Here i go again!

[onah]

i have had water in the tank filterless for about 2wks now, i put rocks from my first one(split first set into 2), i added some old filter material, as well as some stress zyme to get things started. Ammonia has already spiked and seems to be dropping. Started filter today. NH3 about .5ppm already. Havent tested for anything else.

Tank #3|penguin150PF|20g|tetra whisper heater

 

[Lonewolfblue]

What source of ammonia are you using? Cycling with fish or adding ammonia? Or decaying shrimp? Tank is looking good.

 

[onah]

....

i didnt use any source seeing how i already had some in it before i started the filter, the initial fill came from my tank#1(about 8-10g). i was reading a high concentration of ammonia for a wk or so in the new tank(tank 1 is still cycling a bit), but it is now on the steady decline(nh3), i used rocks from tank1 as well as stated above, and some plants(i also used some really old plants that i had here that i got with the tank, i was goin got throw a shrimp in but seeing how i already had the ammonia spike i didnt think i needed it.

 

[severum mama]

Your new tank looks nice. Good job! The reason LWB asked you if you are using a source of ammonia is that without a source of ammonia (fish, shrimp, pure ammonia, etc.) your bacteria will die. Your best chance for a quick cycle will be to add a source of ammonia asap. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Hmm...so you put in old filter media, stress zyme, and rocks from another tank, but no fish food, pure ammonia, or fish?

i didnt use any source seeing how i already had some in it before i started the filter

Do you mean pure ammonia? Or bacteria?

You have to have an ammonia source to keep bacteria alive. The ammonia source could be fish poo (from live fish), fish food, pure ammonia, or a decaying shrimp.

I am a bit confused. Did the ammonia level actually go up or did you just get an ammonia reading when you added the media and rocks? Have you tested for nitrites? That should tell you if your tank is cycling or not.

 

[JRagg]

Hmm...so you put in old filter media, stress zyme, and rocks from another tank, but no fish food, pure ammonia, or fish?

i didnt use any source seeing how i already had some in it before i started the filter

Do you mean pure ammonia? Or bacteria?

You have to have an ammonia source to keep bacteria alive. The ammonia source could be fish poo (from live fish), fish food, pure ammonia, or a decaying shrimp.

I am a bit confused. Did the ammonia level actually go up or did you just get an ammonia reading when you added the media and rocks? Have you tested for nitrites? That should tell you if your tank is cycling or not.

Water was pulled out of a tank that was mid-cycle which had high ammonia levels already.

I agree that you need to get something in there to act as an ammonia source. Otherwise, when all of your ammonia is gone (and the nitrite ->nitrate portion of the cycle is going) the bacteria will die.

Good luck.

 

[onah]

....

ok it was bacteria i fig i had a bit of from the old tank, i tested the water the day after i added it, and got a reading of like 1.0 for nh3. todays reading was at like .5ppm. i just tested for no3 and i am looking just a bit darker then 5.0ppm. my nitrie is about .40ppm is that a good thing? i raised the temp in the tank up to 86 so i could speed things up a bit(i think i read that somewhere around here) does that work?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Need to get an ammonia source in the tank. If you get ammonia, make sure it's pure ammonia and not one with detergents, scents, etc. Also, the bacteria dying off can give you a small ammonia reading as well, and the bacteria levels will slowly die off if no ammonia is present. Keep the ammonia levels at 1-2ppm. When ammonia reaches 0ppm, add another 1-2ppm. Keep doing this until both ammonia and nitrite go to 0ppm in 24 hours or less. Then you are cycled.

 

[onah]

....

Added a Shrimp

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Cool. Will take a day or 2 to start decaying and you should see ammonia start to rise. And then nitrite.

 

[onah]

yea so the ammonia never came back up, and the nitrite has been about the same, varies by a couple of ppm. the shrimp is looking pretty hairy. whats happened? was the amonia already done cycling like i thought or whats going wrong?

 

[onah]

anyone?

 

[rich311k]

Sounds like you are done with ammonia stage and are well into the nitrite stage. Since you seeded the tank, you just about skipped the ammonia part. I would imagine you will be done soon.

 

[bosk1]

It appears ammonia is starting to be taken care of by stage 1 bacteria. Nitrites part of the cycle takes longer, as stage 2 bacteria reproduce much more slowly. Patience, grasshopper. What are your exact parameters right now?

EDIT: looks like Rich beat me to it. Hey, Rich, what happened to the Bichon? You don't look like you anymore.