle. Would it be possible for you to run the filter for the 90 gal on the 55 gal for a week or two in addition to the current filter? It could cause too much of a current, but you may be able to slow the filter output.

Yes the food will cycle the tank but you must keep adding food. The problem with using the fish food method is that you have to wait for it to decompose and then have to keep adding more. But if you can't find pure ammonia, you may want to go that route. Have you tried Ace Hardware?

 

[Zagz]

I just started a 75 gal with tons and I mean tons of seeded material from other tanks, I have 9 others to choose from, but I digress. I still had to add ammonia for 2 reasons, I had to see if the cycle was done and to keep the bacteria alive until I added the fish. Running both filters on the old tank would help you the most IMO. Adding an ammonia source such as pure ammonia will also help speed things up.

 

[TomK2]

You got ammonia in a 90 gal tank with 4 neon tetras and a cory? And in a couple of days? And the tank had some seed material, even though it was minor?

Something is amiss here. That few fish, in that large of a tank, in that short a time should not be showing any ammonia. Even without a biologic filter seed. Did you dechlorinate the water? Any chance your tap water could have chloramines in it? Have you run an ammonia test on your tap water?

Hmmmmm.

Zagz, you got 9 tanks? Man, you got MTS bad! Still a bit shy of the record 29 tanks that Toirtis has, I think.

 

[TomK2]

Ace hardware has thier own brand of janitorial strentght cleaner, which is a 10% ammonia solution without additives. Check there. Gotta take the fish out if you do this.

I seeded a 10 gal tank once,crammed colonized media into the new little tanks filter, had about 3 days of low level nitrite (0.25) then done. So seeding a tank can cuase an abreviated and atypical cycle, ie: ammonia but no nitrite, nitrite but no ammonia.

I still think that something is strange to see ammonia that fast in that large a tank with such a low bioload. The substrate was new substrate, not taken from another tank?

 

[EmptyH]

Ace hardware has thier own brand of janitorial strentght cleaner, which is a 10% ammonia solution without additives. Check there. Gotta take the fish out if you do this.

Thanks. Ace had the ammonia, works like a charm. The fish are safely back in the Q tank and I am starting to see a Nitrite spike in the 90 gal. Hopefully the 90 will finish cycling soon and I will be able to move the fish back.

Can I start putting live plants in the 90 gal while I am cycling it or should I wait for the cycle to finish?

I still think that something is strange to see ammonia that fast in that large a tank with such a low bioload. The substrate was new substrate, not taken from another tank?

I was real surprised by this too. I figured 4 neon tetras and 1 panda cory in a 90 gal wouldn't be able to produce enough ammonia to even register. The substrate was new. I moved a sunken ship and a couple of fake plants from my 10 gal. The only other thing I can think of is the new driftwood I bought. I rinsed it off before I put it in but I didn't soak it because it was too big to fit in the bucket. Is it possible there was something on it that caused the ammonia?