Help me........

[Ky'smommy]

i have a very cycled very old rena xp3...
well i set up a 120gallon today to transfer my discus to.
Well i moved the rena cause i read everywhere that if the filter is cycled you wont have to cycle the tank and it is instantly cycled.
Well its not. Im dont have a cycled filter for my 80gallon. It is now on the 120.
well this is what the first test kit read.
Ammonia -1
nitrite-0
nitrate-0

second test kit
read
ammonia -0 or barely detectable.

Its been about 8 hours since the filter has been on the 120gallon
And my discus are sitting in an unfiltered 80g with are air store.
My other half is on his way to get a third test kit.
What makes me mad is the fact that i have read so many times that if you use old filter media the tank will be cycled. this is a old filter. it hasnt been cleaned recently for the purpose that i knew it would be used for the 120.

And this isnt the first time this has happened either but luckly every other time there werent fish waiting to have a home.
So please tell me what you think.
Also on the first test kit. i tested other tanks and they all said there was ammonia. These tanks are also cycled tanks and i have never had ammonia problems. . and same with the tap water. it said it had ammonia in it. So im assuming that its a bad test kit. but i dont want to take that chance just in case its not bad.
All the fish in all my tanks are happy healthy and showing no signs of stress. so i think i would notice if there was actually ammonia....

 

[Lonewolfblue]

It will not always be completely cycled. Sometimes, due to water volume, you will see a short mini-cycle. Also, plants are another factor. If the old tank had plants, then the filter may not be as cycled as a tank with no plants due to the plants using the ammonia. Did you have fish in the new tank, or were you doing the fishless way to see how cycled the new tank would be? Remember also, the bacteria is everywhere, and in a new tank, the filter may be cycled, but the tank would need to catch up. Not all tanks will act alike, some will show instant cycle, and others will have a mini-cycle.

 

[Ky'smommy]

thats what i figured but i thought it would be short as in a few hours maybe more. However long it took for the filter to cycle the water a while.
i was hoping by tonight i could move the fish. but even so it looks like the 80 is showing signs of very little ammonia all fish are accounted for. i did a 50 % waterchange.
There are no plants. The filter was taken straight off and put on the 120.
I took over 50 percent of the decorations fake plants. ect and moved them over too.
so what would i do with the 80g. Im more concerned about the fish and the fact they have no filter.
Do you think they will be fine over night with just an air stone? And im not sure how i would even get ammonia in that tank as it has been running for like 5 years straight.
I was doing it fishless as i guessed i would have it cycled by tonight.... Now more or less im worried about my fish.

 

[SparKy697]

What type of test kits are you using?

Moving the decorations and fake plants to the new tank will help for sure. You also have the benefit of a larger water volume so ammonia buildup will happen quite slow.

I was doing it fishless as i guessed i would have it cycled by tonight

A fishless cycle would indicate that you had introduced some source of ammonia and allowed the bacteria to develop over time. It sounds like you were relying on the bacteria in the filter to take care of not having a cycle. Judging by what I see as far as filters on 120 gallon tanks and what the XP3 does in my 55g tank, I would say that you could use a lot more filter on that 120 as well.

If it were me, I would consider putting the filter back on the 80 and keep the fish happy. Figure out what I wanted to do with filters on the 120 and do an actual fishless cycle on the 120. I'm guessing that a fishless cycle in a 120 could take nearly a month due to volume, but when you are done your fish should do better in their new home

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You won't see Nitrates in the tank unless there is an ammonia source that is converting to Nitrates. I would move the fish over to the new tank and monitor the levels.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I agree with the above, do a good water change in the new tank and move the fish over. Most people, when moving a filter over like that to a new tank, will move the fish at the same time. When doing a fishless cycle, you are adding more ammonia than what the fish are producing.

 

[Ky'smommy]

well im glad you all agree.
last night after my 50 percent water change on the 80g because of ammonia. Well i tested it an hour later and it was just getting higher and higher and fish started acting weird. So i moved the rest of anything left into the 120g.
i just freaked out. the 120g was almost ready, i think i was just seeing things. But i think i would i rather chance it in a tank thats going down instead of up.
Makes me so mad. But i was up all night moving them. Water params are normal this morning.
Fish are out swimming around.

Im used three different liquid master test kits.
The first one was bad.
i also think over the being worried about water the levels in the 120g and getting all the test kits. by the time i was done it wasleveled out. Thank god.
So thank you everyone for your help.