Tropical Fish and Aquarium Information

Go Back   Fish Lore Tropical Fish and Aquarium Forum > Freshwater Aquarium Fish Forum > More Freshwater Aquarium Topics > Aquarium Water > Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle - Articles: Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle, The Cycle - How Mother Nature Cleans House

 

Online Fish Stores: Drsfostersmith.com | BigAlsOnline.com | PetSmart.com | LiveAquaria.com


Aquarium Forum
General
Welcome To FishLore
Using the Forum
General Discussion
Members Fish Tanks
Photos and Videos
Member Photos
Member Videos
Freshwater Aquarium Forum
Freshwater Beginners
Freshwater Equipment
More Freshwater Topics
Freshwater Fish & Inverts
Ponds
Saltwater Aquarium Forum
Saltwater Beginners
Saltwater Equipment
More Saltwater Topics
Saltwater Fish & Inverts
Member Blogs
Member Blogs
Misc. Topics
Reviews
Aquarium Fish Clubs
Buy, Sell, Trade
Fish Profiles
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
Fish Forum Archives
Reply
 
Fish Forum Thread Tools
Old May 22nd, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
Cycling help!

I am currently doing a fishless cycle in my small 5.5 Gallon tank.
(Kiko, my Bettas soon-to-be-home)

I was wondering if i just let the tank/filter do it's thing, or if i have to add anything to it.
It's a brand new filter.

I've never cycled a tank before, as every tank i have was moved from my boyfriends place to mine, all set up and everything. (easssyyyyy! =P)

So some help would be nice.
Thanks a lot!
BettaGirl92 is offline  
Old May 22nd, 2008  
Fish Keeper
 
Here read this artical. It will expalin everything, and your options.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
Tumbleweed is offline  
Old May 22nd, 2008  
Fish Master
 
also, taking some filter media from your boyfriends tanks, like in a baggie with some of his tank water, will help it along as well...shouldnt take too long with a 5 gallon..goodluck
Shawnie is offline  
Old May 22nd, 2008  
Moderator
 
You can seed your new tank by using a peice of used filter media, a handful of gravel and/or a decoration from your established tank.

Don't forget to feed the tank with a source of ammonia (fish food or pure ammonia with no additives), otherwise your bacteria will die.
Lucy is online now  
Old May 23rd, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
okay.
so just adding some fish food, used filter media, and some gravel or a decoration will help?

Also,
how long will it take to cycle?
BettaGirl92 is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2008  
Moderator
 
Yes, it will help it immensely! With a 5.5 and used filter media, it shouldn't take but a few days.
Take readings every day and see what they look like.

It's almost an instant cycle, really, I cycled a 5g this way (I used pure ammoinia) I kept adding ammonia for about 3 days until I was positive the bacteria was doing it's job.
Lucy is online now  
Old May 23rd, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
I took a test last night and this morning, and the ammonia read 0.00
so that's good.
The tank was already set up before, i just added a new filter because i took my old one and out it on my new tank.
BettaGirl92 is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
put it in my new tank*
BettaGirl92 is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2008  
Fish Master
 
how were the nitrites and nitrates? 0 could be because the filter is new...and there is no ammonia yet...did u mean you used your old filter and media from the tank to get the new one going?
Shawnie is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
the entire filter is new in my 5.5 gallon (the one i'm asking about)
The tank was established, and i checked the water again today.
Nitrite - 0.00
Ammonia - 0.00
Nitrate - 0.00

The only thing that is new is the gravel and filter. The tank itself is five years old.


I took my established filter and put it in my new tank, if that's what your asking..
BettaGirl92 is offline  
Old May 24th, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
The gravel and filter houses most, if not all, of the bacteria that you need - replacing them with new ones will definitely toss you back into the start of your cycle. Your 0 nitrate reading shows definitively that your tank is not cycled. You will have at least a reading of 5-10 nitrate to show that your tank is cycled, with 0 nitrite and ammonia readings.

Even if you seed your tank with the new gravel and filter with used media from the old filter, you'll still need to add a source of ammonia to the tank to give the bacteria in the used media 'food' or else they will die off. Either use fish food, or pure ammonia for that.
AggieYen is offline  
Reply

Fish Forum Thread Tools

Fun Fish and Aquarium Games!
Fish Tycoon
Fish Tycoon
Insaniquarium - Insane Aquarium
Insaniquarium
Insane Aquarium
Jenny's Fish Shop
Jenny's
Fish Shop

Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads
Thread Fish Forum
Where i am at with cycling Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
what is cycling? Cloudy Aquarium Water
Cycling Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Archive
Fin Rot/Cycling Betta Archive
Cycling Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Archive



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.2.0 RC5 © 2008, Crawlability, Inc.
© 2008 FishLore.com - Aquarium Fish Information