Just started my 55 gal last night and I added 3 gallons of water from my already cycled tanks and some filter medium. My tests come out negative for ammonia and nitrates and nitrites. My ph is 7.5 and my alkalinity is 150, water hardness is is 115. Could my tank be ready already?
Is my cycle done?
- Thread starter Dizzydea
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Bearchumjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Do you have a source of ammonia to add to make sure the bacteria are doing their job? You could either use ammonia, add a fish, or drop in a raw shrimp and see if you get ammonia or nitrite readings.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Adding cycled media will jumpstart your cycle- adding water wont have any affect. You need to add an ammonia source to get your cycle started. Please read this link & ask any questions you may have!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
LyndaB
Aquarium Advice Addict
In a word...... no. If you 0 across the board, you are not cycled. If you had seeded your new filter alongside an existing filter for a month, and then placed the filter on this new tank, you might have been instantly cycled.
What type of seeded media did you take? And how much of it?
The water made no difference. Even gravel wouldn't have made a difference really.
BBradbury
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Cycling Tank Question
Hello D...
Didn't read the other posts, so this info may already have been posted. Anyway, the old water isn't going to be much help. The bulk of the good bacteria is going to be in the used media, gravel, decorations, etc.
The good bacteria will reproduce quickly, likely doubling in a few hours if you have a source for ammonia and nitrites. I'd add some hardy fish to the mix. Several Zebra Danios and Platys, if you prefer "Livebearers". It's the fish waste that starts the cycling process. So, for a 55 G, you'll need a dozen or more fish.
Get a reliable water testing kit and check for ammonia and nitrites daily. When your test shows a trace of either of these pollutants, change out 25 to 30 percent of the tank water and replace it with pure, treated tap water.
Do this until several tests read zero (0) for both and then add some more fish and resume testing and changing the water.
Follow this procedure until the tank is stocked.
Pretty simple.
B
Hello D...
Didn't read the other posts, so this info may already have been posted. Anyway, the old water isn't going to be much help. The bulk of the good bacteria is going to be in the used media, gravel, decorations, etc.
The good bacteria will reproduce quickly, likely doubling in a few hours if you have a source for ammonia and nitrites. I'd add some hardy fish to the mix. Several Zebra Danios and Platys, if you prefer "Livebearers". It's the fish waste that starts the cycling process. So, for a 55 G, you'll need a dozen or more fish.
Get a reliable water testing kit and check for ammonia and nitrites daily. When your test shows a trace of either of these pollutants, change out 25 to 30 percent of the tank water and replace it with pure, treated tap water.
Do this until several tests read zero (0) for both and then add some more fish and resume testing and changing the water.
Follow this procedure until the tank is stocked.
Pretty simple.
B
Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just setup my 3rd tank in my current collection a few months ago. I seeded the bio compartment of my power filter with a bag of BioMax that had been sitting in my established tank's filter for several months. I knew I was planning on getting a new aquarium so I bought the extra BioMax and preemptively deposited back there. Anyway, after seeding the new tank with it, I added some Zebra Danios to continue supplying the BB with its food source, ammonia. I monitored the params and I would say it took about 2-3 weeks before all the levels stabilized. I slowly stocked more until my BB colonies were strong enough for me to transfer the old fish back out and my new Dwarf Puffers in. 3 months later (today), my tank (10g) is doing well with 3 DPs. I really thought it was going to be an instant cycling thing, but I had a small ammonia spike in the beginning that required immediate pwc's. Luckily Zebras are pretty hardy and I had no ill effects. Point being, it's almost not always instant and you'll have to be vigilant and doctor your params to make sure.
geff.gardner
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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- Apr 6, 2012
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I'm always curious why people say adding water won't have an effect? I know the bulk of nitrites/nitrates live in filter media mostly but when cycling, if you do a 50% water change, your nitrites/nitrates would be cut in half meaning you are eliminating 1/2 of them by removing water only, so they obviously do live in the water. Why wouldn't the reverse be true? By adding water from a cycle tank, wouldn't he already have nitrates? Is it because nitrItes live in filter media & nitrAtes live in both media & water?
Bearchumjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
geff.gardner said:
Nitrites are the "poop" of the bacteria that consume ammonia. Nitrates are "poop" of the bacteria that consume the nitrites. You want the bacteria and that doesn't live in the water. It lives on the surface of filter media.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Adding water from a cycled tank will have almost zero affect on cycling a tank because there is very little bb in the water column. Your good bacteria excrete a sticky substance that helps them to cling to the surfaces of your tank, substrate & filter media. This is why changing your water or swishing your filter media in some used tank water does not affect bacterial colonies. Nitrites & nitrates are the chemical end products of the stages of the nitrification process in the chemical conversion of ammonia by your good bacteria. These chemicals are dispersed freely & equally through out the water column in your tank- these chemicals do not solely live exist in your filter.
geff.gardner
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Got it, thanks jlk & Bearchumjs, I thought nitrites/nitrates were the actual bacteria, didn't realize it was the waste. Science is not my specialty obviously. Thanks for clarifying!
Wow what a wicked response I came home from work and there was all of this!!! So I took those little bacteria catcher pellet things and threw them in with the new filter. So I regards to adding ammonia I have several plants in there will adding ammonia kill them? I also have some danios that I'm quite fond of, they will be ok if I put them in? also I was cleaning the tank inside with some vinegar and I forgot to rinse it before I filled it. Will this harm anything? If so how can I fix it?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Add plants anytime! I didnt know there was fish in here- if there is, NO ammonia! You will be now starting a fish-in cycle. Just keep a daily check on your parameters & do water changes if you see any spikes in toxins. Hopefully, with the cycled media, you wont see any spikes. Just be patient adding any new fish & stock gradually so your bacteria can adjust to the increased bioload. Dont hesitate to ask questions! Heres the fish-in cycle link with some more info:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!
Bearchumjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Dizzydea said:
Wait until someone responds about the not rinsing well after using vinegar to clean it before you put fish in. I was told to be sure to rinse well.
If you don't add your danios and choose to use ammonia it won't hurt your plants. The light makes no difference in the cycle, but live plants need light so make sure they get the light they need.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, in respect to the not rinsing off the vinegar. It will depend on how you would like to cycle this tank (fishin or fishless). If you chose fish-in, I would do 100% water change just to be safe that everything is out. Make sure you properly condition the water. Theres probably only trace amounts of vinegar & it probably will have little effect but its always best to be safe. If your going the fishless route, dont worry about it. You will need to do large water changes at the end of the cycle anyway & probably atleast once or twice during cycling, so it will be long gone by the time theres fish. Hope this helps!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
It depends on your % of ammonia. Heres the ammonia calculator- just enter your tank size, % of ammonia & desired ppm (4).
http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm
http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm
Last edited:
BBradbury
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Tank Cycling
Hello geff...
I've always cycled a tank with fish, so I don't add polluted water to the tank. The reason is you don't want to add more ammonia and nitrites than the growing good bacteria can use. The idea is to add a little at a time so the bacteria grows at the same rate as the wastes. That's the reason cycling takes at least a month, many times longer.
Does that make sense?
B
Hello geff...
I've always cycled a tank with fish, so I don't add polluted water to the tank. The reason is you don't want to add more ammonia and nitrites than the growing good bacteria can use. The idea is to add a little at a time so the bacteria grows at the same rate as the wastes. That's the reason cycling takes at least a month, many times longer.
Does that make sense?
B
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