wooza

I am not exactly sure on the gallons but it is about 1 and a half years, completely cycled, spotlessly clean and all the water readings are spot on. I have 2 goldfish, 1 black moore, 4 orandas and 3 weather loaches. Would it be OK to just replace the filter media in my goldy tank, and put the old sponge in my new filter? I figured this would be ok because I have got well established gravel in the goldy tank.

Shawnie

NOOOOOO you cant take it all or your goldy tank will go into a mini cycle....how big is the goldy tank compared to the new tank? size wise you dont want to make a huge mistake and have 2 tanks with issues..

wooza

The filter in the goldy tank is a stingray with two sponges. Would it be okay to take one of the sponges? It is about 5 times smaller than my new one.

Shawnie

tank size is making a difference..not filter size...if your goldy tank is much smaller than the new tank, you can cut off some of the established sponge, use some of the gravel and decorations from the goldie tank, to establish and kick start your new tank..but, you take a chance of removing too much bacteria from the goldies and cause a mini cycle ...if there is a huge difference in the tank sizes, id almost go with another source of ammonia so you dont cause the goldie tank to crash ......

Lucy

Since it's smaller you'd be best to run the new filter in the established tank for at least 2 weeks or put the the media in there, and be patient.
There's better success seeding a smaller tank from a larger one than the other way around.

wooza

Well guys,
Just a little update. Just two days after adding the ammonia, I have done ammonia and nitrite tests.

Ammonia almost back down to 1 and Nitrite result is a really deep purple measuring 5 on the card. This has happened with out putting any of the goldy media in the tank.

Shawnie

awesome but you have been at this forever....maybe it just needed that extra boost of ammonia....id just continue how you are now

kimb

Wooza, is your aquarium info correct? It says that tank was only set up on May 30?? Thats not really long for cycling...also with the prawns...didn't you say you took them out after only 2 days? The reason I am wondering is there was another post where someone was looking to use shrimp to cycle and I believe you said you had them in for 3 weeks and had no ammonia? (I can't find the quote)...just wondering if we are talking about the same tank.

wooza

Well spotted Kim, I don't know why the heck I put the 30th. I actually set this tank up on Saturday 09/05/09. I had shrimp and food in there on and off for 3 weeks. I think it was slowly beginning to cycle, and the ammonia has given it a kick up the rear.

wooza

Hi guys,

I need some advise on the next stage. As you know last Saturday i added 12 ml of ammonia. Since then I have added 6 ml every 12 hours. My tank now comfortably converts that within that time. I have really high Nitrite readins, a high 5. And I have nitrate readings between 20 and 40. My question is, do I continue to add the 6ml of ammonia each day?

jdhef

If you don't keep adding ammonia, your bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites will starve off. I would suspect that your nitrites should be dropping pretty soon. When I cycled they nitites dropped to zero over night. It wasn't a gradual reduction.

wooza

Little update:

I have been adding ammonia for just over a week now. I still have high levels of Nitrite and Nitrate levels are 80. The tank can convert 5 ml of ammonia in about 8 hours.

Do you think it is worth adding a couple stockings full of media and gravel from my established tank to help push things along? I just can't believe how long I have been at this now. I will be so glad when I can finally start adding my fishkies.

Shawnie

if the ammonia is being processed , and you just have high nitrites and trates, id do a small water change to see if that will kick it in gear..sometimes when using the ammonia method, it gets stuck in the nitrite phase because of an overhaul of ammonia...and yes you can add anything established to kick it in the rear!

wooza

Well, I have just added four buckets of clean water. I think something is going on because the tank is now starting to smell like a fish tank if that makes sense lol. I don't think I am far away now, and all this waiting is going to be worth it.

kimb

Hi Wooza, did you use conditioner in your water? Glad to hear it is getting close

wooza

No I didn't put any conditioner in as I thought the chlorine and Chloramines will go if the water is left standing. I usually use Tap Safe when I do a larger water change.

kimb

So did you use the Tap Safe this time? You have to use one with each and every water change. Prime will not only dechlorinate, but also make the ammonia safe for 24 hrs between changes.

wooza

Is it necessary to use conditioner even when no fish are present? If so, ooops I will add some tonight.

jdhef

While chlorine will disapate if you let the water sit, I do not think that is the case with chloramines. So you should definitly use water conditioner every time you add water to your tank. Hopefully, you haven't killed off any bacteria by adding untreated water.

wooza

Oh jesus, Don't be saying things like that. I think I would actually cry if I have killed off the bacteria.

wooza

Well this morning I was a little happy. Nitrite levels have dropped from 5 to 1 since last night. Looks like the media I put in is doing it's job.

jdhef

In my experiance when nitrites drop they drop fast, so you may find zero nitrites tomorrow! Good luck!

wooza

Well jdhef it looks like you were right. I have done a test this evening and the results appear to show that cycling is complete. I have added a photo and would appreciate peoples opinion to see if my feelings are justified.

Lucy

The nitrite looks good.
Can't really tell the ammonia from the pic.
The nitrates are high.

If the ammonia test is yellow, do a water change to get the nitrate down to 5-10 and you're good to go.
Congrats!

jdhef

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later!

wooza

Well guys,
I have been to my LFS today and purchased 5 danios. The member of staff convinced me to start of with these and add more fish on a weekly basis. I was ok with this, but my main concern is: Will those five danios produce enougn ammonia in a 45 gallon tank to sustain the bacteria that I have spent 6 weeks producing?