Brackish to Fresh. Trying to keep tank cycled.

[GallonsOfFun]

Have a 55 gallon brackish (1.005 sg) tank and I'm rehoming the last inhabitant today and converting it to freshwater (Amazon biotope, if you're interested). I'm not adding fish until the new year because I'll be gone for 2 weeks (17th-31st) over Christmas, which is where this gets tricky.

I'd prefer to keep the beneficial bacteria in my filter alive but when you lower sg more than .002/week you risk killing it off. The best I can do is lower .005 over 11 days, which is probably worth trying. I can also seed it with media from the LFS.

But this is where I need help. If I was able to keep it cycled by means of this and/or seeded media, how much ammonia would I need in the tank to make sure there's still some left for the bacteria to feed off by the time I get back. If I dose 4ppm and it deals with it in a day, that's no use to me because the bacteria would have no food source after that.

Another option is if I just started from scratch and let the bacteria die off, so that it would take longer to deal with the ammonia. How much would you dose with in this instance?

Lastly, would it be a better idea to leave some shrimp in there (more constant source of ammonia)? I know shrimp can get iffy and you're supposed to take it out at some point but obviously it would be in there for 2 weeks.

 

[Laeris]

Fine mesh bag/pantyhose and salad shrimp from the freezer section of the grocery store. Hang it from the top, not laid on your substrate. It'll be gross by the time you get back, so pull and toss it immediately.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[GallonsOfFun]

Fine mesh bag/pantyhose and salad shrimp from the freezer section of the grocery store. Hang it from the top, not laid on your substrate. It'll be gross by the time you get back, so pull and toss it immediately.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

I would just put shrimp in there and have done with it but I was worried about the potential disease it could introduce, would this not be an issue if I hung it from the top instead of on the substrate? Found out I can actually get someone to come in on the 23rd so I could dose with ammonia right now, put shrimp in there on the 17th, get them to replace it with another shrimp on the 23rd, and then I'd be back on the 31st.

 

[Laeris]

There you are! My concern would be yuck getting all buddy buddy with the substrate. Suspended, it will still shed yuck, but it has a better chance of being swept into filter instead. Still gross, but manageable. I'm glad you have someone who can come in for you!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice