Getting Started With A Second Hand Tank

[pingu1997]

Hi, thanks in advance for anyone who can advise


On Friday we bought a second hand fish tank. Complete beginners, apart from an internet friend who keeps fish, know very little about them! It's a Juwel 180 and it was used previously to keep goldfish. It came with the gravel, a bit of water left in the bottom, and the filters in a bucket with water from the tank. We brought it home, added water, dechlorinated it, put the filter back in to the canister and turned it on. Overnight the tank settled and all looked good!

I have read about fishless cycling, and while I find it very complicated (I am such a blonde sometimes!), my friend said that as we probably had bacteria already in the filter due to it being a second hand tank, we might not have to start the cycling process from scratch.

I have Ammonia (courtesy of Homebase) and I added some to the tank yesterday morning, and tested it 12 hrs later, the reading was a smallish amount (maybe between 1 and 3 ppm), it was difficult to see clearly as it involved matching a colour against a chart?

So I'm wondering what now, I have testing stuff, ammonia and a nice tank full of dechlorinated water. But no fish yet, not until I know what I need to do to get the tank ready properly and avoid killing poor fish in front of the kids!

I have looked around for posts on cycling with a second hand tank but I didn't see anything

Anyone who can help I would be really grateful! ps am not very technical and know very little about fish!!!!
But we want to set it up as a freshwater tropical tank and start when it's ready with something like Mollies or Platys, adding a few fish at a time

Thanks
Corinne

 

[BigIan]

cycling with a second hand tank is the same as with a new tank. From what you`ve said you have a grasp of fishless cycling and so just carry on with that, but as you will have a colony of bacteria already your cycle should progress quickly.

if you want to keep tropical fish you will also need a heater.

Oh and welcome to thr forum.

 

[pingu1997]

cycling with a second hand tank is the same as with a new tank. From what you`ve said you have a grasp of fishless cycling and so just carry on with that, but as you will have a colony of bacteria already your cycle should progress quickly.

if you want to keep tropical fish you will also need a heater.

Oh and welcome to thr forum.

Thanks! I got a heater, it's set at 24-26 degrees.

So I just follow one of the cycling posts and expect it to be quicker than starting from scratch?

Thanks for replying so quickly!. My tank looks lovely, can't wait to stock it!

 

[BigIan]

essentially yep just add 5ppm, of ammonia and wait for it to drop to 0 do the same again, untill its dropping to 0 in 24 hrs.

 

[Gvilleguy]

I guess the big question I had from your post was "what was the ammonia reading after you first added ammonia to the water" - that way you'll know how much it dropped when it went to 1 - 3 ppm. If you were able to get it the level up to 5 ppm, and it dropped that far in 12 hours, you are a good way into your cycle!

What kind of test kit are you using? The liquid test kits, (such as API Freshwater Master) while they cost more than strip tests, seem to be much more accurate for measuring during your cycle.

 

[pingu1997]

I guess the big question I had from your post was "what was the ammonia reading after you first added ammonia to the water" - that way you'll know how much it dropped when it went to 1 - 3 ppm. If you were able to get it the level up to 5 ppm, and it dropped that far in 12 hours, you are a good way into your cycle!

What kind of test kit are you using? The liquid test kits, (such as API Freshwater Master) while they cost more than strip tests, seem to be much more accurate for measuring during your cycle.

Hi, sorry I don't know what the levels were when I first added the ammonia, but I think I got it now, I test every day and wait for the level to drop to 0 then add some more... and follow the instructions for cycling.

Yeah I got one of those stupid strip tests, had no idea what I was buying at the time, if it starts to annoy me then I'll invest in a better testing kit!

Corinnex

 

[Shaman]

Hi!

I'm relatively new to all this cycling malarkly!

Can thoroughly recommend the API master test (bought mine off eBay for £20, around £10-15 cheaper than in the shops).

You'll get some good advice on here though

Shaman Dan

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Corinne and Welcome to TFF!

I agree with everyone up there, lots of good advice. You are already close to being fully set up for fishless cycling and your fishless cycle may go quickly because of the previous mature media. Being sure your biofilter is back up to full running capacity will give you a great feeling before you add fish and we can help you with knowing its ready do go.

Your Homebase ammonia will probably be marked as 9.5% concentration (or similar) and if you have some sort of small milliliter measuring device (such as a child's medicine measurer) you can use the ammonia calculator at the bottom of our web calculator on this forum page to get the number of milliliters that will get you close to 4 to 5ppm. You should go ahead and do that now, despite not having your liquid testing kit yet. Just use the strips in the meantime.

Once you get your kit (I agree, many of us like and use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit) you can practice on your tap water and post up the ammonia, nitrite(NO2), pH and nitrate(NO3) results for that in your thread here. Next it will be good to verify with your liquid based ammonia kit that the calculated ammonia dose to the tank really appears to be matching the 4ppm color on the test pretty well. Then you'll want to log your daily test results as it really takes a series of several days to trust what you're seeing, a reading on any one day could be off.

The "Add and Wait" Fishless Cycling method in the article by rdd1952 who lives near me here in North Carolina is the one you want to be following but you also want to interact with us as we have various tweeks to that that we can help you with.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Corrine.
If I read things correctly, you bought a fully cycled tank that was recently used for goldfish. By keeping the filter wet and the gravel wet, the bacteria were probably preserved. I would make a single 1 or 2 ppm ammonia dose of the tank and measure the results 12 to 24 hours later. If it had reduced to zero ammonia and nitrite, I would be out shopping for fish before losing the cycle the former owner went to such lengths to preserve for you. You have received everything in the right conditions to optimize the preservation of the formerly cycled tank and I would be taking advantage of that. Few of us ever experience such a big leg up from former owners of our equipment.

 

[pingu1997]

Welcome to the forum Corrine.
If I read things correctly, you bought a fully cycled tank that was recently used for goldfish. By keeping the filter wet and the gravel wet, the bacteria were probably preserved. I would make a single 1 or 2 ppm ammonia dose of the tank and measure the results 12 to 24 hours later. If it had reduced to zero ammonia and nitrite, I would be out shopping for fish before losing the cycle the former owner went to such lengths to preserve for you. You have received everything in the right conditions to optimize the preservation of the formerly cycled tank and I would be taking advantage of that. Few of us ever experience such a big leg up from former owners of our equipment.

Yeah that's what the guy who sold me the tank said, and my friend also. I did just what you described, added some ammonia and tested it 12 hrs later. It wasn't zero. Which is why I was confused as to whether my tank was fully cycled or not. That's why I posted in here, hoping to find out whether my tank is ready to go or whether I have to start the cycling process from scratch?
The guy did leave the filter media in water, and some water in the bottom, but I am not sure when he took the goldfish out so I don't know how long the tank was without fish?
I haven't done anything more with it but I'll test it today and see what it looks like
Never knew fish could be so complicated!!!!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Something I spotted in the thread was a temperature of 24-26C... Try setting the thermostat to ~28C, as this will make the bacteria more active and as long as they have food (ammonia and nitrite), thy will multiply quicker

Depending on what fish you choose to stock in the tank, just remember to turn the stat down once you are sure the tank is cycled.

 

[pingu1997]

Something I spotted in the thread was a temperature of 24-26C... Try setting the thermostat to ~28C, as this will make the bacteria more active and as long as they have food (ammonia and nitrite), thy will multiply quicker

Depending on what fish you choose to stock in the tank, just remember to turn the stat down once you are sure the tank is cycled.

awesome thanks, turned it up. Ammonia readings high this morning so now I guess I just sit and wait, test every day, and wait for them to fall?


My kids keep asking why we can't get fish yet!!!

 

[Gvilleguy]

I had to hold off my kids for a 70 day cycle! It was not fun.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd use the time to give the kids an impromptu science lesson

If your kids are old enough they could help you with the tests; at the very least they could count the drops for you. Mine love messing around with test tubes; makes them feel like scientists!

And the more involved they are and the more they understand what's going on, the less they'll nag you to get fish; they will at least gain some understanding of why they have to wait

 

[BigIan]

I'd use the time to give the kids an impromptu science lesson

If your kids are old enough they could help you with the tests; at the very least they could count the drops for you. Mine love messing around with test tubes; makes them feel like scientists!

And the more involved they are and the more they understand what's going on, the less they'll nag you to get fish; they will at least gain some understanding of why they have to wait

get them to make a cart to measure the progress.....