Help! New 5 gallon tank!

[Zoes881]

Hello there! I’m just getting started on cycling my new 5 gallon tank and I’m wondering how to get started.

I do have a cycled 10 gallon tank that I can take rocks/decorations from but they were just cleaned so I don’t know how useful they would be. The filter in it was just replaced as well so I can’t move that into the new tank either.

Just for reference, I already have a filter, I’m getting a heater tomorrow, and I have QuickStart and the API master test kit.
Thank you!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hi, Zoes. Here's a good tutorial:

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Congratulations on doing it right, and good luck!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

When you say the substrate and things were just cleaned, what did you do to clean them? All hope is not lost! Are the water parameters in the ten gallon still stable, or are you riding out a mini cycle?

 

[Zoes881]

When you say the substrate and things were just cleaned, what did you do to clean them? All hope is not lost! Are the water parameters in the ten gallon still stable, or are you riding out a mini cycle?

I vacuumed the gravel really well a week ago. The water parameters are perfect l, I just worry that there isn’t enough bacteria in the gravel now that I could use to help seed the 5 gallon.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I vacuumed the gravel really well a week ago. The water parameters are perfect l, I just worry that there isn’t enough bacteria in the gravel now that I could use to help seed the 5 gallon.

As long as you were using a syphon to clean the gravel, there will still be bacteria As long as you didn't take it out and wash it in tapwater or something, the BB will still be there. Give it 2-3 days for the beneficial bacteria colonies to re-grow, then you can use some of that gravel to do a seeded cycle in the five gallon.

When you put the new filter on the ten gallon, did you keep any of the media from your old filter?

Edit: Just realised you said you syphoned the gravel a week ago, you don't need to wait 2-3 days, the bacteria will have grown back by now.

 

[Zoes881]

As long as you were using a syphon to clean the gravel, there will still be bacteria As long as you didn't take it out and wash it in tapwater or something, the BB will still be there. Give it 2-3 days for the beneficial bacteria colonies to re-grow, then you can use some of that gravel to do a seeded cycle in the five gallon.

When you put the new filter on the ten gallon, did you keep any of the media from your old filter?

Edit: Just realised you said you syphoned the gravel a week ago, you don't need to wait 2-3 days, the bacteria will have grown back by now.

Thank you! I did order some ammonium chloride that I plan to use to cycle the tank. Can I combine using that with using the seeded media? Sadly, I didn’t keep any of the media from my old filter. I wish I did though
Thank you!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thank you! I did order some ammonium chloride that I plan to use to cycle the tank. Can I combine using that with using the seeded media? Sadly, I didn’t keep any of the media from my old filter. I wish I did though
Thank you!

In the future, always keep old media! *wags finger* Keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite levels in the ten gallon then, since it might well go through a mini cycle since you lost all the bacteria from that filter and cleaned the gravel really well.

I'm not sure how you'd dose ammonia if you're doing a seeded cycle, so going to tag @Ch4rlie in to help you

 

[Ch4rlie]

You dose exactly the same, no difference in dosing process at all except you sort of jump forwards a few weeks of normal cycle time.

The seeded bacteria will quickly colonise so therefore it’s not so much a long wait for the second type of bb to form.