Fresh-Water Newbie

[KittyKat]

Did you make sure to use aquarium-safe silicone? Not just bathroom silicone? Bathroom silicone has anti-mould additives, which are apparently harmful to fish.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I wouldn't mess with your 55g right now. Do you know any more folks who can give you ome of their media. Getting just a small bit can go a long way to shortening your cycle.

 

[King]

i thought i had a filter from a friend with a big snapping turtle (was gonna ask you guys if it was good to use) but he said he just changed it a week ago and threw it away. BUMMER. thats why i asked about the filters in my 55, i was 90% sure it was too soon to yank one out. i know petsmart and other places prob dont use the same filter as i have but i might ride up there and see if they can give me something. i dont know anyone else that fools with aquariums

i watched a few people reseal tanks on youtube and they all said to use the window/door clear silicone and NOT to use the bathroom/tub silicone because of the anti-mold additives. i think i should be good

 

[King]

anyone ever heard of putting raw shrimp in the filter to jump start?

 

[fluttermoth]

It goes in the tank, not the filter and it just rots down to produce ammonia; nothing magical!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes, and I wouldn't. First, you'll have some nice, fragrant, rotting shrimp to contend with. Really? You'll get just as good a start with flake food. Plus, you've got your fish to help you along.

Don't you have a Freecycle group in your area? Go to Yahoo > Groups and type in Freecycle. Then look for one in your area. Just post that you're looking for some mature aquarium filter media and see what happens. Maybe you could even trade for something (but don't put that in the post as it's verboten on Freecycle).

 

[King]

just wondering if it will help speed up my cycle? i also posted on craigslist wanting a filter out of an established tank.

 

[fluttermoth]

It wouldn't help speed up your cycle as you already have the fish producing ammonia for you.

 

[King]

i dont have fish, its a new tank, fishless cycle....

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, sorry Well in that case you'd be better off getting some proper household ammonia as it's easier to control the levels of ammonia (and less smelly; rotting prawn does pong!). You could use prawn or fish food if you can't get ammonia where you are, but most people seem to be able to get hold of it alright.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Can't you use some filter media from the tank that does have fish? Or are you still cycling that one??

 

[King]

i think the 55 is pretty well cycled but not sure if its a good idea to yank a filter yet. i wonder if i could cut one of them in half and stick in the new tank? i have the gravel from the 29gal in a bucket soaking in water out of my 55 (i know it isnt a miracle but figured it wouldnt hurt anything). i guess i will look for ammonia. i also read that putting in fish food like your feeding them will help cycle faster, is that true? i dont mind throwing some fish food in there everyday.

 

[fluttermoth]

The fish foos is the same as the prawn; it's just an ammonia source; it won't make your cycle any quicker, unfortunately!

You can safely take out up to a third of the media from another filer as long as you replace it with some new and feed sparingly and monitor your levels for a few days; once youve got a bacterial colony it doesn't thake long for it to recover from things like that.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I would wait a little longer with your current tank a bit to let things settle in. You've just about got that tank fully cycled, but it is far from mature at this point. Give it at least two weeks of double zeros across the board before you start borrowing media from it. Two weeks of fishless cycling on the new tanks will be fine and you will that much more bacteria when you bring the "cycled, but not mature" media over to the new tank.

 

[King]

ok so i decided to take out a filter from my 55gal to help this process along(i know it basically just got cycled but my bio-load also dropped majorly over the past week), i couldnt find anyone with anything i could use. i gently shook the old filter media in the water by the filter with the new cartridge (to hopefully pick up some of that particulate). started my fishless cycle in the 29 with that filter, put in ammonia but a little goes a long way and now my ammonia level in the new tank is 8ppm (about double) should I wait to let it go down or change half the water to lower it some? Nitrite and nitrate are both of course 0 right now. ph is 7.6 and i have the tank at 88.5*, gravel in it, and aerator going. Water is cloudy enough that I cant see the back of the tank. i threw in some fish food last night also. any input??

obviously i dont need to put any more food in there with the ammonia that high but wondering if i should change some of that water?

also just checked my levels in the 55gal and they are:
ammonia - 0
trite - 0
trate - between 10-20