Gargoyle

I have 2 well established tanks currently. A 10 and a 29. I am looking at getting a bigger tanks and this is my thought.

Site up the new tank as much as possible.
Start moving items from old tanks into new one.
BEFORE adding the fish I transfer 1 to 3 of the currently running filters with well established bio mass in them.

Would this reduce or eliminate the need to "cycle" my tank or do I need a 2 day buffer in there to make sure the readings get happy?

I'm a little rusty at the set up stuff.. I can keep them happy no problem.. LOL!!

Gargoyle

Ok I picked up a 55 gallon today and a Marineland 350 filter.

I haven't got much in the tank and I am thinking of grabbing some of my bio media out of my "cycled tanks" and placing it into the marineland filter.

I already decided against using the carbon they supply and filled that little basket with bio media. So adding more is no issue for me. What I am concerned about it taking a healthy bio media away from a cycled tank while it is still taking care of my fish. So I thought about grabbing some of the gravel out of the tank and using that instead.

Someone help me make the right choice. I would love it if this tank was cycled and ready to go in about a week or so. I have a lot of work to do to this bad boy before it catches up with my other tanks.

P.S. This tank is replacing 2 of my other tanks. So the equipment in those tanks is free for the robbing!!

Mike

Hi Gargoyle!

What about taking just half of the filter media from one of the established filters and put it inside the new filter? Maybe you could put the "cycled" filter media behind the new filter media and the bacteria should establish itself quickly on the new media as the water flows through the old to the new. You could also take some gravel from one of the already established tanks and put it in some old pantyhose and then put it in the filter box. Use the pantyhose or something similar to put the gravel into so you can remove the old gravel easier when you're sure the new tank has cycled.

Tavel

Actually, I'd take a different approach. You're replacing the other two tanks, so you don't need to keep them running after you open up the new one. Right?

Right. So decorate the new tank with as much stuff from the old tanks as you can manage (gravel, plants, furniture, whatever you can drop in there!). Do a 5 gallon water change on one of your tanks and put that water into your new tank. I would even pick up some gravel yummies to give the existing bacteria some food. Do that two days in a row, so you have 10 gallons chilling in your new tank.

Wait one more day, then move everything from the old tanks to the new one. move the water from the existing tanks to the new one; taking as much from the old tanks as possible. You can then top off with some fresh water. then put the OLD filters and fish into the new tank, along with the new filter.

Run it like that for about a week, then reduce the flow on the old filters. After a few days, take half the media out of the old filters. A few days more and you can take out the old filters altogether. (about 2 weeks total).

I'm reviewing this proposal over and over, if i see any errors I'll be sure to let you know.

Gargoyle

Well....

I trusted my best judgment on this one and here is where it's at now...

I dosed the new tank with API Stress Coat and API Stress Zyme. Let it simmer over night. This morning I didn't get on the site so I apologize for not reviewing your replies as they are much appreciated and I am looking forward to more..

So this morning I transfered all of the plants from the 29 and the decorations. Now my Java ferns LOVE the gravel they are in so it came with them. I then drained 5 gallons from the new tank. (it was completely full). I then took 5 gallons from the 29 and the fish. (I did an API test prior to all of this to verify good levels in the new tank). I dumped the 5 gallons of water from the 29 along with the fish into the new 55. (verifying pH and temp are the same prior).

I then took decorations from the 10 gallon and placed them in the new 55. I then took the fish out of the 10 and placed them into the 55.

After all that I fed them... They ate very well and I think I may need to feed them again before the day is over.

After all that I took ALL of the bio media out of my aquaclear 70 that was in the 29 and placed it all into my new Magnum 350 canister filter. Where the 350 holds "carbon" it is now filled with new and old bio media to the brim!! I also took my powerhead with attached cotton filter and placed that into the new 55. I did not clean any of the decorations so all of the good stuff on them is also in the new tank. I also took a little "mulm" from the old 29 and placed it in the 55.

So currently this is what I have done. The current stocking of the tank is as follows:

Fish....
1 Beta (properly trained and raised with guppies... No aggression from him)
5 Guppies (3 males 2 females)
2 pit bull plecos
4 swords (2 male 2 female)
4 danios
3 babies (appeared out of no where after I transferred the plants!!)

Plants...
9 Money worts (individual stalks)
12 Java ferns (2 very large)

So far everything looks fantastic!! The fish are very active and seeking food as I type. The tank is performing very well also.

Please let me know what I need to do if anything to keep everything happy an moving in the right direction at this point. I know I lost I lot of bio matter but the other 2 tanks are still up and running at this point. The 29 is heaterless right now but the filter is still running. The 10 still has one plant, a heater, and its powerhead and filter running.

Thanks so much!!

P.S. I am hoping that the bio media and mulm will keep this tank going good. Perhaps eliminating the need for a cycle all together. I will be testing daily.

MissMTS

Everything sounds great! Congrats on the new tank. Did you test your water levels? What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

Gargoyle

On the last test everything was 0. But that was before transferring all of the stuff. I am going to let it simmer for a little while and re-test tonight or tomorrow to see whats happening...

Honestly I am a little stressed over this right now. I think I did the right thing but how can I be sure... ??

Gargoyle

I just found 6 more babies!! LOL!!

Here is a photo of my new tank --> http://www.fishlore.com/fishpicture/...o=3615&cat=500


P.S. Hey Mike!! Long time so see.. LOL!!

MissMTS

You are doing everything right. Don't stress, it will be fine. If you tested the tank of water when you just filled it before transfering everything your tank was not cycled, it just did not have any waste in it yet. It is rare that a cycled tank will ever have nitrates at 0. Usually there is at least 5.0 nitrates in the water. You should test your water now that everything is in. You should get a different reading. Let us know what it is and we can help determine whether your tank is set to go

Gargoyle

I believe my bacterial bloom began today... I expected it just not this soon. I have a slight haze in the tank now and knowing that I added all of that good bacteria into my filter not to mention the mulm and gravel additions I feel it is a safe bet thats whats happening...

Water test coming soon..

Thanks for the help thus far!

Gargoyle

API test results as of 5 minutes ago...

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

I will recheck tomorrow...

Nitrate does show a slightly different yellow than normal.. But it's still yellow..

MissMTS

If nitrates show up with no ammonia or nitrite that is a good sign and your tank is probably cycled

Gargoyle

Well this morning I recieved the same readings... Bunch of el zippo's... I will test again tonight to see if there was a change.

I am beginning to think the cloudiness my be from one of the API additives.. Not sure though... Testing will continue and I still have the other 2 tanks up and running just in case..

Tavel

hey make sure your nitrate bottle #2 is working correctly, you shouldn't still be seeing zeros. Bang it against the table 5-6 time and shake it for about 5 minutes. Sometimes one of the solutes condenses out if it sits too long.

Gargoyle

I beat the out of that #2 bottle... Same results...

Unfortunately it looks like I have a .25 ammonia reading now.. Hopefully all the work I put into getting the good stuff into this new tank will show results soon. The cloudiness has let up a bit. You can still see it but you really have to look to see it. The fish seem in good spirits and I am running heavy aeration at night.

I will continue doing daily tests to see what happens. Honestly .25 ammonia isn't that scary as I expect to see some being its a new tank. I am just wondering if all my good stuff died in the transition. ... Hmmmm

Butterfly

Since the new tank is larger than the other two put together you may get a small ammonia/nitrite reading but I think it will be ok. All that good bacteria will give it a jump start.
Carol

Gargoyle

I sure hope so... time will tell right?

Butterfly

yep time will tell
Carol

Gargoyle

Well if all else fails I'll do what I did the last time I got worried....

Dump in mass quantities of plants to suck up the bad stuff... Plants love that bad stuff

Gargoyle

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

Gargoyle

Okay day 7 test results..

Zero on everything, Water still cloudy (white), PH stable at 7.6, temp stable at 79.

My nitrate test comes back yellow but it is a darker yellow than the ammonia. This could just be the nature of the Nitrate test over the ammonia test so I am calling it a zero at this time.

I made a few current flow and aeration adjustments to make the fish happy and all looks good at this time.

Thanks for the help and support!

Gargoyle

Day 9

Water Cloudy.
Temp 77 to 78 (I dropped it a little)
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

Ideas?? Does this sound normal for a seeding cycle like I have done here or is it taking to long? Fish are very active and eating a lot. I have one preggo Guppy that hands out at the top of the tank when the air is off during the day. All the other fish huddle to the bottom to middle areas of the tank so I believe 02 is fine. Green Algae is growing on transferred decorations and equipment. Light is around 2 to 3 watts per gallon.

Thanks!

sirdarksol

This seems odd.

Correct me if any of the following "facts" is incorrect:
There are fish in the tank.
The filter was seeded with used media.
The tank has been running for 9 days.
The water is cloudy.
You've thoroughly shaken bottle number two.
All of your waste products are showing up as zero.

Sound about right? If so it would seem that your tank should be cycled by now (and seems to be going through the bacterial bloom), but then you should be seeing nitrates, as you know.

Have you held the vials in front of a piece of paper in bright white light to read them? This is the easiest way to get a proper reading.
Thankfully, ammonia is pretty easy to read, so you've probably got that one right, and it's the biggest worry you've got.

Have you been doing any water changes?

My only other suggestion is to read all of the chemical additives (StressZyme, etc...) and read the instruction manual of the test kit to see if there's anything that doesn't work together. Certain chemicals bind up nitrogen, and may interfere with certain types of test kits.

Gargoyle

So far everything you have listed is correct.

I did add StressZyme and StressCoat to the water when I first set it up but haven't added anything since. I have done ZERO water changes as I am waiting for things to stabilize and since I have no Ammonia or Nitrites I see no need to do any. There are about 30 odd plants in the tank that I guess could be soaking up all the nitrates they can find but after 9 days I would think the water would have cleared and I would be showing something in the way of anything in the tank by now.

So to recap..

Fish in the tank - 16 or so
Used media in Magnum and a powerhead prefilter.
Tank has been up and running for 9 days Fish in for 8.
Water is cloudy. If you look just right you can see the cloudiness move like clouds.
I have beaten the out of bottle number 2 for Nitrates.
All waste products showing as zero.
Held vials in bright light against the test cards to compare colors.

Now I know that one of the additives makes Ammonia "non toxic" but that type of ammonia would still show on the test from API.

Also the water goes through "stages" of cloudiness. Sometimes very cloudy and other times not so much. Depends on the day. The cloudiness started about 6 to 8 hours after I added the seeded bio-media to the Magnum canister filter.

Gargoyle

Cloudiness is driving me nutz so I am running my polishing insert in the Magnum now to get rid of it. As soon as it is gone I will put the bio media back in that is presently soaking in a bucket of tank water.

Its been running for almost 2 hours now and seems to have cleared up a little. I am wondering if it may be something other than Bacteria. If it isn't the cloudiness should go away and be fine. If it is... Well... I would think it would be back.. LOL!!