What's the most efficient way to cycle my new 10 gallon?

HI everyone. My Betta has been living in a 1 gallon bowl (I didn't know!) for about a month now. He is very happy in it, but I just bought a 10 gallon tank for him. However, I am not sure what is the fastest way to cycle the tank so he can get out of the bowl ASAP. I do regular water changes in the bowl (every day to every other day). The tank's filter is on. Should I simply put in some of his food in the tank and wait for the ammonia spikes (w/o fish)? I was thinking that I could add the bowl water to the tank whenever I do a water change (so I put the bowl water in the tank instead of throwing it out). Would Merlin, by himself, produce enough ammonia in the one gallon bowl to rapidly make a bacterial colony? Also, which way would be faster? The filter flows through 90 GPH. In addition, how long would YOU say it would take for the tank to be fully cycled? I really don't want to add Merlin to the tank until its cycled because I don't want to stress him. Thank you.

 

I honestly think that Merlin will be less stressed if you move him to the tank right away! The larger volume will mean he'll be swimming in 1/10 the concentration of his wastes and with you already willing and able to do the work on his bowl I'm sure you can easily keep the parameters in the tank in line!

No need to worry about whether he can produce enough ammonia; if you fishless cycled to 2ppm ammonia and he only produces 1ppm then half the bacteria you cultivated will die off when he moves in anyway! You only need enough bacteria to handle his bioload

 

I honestly think that Merlin will be less stressed if you move him to the tank right away! The larger volume will mean he'll be swimming in 1/10 the concentration of his wastes and with you already willing and able to do the work on his bowl I'm sure you can easily keep the parameters in the tank in line!

No need to worry about whether he can produce enough ammonia; if you fishless cycled to 2ppm ammonia and he only produces 1ppm then half the bacteria you cultivated will die off when he moves in anyway! You only need enough bacteria to handle his bioload

You are probably the most helpful person on this fourm lol. It's 1:40am where I live! As you can see, I actually did end up getting a tank, which I got a really good deal on ($30 for 10 gallons!). Okay, so you think I should just put Merlin in and do a 10% water change every day? Or more or less frequently? You're right, he'd probably be better off anyways in the bigger tank. How long do you think it would take for the small amount of bacteria he needs to grow and for me to stop changing the water? Thanks for always responding, aquaphobia. I'll keep you updated on the tank transition. And now I know who to come to for help lol .

 

LOL! Thank goodness for insomnia

Do you have a test kit? That's the surest way to tell when you're cycled and how much water to change. You're probably safe doing 10% per day though I would also do 50% once per week. Until it's cycled though I would dose Prime daily for the full tank volume to protect him.

I'm going to try to get back to sleep!

 

I agree putting merlin into the bigger tank would be best, you could use tetra safe start to help get the benificial bacteria started. The bacteria will grow in the filter so keep the filter wet when changing water (ensure dechlorinate) and don't be scared to change more water if the levels of ammonia and nitrite raise, it will do no harm as long as the temp is similar. Good luck with the move.

 

LOL! Thank goodness for insomnia

Do you have a test kit? That's the surest way to tell when you're cycled and how much water to change. You're probably safe doing 10% per day though I would also do 50% once per week. Until it's cycled though I would dose Prime daily for the full tank volume to protect him.

I'm going to try to get back to sleep!

Haha that's why I was up. I don't have a test kit because my parents seem to think that $25 on a test kit is too much compared to the $30 tank and filter. I do, however, have a pet store nearby, where I can get the water tested about every week. Alright. I'll try to put Merlin in the tank and keep an eye on him until the levels are 0 (except of course nitrates). You're right, he has been living in his bowl for a while now happily so he shouldn't really mind more diluted water. By the time the ammonia gets high enough the water should by cycles anyways. Thanks, I'll do that.

I agree putting merlin into the bigger tank would be best, you could use tetra safe start to help get the benificial bacteria started. The bacteria will grow in the filter so keep the filter wet when changing water (ensure dechlorinate) and don't be scared to change more water if the levels of ammonia and nitrite raise, it will do no harm as long as the temp is similar. Good luck with the move.

All right. I will move him over ASAP. The only issue is that he doesn't have much gravel or any thing yet. I'll put in the small amount of marbles I have. But it should be okay for a while. I'll try to get some safe start from Walmart. My filter, luckily, also has a grid for bacteria so cartridge replacements won't hurt them. I still have to keep it wet. Thank you for your help!!!

 

Okay. So I put him in the tank (I'll just do some water changes while it cycles for a week or so) and jeez, I haven't ever seen him happier. He gets caught in the filter current but he figured it out and he keeps swimming back and forth and into the current on purpose. He is the most active I've ever seen him-the most active I've ever seen a fish. He'll swim for a few minutes, take a short rest, then swim again. I'm glad I put him here. He has some marks from the old water but he's happy and I'm hoping he'll survive and be happy though this cycle. Thank you for all your help. Do you guys have any other advice? (Once I get his tank set up completely with all the decorations and more than only a few marbles I'll post a pic).

 

If you can stick a live plant in, it will help slightly on the process(absorbs some of the toxins), don't over feed keep an eye on perameters of water and be patient it can take 4-6 weeks to complete even in ideal conditions. Try to keep ammonia and nitrite under 1 on the tests to prevent a cycle stall. Good luck

 

Agreed. I would dose Prime daily for the whole volume of water and do small water changes as well just to be sure he's safe. It's difficult to say how much without the tests but 25% is probably safe.

 

Okay, Will do. I am going to change the water daily for a while to keep him safe. Once the Ammonia levels reach zero I'll slow them down, and stop them once nitrites also reach zero. Thank you. So far, though, he is so much happier! He keeps trying to blow bubble nests (the filter pops them) and he's never been so active! His color already looks brighter and he now follows my finger!

 

Agreed. I would dose Prime daily for the whole volume of water and do small water changes as well just to be sure he's safe. It's difficult to say how much without the tests but 25% is probably safe.

Will doing too many water changes take away all of the ammonia that the bacteria are feeding on? Because it will still take 10 days for Merlin to produce the amount of Ammonia he was producing in one, which will take longer with small water changes.

 

True but remember that he'll be producing ammonia constantly and you won't be removing all of the water every day so there will always be some ammonia present. That little bit will be neutralized by the Prime so it's safe for Merlin but the bacteria can still use it.

Ultimately it's easier to know how much to change and when if you can test the water but without those tests you're just going to have to wing it and try to err on the side of caution for Merlin's sake.

It will be OK

 

True but remember that he'll be producing ammonia constantly and you won't be removing all of the water every day so there will always be some ammonia present. That little bit will be neutralized by the Prime so it's safe for Merlin but the bacteria can still use it.

Ultimately it's easier to know how much to change and when if you can test the water but without those tests you're just going to have to wing it and try to err on the side of caution for Merlin's sake.

It will be OK

Thanks, once again aquaphobia. You have been a huge help in my fish keeping endeavors and stay tuned for more!