cukrk198392
Mostly New Member
First off, Hello all!
My name is Kyle, I've come to this site a number of times when I've had questions, and usually could find the answers... so never needed to post. However, I think I've made a mistake so I would like to ask some questions and perhaps get some advice
Recently (a week ago), I upgraded to a 38 gallon tank from a 16 gallon tank. I saw that my fish were seemingly a little cramped, and I felt they could use more room to swim. Nevertheless, I got a new tank and put it together quite quickly. I first took a few gallons of water out of my old tank and poured the water into the new one. I then scooped up all of the gravel from the old tank and spread it across the new one. After that, I started filling the tank with more water, using as much of the original tank water as I could. I then put the decorations (some old, some new) in, and then I put the fish in. I then took a break to put together the cover of the tank and the filter. After that was all set up, I finished filling the tank with water and then set up the heater and inserted the filter.
Here's where I think I went wrong (I should have done the research beforehand, I know, but the tank was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision and I got excited). Nevertheless, I didn't use the old filter media (and I've found out now that I should have). When I started to read up on it, it was too late. I also added fish too soon. So now, a week later, the water is starting to cloud up (almost looks dusty), and I know this is a bacteria bloom. It started probably two days ago, but it doesn't look any worse than it did then. I tested the water levels and everything seems to be okay, all the fish are surviving thus far. I assume using some of the old decorations and the old gravel must have helped somewhat, right?
Now I want to ask, based on what I've said, is my tank cycling basically from scratch, or is this kind of thing to be expected when transferring tanks? If it is cycling, is there anything I can do to speed up the process, or make it less detrimental to the fish? If it isn't cycling and just experiencing a to-be-expected bacteria bloom, when should I expect it to clear up?
Now I know I made a couple of mistakes here: not using old filter media; and introducing new fish (long before the water was cloudy, I must say). So I'm asking for any advice, or if there is immediate action I should/can take? Or do I just wait it out? I have no doubt my tank is experiencing a bacteria bloom... I'm just wondering if it is going through a full blown cycle or not, and what I should/could do in either case.
My name is Kyle, I've come to this site a number of times when I've had questions, and usually could find the answers... so never needed to post. However, I think I've made a mistake so I would like to ask some questions and perhaps get some advice
Recently (a week ago), I upgraded to a 38 gallon tank from a 16 gallon tank. I saw that my fish were seemingly a little cramped, and I felt they could use more room to swim. Nevertheless, I got a new tank and put it together quite quickly. I first took a few gallons of water out of my old tank and poured the water into the new one. I then scooped up all of the gravel from the old tank and spread it across the new one. After that, I started filling the tank with more water, using as much of the original tank water as I could. I then put the decorations (some old, some new) in, and then I put the fish in. I then took a break to put together the cover of the tank and the filter. After that was all set up, I finished filling the tank with water and then set up the heater and inserted the filter.
Here's where I think I went wrong (I should have done the research beforehand, I know, but the tank was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision and I got excited). Nevertheless, I didn't use the old filter media (and I've found out now that I should have). When I started to read up on it, it was too late. I also added fish too soon. So now, a week later, the water is starting to cloud up (almost looks dusty), and I know this is a bacteria bloom. It started probably two days ago, but it doesn't look any worse than it did then. I tested the water levels and everything seems to be okay, all the fish are surviving thus far. I assume using some of the old decorations and the old gravel must have helped somewhat, right?
Now I want to ask, based on what I've said, is my tank cycling basically from scratch, or is this kind of thing to be expected when transferring tanks? If it is cycling, is there anything I can do to speed up the process, or make it less detrimental to the fish? If it isn't cycling and just experiencing a to-be-expected bacteria bloom, when should I expect it to clear up?
Now I know I made a couple of mistakes here: not using old filter media; and introducing new fish (long before the water was cloudy, I must say). So I'm asking for any advice, or if there is immediate action I should/can take? Or do I just wait it out? I have no doubt my tank is experiencing a bacteria bloom... I'm just wondering if it is going through a full blown cycle or not, and what I should/could do in either case.
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433769-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i/
