Help With Cycling A New Tank - Using Established Media

[alexpb22]

Hi,

I wondered if I could get some advice re the cycling process.

I found a good set of instructions online and was all set but have had real difficulty getting ammonia.

The only one I could get contained "less than 5% non ionic surfectants" so decided not to risk it.

Thing is I'm now a bit lost as to what I can do without the ammonia. I know you can get it online but I have wasted so much money on this that I'm going to proceed without it.

I already have an established tank that has been set up for a couple of years so I have removed some of the gravel and put it in my new tank and I have also removed the carbon filter media bag and have put that into my new tank. The bag split a while ago so could do with replacing but I haven't taken any of the other media out as I don't want to cause problems for my existing tank.

My question is that now I have seeded the tank a bit, what do I need to do to continue the cycling process? Do I need to do regular water changes or do I just leave it all for about four weeks?

I have a test kit coming over the next few days so can start monitoring the levels but is what I have done enough to start the process?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, many thanks

 

[Wansui]

Just putting some gravel in from your tank will not complete the cycle. What media is contained within the media bag? and how much of it? And how long has that media been within the established tank? you must  also consider that even if the bioload will be the same, you can't transfer ALL of the beneficial bacteria so most likely, no matter what, your tank will still need at least a few days to re-establish, meaning you will need an ammonia source to feed the bacteria. Keep in mind that nitrifying bacteria grow VERY slowly with a doubling time of about 15 hours in IDEAL conditions, so understand that in the conditions that we keep our tanks, the bacteria take even longer to grow, which is why cycling takes a long time. The best thing you can do is test your water constantly and keep a close eye on the parameters to make sure everything is ok. You will need an ammonia source, read this - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/  It's probably the best cycling guides on the internet, and even tells you where to buy ammonia. Ammonia is cheap and not hard to find. The gravel from your established tank will speed up the process.

 

[alexpb22]

The media bag is the carbon filter from my fluval edge which has been in the tank for about two years now, since set up. It contains about 45g of carbon in a bag that is about 4 inches by 1 inch.

I have also put some fish flakes in the tank which I will add to over the next few days, I gather that as these breakdown they produce ammonia.

I'm expecting this to take around 4 - 6 weeks.

 

[Wansui]

Yes, you can use fish food as an ammonia source. But it's very hard to control the ammonia levels within your aquarium. Plus you'll have lots of disgusting fish food decomposing in your tank. With bottled ammonia you can control the ammonia levels, and It's much cleaner and safer. There is even an ammonia calculator to find out how much you'll need to add. (http/www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm) you are really just making more trouble for yourself, the cycling process will tank longer with fish food.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Fish flakes are are really poor sources of ammonia. You will get a bacterial bloom, rotting food and very little ammonia.
 

 
Using shrimp or fish food: One of the more popular fishless cycling methods is to buy a few dead shrimp at the grocery store, cut them up into chunks and add them to the aquarium. The shrimp decay, which produces ammonia to feed the nitrifying bacteria. There are a few drawbacks with this method, one being that the hobbyist really has no way to know how much ammonia is being produced by the decaying shrimp, and the aquarium does not look very good with dead shrimp laying on the bottom. Also, the organic material of the shrimp can cause bacteria blooms which turn the aquarium water cloudy. This method works but it takes time and patience and you will probably see a spike in ammonia and nitrite if you add a medium to heavy load of fish after the initial cycling. Note that some people use flake fish food instead of shrimp but this is not recommended because flake food does not have much organic material compared to shrimp and so does not add a lot of ammonia to the water, but you can use cut fish instead of shrimp.

from http/www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/how-to-start

 

[alexpb22]

Just purchase some kleen off ammonia which I should have on Thursday. Hopefully the bacteria won't die by then

 

[Mamashack]

If you keep the filter medium wet they should be ok. They may hibernate but will gradually wake-up when you introduce the Kleenoff. Use the TFF calculator to determine how much you need to add and the link for our recommended way to cycle the tank properly is at the end of my signature if you haven't been there already.
Where in the world are you? It would help when people are recommending things so they can tailor advice to where you live.
 
EDIT: Forgot to say

to TFF!

 

[alexpb22]

Thanks for replying. I'm well into my cycling now, about two weeks and have nitrites and nitrates showing up so things should start speeding up now