Xtreme_B

Hi,I set up my 55g tank on 8-26 putting plants,filter media,and 2 fish nets full of gravel(leaving nets in the tank)from my established 29g tank in it.I checked the water on the 29th and all levels were at 0ppm,and checked again today and still at 0ppm.The day before yesterday I added a bubble curtain and a couple of new plants.Could that have interrupted the start of the cycle or will it not cycle with all the things I put in from my other tank?I took the fiter media and moved it around in the water and had lots of yuckie(lol) looking stuff coming out of it and now the filter media is laying on the bottom of the tank.Any help with this is greatly appreciated.Oh and I am using the Freshwater Master Kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals,Inc. And when I clean my 29g tomorrow and syphon the gravel,should I put the dirty water in the new tank or maybe just the water without the dirt?

Thanks,Susanne

lilsoccakid

i think this problem is because u dont have a source of ammonia yet, try putting a few flakes in the tank everyday to produce ammonia. also, cleaning the gravel and putting it into the new tank would help

Xtreme_B

I didn't clean the gravel i took it from the established tank as is.I wanted to know if I can use the water from my established tank when I clean it today.Meaning,I syphon the gravel and take that poop and all and put it in my new tank.If that will help the ammonia to start.And I have been feeding the tank except for 2 days where I forgot.

Xtreme_B

There is white fuzzy stuff growing on the decoration and gravel.What does that mean?And my readings are still at 0.

armadillo

Hi extreme. The white fuzzy stuff is just the food rotting away. That's why I hate cycling with food. It's really disgusting. Next time, you might want to drop surimi sticks that are kinda still wrapped, but still in contact with your substrate. That's (slightly) less messy.

In the meantime, resist the urge to clean out the goo, as it's the dirty stuff that will produce organic waste. It's disgusting, I know.

To make your tank cycle faster, increase the temp (there are no fish in there, right?) to, say, 30C.

Also, you need to keep feeding the tank, as in every day, you need to feed the tank, or some bacteria may starve. I'd not go hysterical if I missed a feeding or two, though, when I was cycling like that (it still cycled pretty quick, like 3 weeks or something), so I think you'll be OK.

Readings will take a while to take up. Some people do it quickly (like a week, using lots of help), and some take 6 weeks.

Oh, and please do not syphon the gravel right now. Your gravel needs to develop a colony of bacteria, and won't if you disturb it. It's all about letting it fester for now. Yummy.

I'd not use water from your established tank, as you may infest a perfectly healthy tank with unknown, future problems (e.g. snails you don't know about yet, or a dormant disease, or planaria). You get the gist.

Xtreme_B

Thank you,I thought I did something wrong and have to start all over again.I did put a little bit of the water from my established tank(poop and all) in it last night.But it wasn't more then maybe 1quart.And I sqeezed out the filter media today to get all that good stuff out of it....yuck.

Susanne

armadillo

Well, I don't htink it's a huge boo boo, but I personally would not do it for fear of cross-contamination with uninvited guests from other tanks.

Xtreme_B

What do you mean? I read in a few posts to use water from a established tank or is it the dirt I'm not suppose to use?This is so confusing.

armadillo

Oh, how surprising. Did you read that on Fishlore? Ah well, am sure some people do that, but it's the general understanding that the water contains little bacteria, as opposed to the substrate and the filter medium. I think this can be substantiated by most Fishlore readers, as this is where I've learned about it, and this is what I consistently read.

So adding water from your old tank has little benefits and some risk, hence I don't bother with it.

What you're supposed to use is used gravel and filter media (that haven't been out of hte water more than a few seconds)

Xtreme_B

That's what I did....took gravel,filter media,plants and decor from established tank and got it all in with a few seconds.And now that I know what all the nasty fuzz is,I hope it wont take to long for the cycle to start.I bought some Cycle but I'm not sure if I should add it.It says that it will minimize the ammonia and nitrites,but I don't have any of that yet.Any suggestions on that?And yes I did read it on FishLore,it was written by Tan.B who took 50% of water out of some of the tanks and added it to the new tank to help cycle it.And I just got done reading all your posts about cycling your 39g.How much fish food did you put in and does it matter if I use freshwater or saltwater fish food?I just put in a pinch of food maybe that's not enough for a 55 g and that's why nothing has happened yet?

Thx,Susanne
.

armadillo

Wow, Susanne, I'm so impressed. You're really doing the homework. You're going to learn the ins and outs of fishkeeping sooooo quick.

Might be worth asking Tan why she does it. She's quite an experienced aquarist. There must be a reason.

Perfect how you transferred the established stuff.

I don't have direct experience with Cycle, but I know some people have been using it. If it's an ammonia/nitrites detoxifier, that will slow down your cycle so not a good idea as you don't have any fish in there anyway, so why not go full blown on the cycling. But with a product with that name, it's more likely they're claiming to bring down a'nia/n'ites as a result of the cycle which the product precipitates (i.e. encouraging the production of nitrates from these substances faster than without Cycle). If that's the case, I'd say dump away. Any help is good to get your tank to cycle. Who's the manufacturer? I could look it up and double-check what type it is? I know most products that claim to accelerate your cycling are actually not working, but it's not going to hurt, is it? I mean, you are cycling fishless after all. That leaves you a lot of margin.

Doesn't matter if you use fresh or salt water food as far as I know.

Your surest bet with the food is to use dropping (not floating) food. I've learnt that now. Otherwise, you have lots of gooey stuff floating around the surface and attached to the plants that's no use to anybody. So I was using, in the end, mainly algae wafers. They're also easier to scoop out when the time comes. You can easily locate them with their yummy layer of white goo.

Xtreme_B

Thanks for your quick response.I'm trying my best not to do the same mistakes that I did with my first tank 1 1/2 years ago.I didn't know anything about fish tanks cycles and had way to many fish die.So this time I wanna do it right,it just takes way to long.The Cycle that I bought is made by Nutrafin. I wanted to get Bio Spira but it's hard to find and on the website under the nitrogen cycle right under the Bio Spira there is a link for the Cycle at Petsmart if you want to have a look at it.I put Algee wafers in the tank last night and hope it wont take forever now.And thanks again for all your help,it is greatly appreciated.


Susanne

armadillo

It's my pleasure.

It will be rewarding this time. Reading up is everything.

Just checked the Cycle product and indeed, it's one of these 'quick cycle' things, so it's definitely not going to hurt to dump it in. Go ahead, dump it in to your heart's content ! Tha'ts the good thing when you cycle without fish, you can be really really really mucky and add all this stuff. (wait til you see the rotting wafers, LOL).

Xtreme_B

Great can't wait to see them wafers...lol. I just checked my water levels and finally ammonia is .25 nitires 0 and nitrates close to 5.0 not sure how good this is since the nitrites are 0.

armadillo

Watching your cycle evolve is comparable to.... erm... let's see... watching paint dry! It's sooooo utterly boring.

Yep, you're on your way, but yep, need that nitrite (and ammonia for that matter) peak first. Great that you see some nitrates.

Xtreme_B

I dumped the whole bottle of Cycle 4oz. in the tank last night and now all levels are at 0 again.Now I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't a good idea,cause I doubt that the tank is cycled.

Wolfgang8810

i use cycle and i really diddnt notice a faster tank cycling but just keep feeding it and if you do not have any fish then dont change any water as nothing is being hurt so just basicly let it go for 4-8 weeks. the when your ammonia is at 0 nitrite is 0 and nitrate is at an absurd level do a 50 % water change and then the next day add your underwater friends

Xtreme_B

Ok I will do that,even thou 4-8 weeks sounds way to long lol.Thanks for the reply.

Susanne

armadillo

You're not kidding. Waiting for a tank to cycle feels like forever. Good luck!

Xtreme_B

Thanks,I need all the luck I can get

Wolfgang8810

patience is key i jsut got a 50 gllon tank and am waiting for it to cycle

Xtreme_B

Well let me know how it goes

Xtreme_B

Does it matter that I have the gravel inside the fish nets and they are in the tank?Or should I put the gravel in something else?

Wolfgang8810

ive heard people put them in stockings and let them alone untill the tank cycles

armadillo

I would say the closer the contact with your actual substrate the better. So if your fishnet is thicker than panty hose, that's perhaps prohibiting contact somewhat. At home, we use pantyhose to hold the established gravel.

Xtreme_B

I don't know if it's thicker then pantyhose but it's open on the top.And is the water suppose to be all murky?It looks so nasty I can hardly see what's inside the tank.It's like greenish water.I have about 20+ algee wafers in there.

Xtreme_B

I forgot to mention that my tap water is filtered,there is no chlorine,minerals or anything in the water.Does that effect the cycle at all?

armadillo

Hi Extreme. As far as I know, it doesn't affect the cycle, no.

armadillo

Yuk, well the dirtier looking the substrate, the better. I don't remember getting murky water when I did it, but come to think of it, maybe I did. You're just in for a massive water change when the time to add fish comes.

Xtreme_B

Use gravel and/or filter media from an established and cycled tank
This is the best and fastest way to go. This will seed the tank with all of the necessary bacteria for the nitrogen cycle. "Feed" the tank daily with flake food until you are getting nitrate readings. Depending on how fast you were able to get the gravel and filter media into your tank, you may be getting nitrate readings in only a day or two. There are some drawbacks to this method. Ask your source if they have recently used any copper medications in the tank. If they have and you are planning to have invertebrates in the tank you should probably not use this method. Invertebrates will not tolerate copper. Get a copper test kit to determine if it's safe to use.

Does that mean that I don't need the ammonia and nitrite to rise at all?This is from the Nitrogen cycle in the forums that I copied.I had nitrate readings until I put the Cycle in the tank and it went away.I'm a little confused,maybe someone can help me out with this.

Thanks,Susanne