Getting established filter media from a friend...

[firteen888]

Hey all,

Since my fishless cycle hasn't budged in the month I've been trynig, my friend agreed to give me the media he currently has in his filter (sponge and some bag of rocks). I just have a few questions:

1. I work with him, so the media will be out of his tank for 24-48 hours before I can put it into my tank. Is this ok? How should we go about this transfer without losing the beneficial bacteria that I need?

2. How exactly do I put this in my filter (I have a aquean 30 HOB filter)? Do i just drop both items in, or do they need to be somewhere specific for this to work?

3. Once my cycle completes, can I remove this extra media or does it need to stay in the filter forever? If I remove it, will I lose the cycle?

4. Are there any dangers I should be aware of before doing this?

Thanks all, I appreciate the help.

 

[Hubert90]

Hey all,

Since my fishless cycle hasn't budged in the month I've been trynig, my friend agreed to give me the media he currently has in his filter (sponge and some bag of rocks). I just have a few questions:

1. I work with him, so the media will be out of his tank for 24-48 hours before I can put it into my tank. Is this ok? How should we go about this transfer without losing the beneficial bacteria that I need?

2. How exactly do I put this in my filter (I have a aquean 30 HOB filter)? Do i just drop both items in, or do they need to be somewhere specific for this to work?

3. Once my cycle completes, can I remove this extra media or does it need to stay in the filter forever? If I remove it, will I lose the cycle?

4. Are there any dangers I should be aware of before doing this?

Thanks all, I appreciate the help.

1. As long as u keep them wet u should be fine. As an extra precaution maybe add some ammonia? To keep the bb "fed"

2. Place them where ur other medias go.

3. Yes once u are sure that it's cycled u can remove them.

4. Don't think there's many dangers involved. The most that can happen is anything Diseases ur friend may have in his tank may get transferred to urs. I'm not too sure if this is absolutely true, let's wait for a pro to correct or agree with me on this one

Happy cycling. It's gonna be worth it at the end.

 

[jcolon]

Hey all,

Since my fishless cycle hasn't budged in the month I've been trynig, my friend agreed to give me the media he currently has in his filter (sponge and some bag of rocks). I just have a few questions:

1. I work with him, so the media will be out of his tank for 24-48 hours before I can put it into my tank. Is this ok? How should we go about this transfer without losing the beneficial bacteria that I need?

2. How exactly do I put this in my filter (I have a aquean 30 HOB filter)? Do i just drop both items in, or do they need to be somewhere specific for this to work?

3. Once my cycle completes, can I remove this extra media or does it need to stay in the filter forever? If I remove it, will I lose the cycle?

4. Are there any dangers I should be aware of before doing this?

Thanks all, I appreciate the help.

All good questions!

1. The materials needs to be kept in tank water .... I'm not sure if 24 - 48 may be too long ... just not certain. You don't want the BB to run out of food (ammo) and die off. So in as much tank water as possible ... maybe throw some fish flakes, pour a few drops of ammonia, or a raw shrimp as a source of ammo? I'll let other more experienced members comment on suggestions.

2. Just put in right next to the old media. Gravel and filter media can go next to the new filter media ... ornaments and rocks into the tank.

3. Yes the material can be removed once your tank's cycled as they will have done their job in seeding your new tank

4. You'll need to ensure you have a source of ammo in your new tank ... which sounds like you do. If the donated material is coming from an established reliable source, meaning the fish were disease free ... then there's really no danger. Do you know if fish ever had ick or some other disease?

Hope this helps

 

[firteen888]

Thanks guys, you are all awesome!!

Do you know if fish ever had ick or some other disease?

I don't think so, but i'll def find out.

 

[eco23]

I would recommend against removing it when the cycle is done. You'd just be taking out a large portion of the BB which is keeping the tank cycled. I'd keep it in there until it's literally falling apart, and when you are coming up on the time for replacement , stick a new filter in for a couple weeks beforehand to get that seeded.

The best place to stick the seeded media is in the filter as the first thing the water contacts, place the new media up against it as the second thing the water contacts. Good luck!

 

[eco23]

Also, what type of ammo source are you using? If it is liquid ammo, make sure it is pure...no surfactants, no dyes, no perfumes, etc... It is a bit odd the ammo hasn't budged yet. Check out the guide in my signature if you haven't already seen it.

 

[firteen888]

Thanks eco. I def have the right kind of ammonia. The one from ace hardware that everyone here uses. I have no idea why nothing is happening, I've followed your guide (which is great btw) step by step. The ammo did drop to 1ppm about a week ago so I dosed it back to 4ppm and it hasn't budged since. No nitrates/nitrates. Weird.

 

[eco23]

Thanks eco. I def have the right kind of ammonia. The one from ace hardware that everyone here uses. I have no idea why nothing is happening, I've followed your guide (which is great btw) step by step. The ammo did drop to 1ppm about a week ago so I dosed it back to 4ppm and it hasn't budged since. No nitrates/nitrates. Weird.

Check your pH for me...is it stable? Have you seen it drop compared to the tap water level?

 

[Hubert90]

Thanks eco. I def have the right kind of ammonia. The one from ace hardware that everyone here uses. I have no idea why nothing is happening, I've followed your guide (which is great btw) step by step. The ammo did drop to 1ppm about a week ago so I dosed it back to 4ppm and it hasn't budged since. No nitrates/nitrates. Weird.

Could it be u that ur cycled stalled? Did u do any pwc during this cycle period? Have u tested for nitrite after ur ammonia dropped to 1. It could be that ur nitrite went off the charts and stalled Ur cycle.
Stupid question are u using water conditioner?

 

[firteen888]

pH is stable too. been testing it every few days and it's right about 7.6

 

[firteen888]

Could it be u that ur cycled stalled? Did u do any pwc during this cycle period? Have u tested for nitrite after ur ammonia dropped to 1. It could be that ur nitrite went off the charts and stalled Ur cycle.
Stupid question are u using water conditioner?

After 2 weeks I did about a 70% water change. Nothing was happening and my ammonia seemed higher than 5ppm, so I did the change to lower it. it was at about 2ppm after the change so I just waited for it to drop to 1ppm and dosed it back up, which is where its been stuck for weeks. I test for nitrites everytime i test for ammonia (everyday with the api liquid kit) and have never seen any. The test tube couldn't be more blue than it is lol.

 

[eco23]

pH is stable too. been testing it every few days and it's right about 7.6

Hmm....odd for it to drop to 1 and then refuse to budge. It wouldn't hurt to do a 50% pwc and add a teenie tiny pinch of finely ground up fish food. It's possible your water is low in some type of nutrient the bacteria needs to colonize. It's possible it was used up the first time the ammo dropped. Just remember to dechlorinate and match the temps.

 

[Hubert90]

After 2 weeks I did about a 70% water change. Nothing was happening and my ammonia seemed higher than 5ppm, so I did the change to lower it. it was at about 2ppm after the change so I just waited for it to drop to 1ppm and dosed it back up, which is where its been stuck for weeks. I test for nitrites everytime i test for ammonia (everyday with the api liquid kit) and have never seen any. The test tube couldn't be more blue than it is lol.

Can it be that ur test kit is faulty?

 

[firteen888]

Hmm....odd for it to drop to 1 and then refuse to budge

Well, I did a big water change, which dropped the ammo to about 2ppm, so technically it didn't drop all the way to 1ppm on it's own.

Can it be that ur test kit is faulty?

I guess it's possible but I don't think so.

 

[Hubert90]

Well, I did a big water change, which dropped the ammo to about 2ppm, so technically it didn't drop all the way to 1ppm on it's own.

I guess it's possible but I don't think so.

When u get a weird reading like what u had before it's always good to get it tested by another person. Eg ur friend or ur Lfs. To confirmed that ur readings are true.

 

[eco23]

The fact it dropped at all shows there is some level of nitrifying bacteria in the tank. Is the tank planted and are you running carbon or something like zeolite in the filter?

 

[firteen888]

Is the tank planted and are you running carbon or something like zeolite in the filter?

No plants in the tank. Just gravel, fake plants and some ornaments. I believe the aquean filter uses a carbon media filter.

 

[firteen888]

Here's the media in my filter

Aqueon Replacement Filter Cartridges at PETCO

When I did the big PWC, I used a dechlorinator by API. I have since purchased prime since everyone here raves about it, but haven't used it yet.

 

[eco23]

No plants in the tank. Just gravel, fake plants and some ornaments. I believe the aquean filter uses a carbon media filter.

The carbon won't have a major impact, but you could always cut a slit in the cartridge and shake the carbon into the trash if you wanted. It is a competing source for the ammo, but won't be a big deal if you leave it in. I'd just throw the seed material in and see if it kicks the cycle into gear...it will Most fishless cycles take 4-8 weeks, normally with the little tricks in the guide you can finish faster, but some tanks are just stubborn, lol.

 

[eco23]

If you remove the carbon (I would), dont ever listen to their recommendation to change that thing every month. It'll throw your tank into a mini cycle. I've got some info on changing filters in the guide.