Fish-in Cycling

[Tizer]

just dechlorinate the water before it goes in and the bacteria will grow, not much you can do after a water change other than monitor the health of the fish.

 

[Clarousel]

just dechlorinate the water before it goes in and the bacteria will grow, not much you can do after a water change other than monitor the health of the fish.

Alright! Thanks for your help

 

[solwlf]

Hi there! I am new and just got my 20 gal fish tank started. As you sais, most "good" bacteria are living in filer..but it is recommanded to replace the filer every month! Will this cause any problem?

 

[Miles_hot]

yes - there is no need to replace any filter element until they start to physically fall apart. The "change it each month" is just an attempt to get your money. Swill in old tank water and return to the filter Replacing also removes all the benefitial bacteria you've spent time building up to the detriment of your fish

 

[Guppyz]

This really helped me! Now my tank is cycled thanks to your help!

 

[laura120381]

i think the thread is great rabbut. very helpful and informative for beginners.

L

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm not sure that rabbut is still active on TFF, but it is a great resource, which is why I have a link to this in my thread.

 

[ShaedM]

can you use a dechlorinator whilst the fish are in the aquarium?

 

[waterdrop]

can you use a dechlorinator whilst the fish are in the aquarium?

Certainly! Many aquarists dechlor for the whole volume of the tank at the same time that they are directly adding chlorinated tap water to the tank.

It is wise of course to consider the dosing recommended by the manufacturer of the dechlorination product. They can vary greatly in concentration, meaning that the appropriate amount to dose per USgallon or liter can vary quite a bit.

Another consideration is that beginners who are cycling (either fishless or fish-in) should limit any "overdosing" of the dechlorination product to not more than about 2x (meaning 2 times what the manufacturer recommends) because once you pass beyond 2x dosing, the chemical can have a negative effect on the growth rate of the N-Bacs (the second of the two beneficial species the beginner is trying to grow in the filter.)

Once the filter is mature of course, this concern is no longer relevant and overdosing somewhat beyond 2x is unlikely to be harmful although it could be wasteful. "Conditioning" (the adding of a dechlorination product) is a form of insurance. In a strictly technical sense it may not always be needed since water and species conditions vary widely, but conditioning is very cheap and handles the situation where water authorities overdose the chlorine to clean their pipe systems - this happens more often than we aquarists would like.

Hope this helps,
~~waterdrop~~

 

[ShaedM]

can you use a dechlorinator whilst the fish are in the aquarium?

Certainly! Many aquarists dechlor for the whole volume of the tank at the same time that they are directly adding chlorinated tap water to the tank.

It is wise of course to consider the dosing recommended by the manufacturer of the dechlorination product. They can vary greatly in concentration, meaning that the appropriate amount to dose per USgallon or liter can vary quite a bit.

Another consideration is that beginners who are cycling (either fishless or fish-in) should limit any "overdosing" of the dechlorination product to not more than about 2x (meaning 2 times what the manufacturer recommends) because once you pass beyond 2x dosing, the chemical can have a negative effect on the growth rate of the N-Bacs (the second of the two beneficial species the beginner is trying to grow in the filter.)

Once the filter is mature of course, this concern is no longer relevant and overdosing somewhat beyond 2x is unlikely to be harmful although it could be wasteful. "Conditioning" (the adding of a dechlorination product) is a form of insurance. In a strictly technical sense it may not always be needed since water and species conditions vary widely, but conditioning is very cheap and handles the situation where water authorities overdose the chlorine to clean their pipe systems - this happens more often than we aquarists would like.

Hope this helps,
~~waterdrop~~

well it says on the back of the bottle, 5ml for ever 10 litre..and i have a 54 litre tank so thats what 25ml..would tha be about a teaspoon amount? ive put a little bit in, as the water has been in there for a while now.

 

[StandbySetting]

A tea spoon is generally 5 ml's.

 

[DealRob]

Just wondered after how long is the filter likely to have the right ammount of bacteria in the media?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Just wondered after how long is the filter likely to have the right ammount of bacteria in the media?

The general thought is that about 50% of the bacteria die off every 24 hours or so.

 

[Clarousel]

Is it safe to say that your tank will be fully cycled after 4 weeks though? Or do you just have to keep testing the water to check?

 

[Miles_hot]

You got it - testing is the only way. Your tank needs to be able to process 4ppm of ammonia to 0 ammonia and 0 Nitrite in 12 hours consistently for 5 days. Then you're cycled