Help with "instant" cycle

[JRT83]

So I just set up my 55 that had been sitting empty for over a year and used 30 gallons of water from my 125, 25 gallons of tap water, and a cap full of prime. I took 1 of the biowheel 350s from my 125 with both filter cartridges and 2 bags of biomax and put that on the 55 to create what was supposed to be an instant cycle, done this once before with no problems. Not sure if it would help or not, I also grabbed a large piece of Mopani driftwood outta my 125 and threw that in there as well just to be safe. I set it up Friday night, added 12 bucktooth tetras (exodon paradoxus) yesterday afternoon, and just tested the water this afternoon (API master kit) to see how everything looked. My ammonia is between 0 and .25 which seems to be normal from my tap, nitrite is 0, pH is 8.2 which is also normal, but my nitrates aren't there.... they're 0 also. What does this mean? I didn't start the whole cycle over did i? From the research I've done, these fish aren't huge waste producers by any means. They seem healthy and extremely active, and the water is crystal clear. Anyone know what happened and what I can do to get it fully cycled somewhat quickly?

 

[thebritishbloke]

They may just have not created enough mess yet to get noticeable results. I'd give it another couple of days and test each day to see what you get.

 

[JRT83]

They may just have not created enough mess yet to get noticeable results. I'd give it another couple of days and test each day to see what you get.

If it was properly cycled though, I should be getting at least a trace reading of nitrate right off the bat shouldn't i? I'm hoping I didn't break the cycling process up too bad. Anyone else have any opinions on what's going on with my cycle?

 

[gilpi]

Give it enough time, your nitrates will go up.

 

[flitabout]

Well as I am sure you know bb doesn't live in the water but on the hardscape. That said I doubt the tetras have a heavy enough of a bio load to have much of an impact on a tank of that size. I would give it at least a few days before you see noticeable amounts of nitrate.

 

[JRT83]

Well as I am sure you know bb doesn't live in the water but on the hardscape. That said I doubt the tetras have a heavy enough of a bio load to have much of an impact on a tank of that size. I would give it at least a few days before you see noticeable amounts of nitrate.

When I'm doing water changes, I'm normally dumping a cup of tank water over the filter pads every half hour so they dont dry out. I can't remember if I was doing that this time though when I moved the old filter onto the new tank. Is it possible that I may have waited too long and everything dried out? Or would my ammonia and nitrites be through the roof already?

 

[gilpi]

Didn't you place the pads from the other tank in your "new" filter which is hopefully running? The bacteria you need has to grow in the filter.

 

[JRT83]

Didn't you place the pads from the other tank in your "new" filter which is hopefully running? The bacteria you need has to grow in the filter.

Yeah, but everything was shut off for a bit while I did the water change on my 125 and then dumped it into the 55... then I filled the 125 back up, filled the 55 up the rest of the way, and then finally plugged the filter back in. That's why I was asking about the filter pads in the biowheel 350 that I put on the 55 possibly drying up... not sure how long that takes to start harming the bacteria

 

[flitabout]

I have had filter material out of the water for around an hour or two and it was still damp with all of the bb still intact. As long as it was still damp you should be fine.

 

[gilpi]

I have had filter material out of the water for around an hour or two and it was still damp with all of the bb still intact. As long as it was still damp you should be fine.

I second that.

 

[JRT83]

I second that.

Fish in both tanks seem perfectly fine, u both at least helped ease my worries... thanks guys

 

[1998golfer]

Whenever I do my WCs where i have to turn off the filters, I take the bio media out of my hob and put it in a little tub of tank water (I use the top from my api master test kit.. ) And just make sure it's covered. after the WC i put it back in and all is well.

 

[JRT83]

Whenever I do my WCs where i have to turn off the filters, I take the bio media out of my hob and put it in a little tub of tank water (I use the top from my api master test kit.. ) And just make sure it's covered. after the WC i put it back in and all is well.

Sounds like a better idea than what I do, may have to start doing that

 

[1998golfer]

Sounds like a better idea than what I do, may have to start doing that

I'd just rather be safe than sorry.not sure it's necessary or but

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