38 gallon cycling.

[aquarium3]

I bought a 38 gallon tank from petco and need some advice on cycling it. I have it all set up and added some filter sponge from an established filter to add some bb but I forgot to dechlorinate the water so I probably killed the bb on the sponge so I took some other media from another established filter a put it in it. How long will it take to be cycled? Is there anything else I should do?

 

[FishGuest5123]

You probably did kill a lot of the bb in the first sponge but some may have survived depending on how long it was in the tank with plain chlorine tapwater. If you dechlorinated quickly afterwards you probably saved some. If you added a good deal more, then you should get cycled quickly. If I add enough seeded material I often get an automatic cycle or within 24 hrs. Did you add a good amount? Add a few pellets of fish food to make some ammonia to feed the bacteria until you get fish. Do you have a test kit to test your results? Good luck!

 

[aquarium3]

You probably did kill a lot of the bb in the first sponge but some may have survived depending on how long it was in the tank with plain chlorine tapwater. If you dechlorinated quickly afterwards you probably saved some. If you added a good deal more, then you should get cycled quickly. If I add enough seeded material I often get an automatic cycle or within 24 hrs. Did you add a good amount? Add a few pellets of fish food to make some ammonia to feed the bacteria until you get fish. Do you have a test kit to test your results? Good luck!

The sponge was in chlorinated water for about 30 minutes before I realized I forgot to dechlorimate it. I added a tetra filter floss catridge from an established filter. I have API liquid nitrite test, and API amonia test strips. I could not get the nitrate or ammonia liquid test because amazon would not ship them to my location. I tested the nitrite after 24 hours of it being set up and it was 0 and ammonia was between about .5 and 1.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Sounds like it’s just starting to cycle. The ammonia will go up and then fall. Then you will see nitrites. They take the longest to fall. After they go up and then back down to 0 you should see nitrates which you can’t test for. Once the nitrates show up, you do a partial water change to get the nitrates between 0 and 20ppm. You can then add fish, a few at a time. You really need an API Freshwater marine test kit. Without knowing when you get nitrates, you won’t know if your tank is cycled. If you can’t get the kit then I wouldn’t risk putting fish in yet. Wait a few weeks to get the bacteria growing well. Feed a couple of fish pellets every couple of days to feed the bacteria. If the ammonia gets to 4ppm or higher, then do a 50% water change and see if that drops the ammonia. Any questions, just ask. Note: If you can add anymore cycled filter media it will help.

 

[aquarium3]

Sounds like it’s just starting to cycle. The ammonia will go up and then fall. Then you will see nitrites. They take the longest to fall. After they go up and then back down to 0 you should see nitrates which you can’t test for. Once the nitrates show up, you do a partial water change to get the nitrates between 0 and 20ppm. You can then add fish, a few at a time. You really need an API Freshwater marine test kit. Without knowing when you get nitrates, you won’t know if your tank is cycled. If you can’t get the kit then I wouldn’t risk putting fish in yet. Wait a few weeks to get the bacteria growing well. Feed a couple of fish pellets every couple of days to feed the bacteria. If the ammonia gets to 4ppm or higher, then do a 50% water change and see if that drops the ammonia. Any questions, just ask. Note: If you can add anymore cycled filter media it will help.

Ok thanks for the info I will see what I can do to get a nitrate tester.