5 Gallon Tank Cycle

[Rhindon]

Background: Purchased a 5 gallon Marineland Hex tank with BioWheel and sponge filter on Sunday, 9/11/2011. It's been a while since I started a new tank, but have a 37 gallon tank with healthy readings and a Fluval canister filter in place.

At installation, added Safe Start, and since I was immediately getting ammonia readings of about 1.0, Amquel Ammonia Down. The next morning, Ammonia was still 1.0.

Monday evening (tank in place 24 hours), I did about a 30% water change, this time using water I purchased from the LFS. I also took some BioMax media from my healthy established tank and put it in the water since it was too big to put directly in the filter. I am keeping an eye on my 37 gallon, and the readings are still pH 7.4, ammonia 0.0, nitrite 0.0, and nitrates between 20 and 40 (not fluctuating, just the color is between those two colors on the card).

Since yesterday morning, I have been getting the following readings: pH 7.4, Ammonia 0.0, Nitrites 0.0, Nitrates 0.0. The tank has now been in place 2.5 days. The Safe Start said it allowed for the immediate addition of fish, but waited until Tuesday, then added three male guppies to the tank. The readings haven't changed at all. The fish are eating well, swimming well, and seem happy.

I guess my questions are:
1) How much can that BioMax be doing to help cycle this tank?
2) Can the pure water purchased from the LFS be that great?
3) Is the Safe Start that great?
4) Am I going to get an ammonia spike soon or has everything I've done helped avoid that?
5) Is the 0 nitrate level a bad sign?


Thanks for your help!

 

[Katch]

1) not a lot - you are not cycled
2 no - bacteria live on filter media not in the water. You'll do more harm than good using anything other than your tap water. You fish need to adapt to your water's pH and hardness.
3) no - it's a complete waste of money. It does nothing to help cycle your tank.
4) yes - get ready to do lots of water changes.
5) yes and no - it means your test kit is wrong - but nitrate test kits are notorious inaccurate.

You really need to cycle that filter properly. For mature media to be any use you need to put it inside the filter. The bacteria can't swim from the tank into the filter.

I would get at least some of the ceramic media from the old filter into your new one; and a bit of the old sponge if you have some. Just make it fit it doesn't have to be perfect. Take some of the new sponge out if needs be or cut in half if you have to. You can put it back in later.

What test kit are you using?

 

[Rhindon]

For mature media to be any use you need to put it inside the filter. The bacteria can't swim from the tank into the filter.

I would get at least some of the ceramic media from the old filter into your new one; and a bit of the old sponge if you have some. Just make it fit it doesn't have to be perfect.

What test kit are you using?

Will cram what I can up into the new filter.

I am using the API Master test kit with tests for pH, high pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.

 

[Katch]

Are you using some sort of dechlorinator - prime, tap safe etc?

 

[Rhindon]

Are you using some sort of dechlorinator - prime, tap safe etc?

Yes, Prime for this tank.

Would daily water changes help even when I'm getting no ammonia or nitrite readings?

 

[the_lock_man]

1) not a lot - you are not cycled
2 no - bacteria live on filter media not in the water. You'll do more harm than good using anything other than your tap water. You fish need to adapt to your water's pH and hardness.
3) no - it's a complete waste of money. It does nothing to help cycle your tank.
4) yes - get ready to do lots of water changes.
5) yes and no - it means your test kit is wrong - but nitrate test kits are notorious inaccurate.

Disagree with 1, or at least I think so. I believe Biomax is a ceramic filter medium - therefore adding it to the new filter will be doing some good. How much depends on what bacteria were living on the Biomax you moved. Clearly whatever there was, was enough to process that 1ppm ammonia (and consequent nitrite) overnight.

Therefore, you may be lucky, and have enough bacteria there to process the ammonia (and nitrite) from the guppies. You need to keep testing regularly over the next few days to see whether (4) is a yes or no.

Totally agree that Safe Start will not have helped significantly.

 

[Katch]

Disagree with 1, or at least I think so. I believe Biomax is a ceramic filter medium - therefore adding it to the new filter will be doing some good. How much depends on what bacteria were living on the Biomax you moved. Clearly whatever there was, was enough to process that 1ppm ammonia (and consequent nitrite) overnight.

The media was placed in the tank not the filter.

..

I'd suggest you do 50% WCs every 2 to 3 days and keep a close eye on Ammonia and Nirite readings. If you start getting either you may need to up the WC frequency.

Just get the media inside the filter and see how it goes. We're here to help when you need it.

Oh and that 1ppm of ammonia will have been the safestart - it's basically a bottle of weak ammonia.

 

[Rhindon]

Just saw your edits up there Katch.

The filter media I put in the new tank was the little ceramic rings. They were not really pretty (had dark gunk on them) either.

Should I do daily water change even when I'm reading 0.0 for ammonia and nitrites, or wait until I start getting readings and, if so, what level reading and how much of a water change?

Thanks!

 

[Katch]

There is no way you are cycled so I'd be proactive in keeping the ammonia and nitrite down. If you have a cycled tank the fish could go back to you'd be best off doing a fishless cycle with the mature media. Should only take a week or so with the media.

 

[the_lock_man]

Disagree with 1, or at least I think so. I believe Biomax is a ceramic filter medium - therefore adding it to the new filter will be doing some good. How much depends on what bacteria were living on the Biomax you moved. Clearly whatever there was, was enough to process that 1ppm ammonia (and consequent nitrite) overnight.

The media was placed in the tank not the filter.

D'oh! Didn't spot that.

 

[Rhindon]

There is no way you are cycled so I'd be proactive in keeping the ammonia and nitrite down. If you have a cycled tank the fish could go back to you'd be best off doing a fishless cycle with the mature media. Should only take a week or so with the media.

The cycled tank has bala shark, an angel, black skirt tetras, etc. in it. Not sure the guppies would make it if I put them in there. What do you guys/ladies think?

 

[Tizer]

Biomax placed in a pot on the substrate "can" help speed up your cycle IF (and its a big IF) your have a good flow of water going over it to A) help oxygenate the bacteria and B) to push the bacteria off the surface of the biomax, allowing it to buzz around the tank then catch onto your filters bacterial media. However, in practice i doubt very much this helps speed things up, however, it will actually process some ammonia present in the tank a little. You only have to go into your local fish shops to see small buckets of filter media in their larger 8 foot tanks to see this happening. ideally it needs to be dumped into the filter

 

[Rhindon]

Ok, so I guess my last question (for now) is should I do a water change daily, at the week point, or whenever I see a change in ammonia or nitrite levels?

Thanks!

 

[Katch]

For now I'd do one every 2 or 3 days until the tank is cycled. If you get Ammonia and nitrite readings always do a water change that day.

Once cycled, once a week will be fine.

 

[Rhindon]

Thanks!