Cloning a tank

[Raechal]

Okay so I set up my 120 gallon and started a fishless cycle on it last week. I seeded it with some gravel from my cycled 29 gallon and put it in a sock. Then I ran the filters in the 29 gallon for a few days and then put the filters back on the 120 gallon. I have been adding ammonia everyday or every other day but haven't gotten a nitrite spike or nitrate spike for that matter. I tested ammonia and it comes out a blue color and that color isn't even on the charts! The darkest color is a dark green.

The nitrites are at about 5 and the nitrates are 20. This is the highest they have been since I accidentally poured a lot of ammonia in yesterday.

Could my tank already be cycled and just processing the ammonia into nitrates?

 

[Mr Miagi]

If you have a filter that has two canasters in the 29gal, i would suggest you buy a filter for your cycling tank and place one half of the filter material into the new one.
Do you get what i mean.

I wouldnt worry about adding ammonia if you do this. My opinion is, if your gonna cycle a tank, let it do its thing, but thats just me!

So do ya get what i mean, because gravel isnt a HUGe source of benmeficial bacteria. There is some, but not ALOT.

 

[Raechal]

If you have a filter that has two canasters in the 29gal, i would suggest you buy a filter for your cycling tank and place one half of the filter material into the new one.
Do you get what i mean.

I wouldnt worry about adding ammonia if you do this. My opinion is, if your gonna cycle a tank, let it do its thing, but thats just me!

So do ya get what i mean, because gravel isnt a HUGe source of benmeficial bacteria. There is some, but not ALOT.

My 29 gallon (the cycled tank) has a HOB filter one canister, one filter sponge, one carbon sponge.

The ones that go on the 120 gallon (I have two) are the same as the HOB of the 29 gallon but they are double ones. Like they have two filter sponges and two carbons and a slot for each one in each canister.

So all together 4 blue filter sponges, and 4 carbons, 2 whole filters.

I am not quite sure of what you are saying though.

Should I stop adding ammonia and do a large water change? Can I buy like a small hardy fish and test it out if my tank is cycled or not? If not, I can always add the fish to the cycled 29 gallon and start over with the fishless cycle I suppose. But I don't think the fishless cycle is going anywhere at all.

Since the filter from the 29 gallon takes the same filter sponge size as the two filters in the 120 gallon, I just have been exchanging the sponges. Like I took one new sponge that came with the filter for the 120 gallon and put it in the 29 gallon to pick up some bacteria on it, then I put the old filter sponge from the 29 gallon into the 120 gallon filter. I hope you get it and I am not too confusing. )

 

[Mr Miagi]

Since the filter from the 29 gallon takes the same filter sponge size as the two filters in the 120 gallon, I just have been exchanging the sponges. Like I took one new sponge that came with the filter for the 120 gallon and put it in the 29 gallon to pick up some bacteria on it, then I put the old filter sponge from the 29 gallon into the 120 gallon filter. I hope you get it and I am not too confusing. )

EXACTLY!

thats what i was trying to say but im a bit slow today! )

 

[Raechal]

Since the filter from the 29 gallon takes the same filter sponge size as the two filters in the 120 gallon, I just have been exchanging the sponges. Like I took one new sponge that came with the filter for the 120 gallon and put it in the 29 gallon to pick up some bacteria on it, then I put the old filter sponge from the 29 gallon into the 120 gallon filter. I hope you get it and I am not too confusing. )

EXACTLY!

thats what i was trying to say but im a bit slow today! )

Then I should just do a large water change and add the dechlor in the tank (after I buy ANOTHER bottle ) and then just add the fish from the 29 gallon to the 120 gallon? Because afterall I did just clone their filter from the 29 gallon so I guess it would be okay?