How To Instantly Cycle A Fishtank?

[dgwebster]

I've done this recently and within a couple of hours went from 0 nitrite (blue on API test kit) to dark purple (can't remember measurements) which took a heavy 80% water change to stop my fish panting like crazy. Entered a mini cycle but it only lasted like 2/3 days

That is the one thing I noticed, I did not get a nitrite spike.

 

[Skies]

So the fish never got taken out? I am so confused with this story now ha ha

No, he never did, I figured he was going to go the way of the rest of them and I was going to just quit for a while, but he lived, so I saved him. One day i looked into the tank, saw that he was still alive... and I was like "Ok fishy, this is your lucky day!" I felt bad, I really didn't think he'd survive, the other goldfish had consumed the algae and there was no saving them, thought he had as well, but he lived! So now I'm back to maintaining it, testing my water occasionally to see when I should be changing the water considering my stock has shrunk about 90%. I think that's why I'm not getting any spikes, there was JUST enough bacteria left to handle the small bio-load.

 

[dgwebster]

At 75 gallons the dilution of one fishy pishy will probably be extreme and allows for living bacteria in the tank to control it.

 

[Sophie]

 

So the fish never got taken out? I am so confused with this story now ha ha

No, he never did, I figured he was going to go the way of the rest of them and I was going to just quit for a while, but he lived, so I saved him. One day i looked into the tank, saw that he was still alive... and I was like "Ok fishy, this is your lucky day!" I felt bad, I really didn't think he'd survive, the other goldfish had consumed the algae and there was no saving them, thought he had as well, but he lived! So now I'm back to maintaining it, testing my water occasionally to see when I should be changing the water considering my stock has shrunk about 90%. I think that's why I'm not getting any spikes, there was JUST enough bacteria left to handle the small bio-load.
 

 
Nope still lost - Oh well, long as he's alive and happy now 

 

 

I've done this recently and within a couple of hours went from 0 nitrite (blue on API test kit) to dark purple (can't remember measurements) which took a heavy 80% water change to stop my fish panting like crazy. Entered a mini cycle but it only lasted like 2/3 days

That is the one thing I noticed, I did not get a nitrite spike.
 

 
 
Because there's two different types of bacteria as far as I am aware that deal with Ammonia and Nitrite. You could've lost a lot of ammonia nomming bacteria causing the ammonia to spike more where as I got barely any ammonia reading, maybe 0.25ish on occasion but massive nitrite readings so I must've lost a lot of the nitrite nomming bacteria

Gosh, the nitrogen cycle gets so confusing!

 

[Skies]

 

 

So the fish never got taken out? I am so confused with this story now ha ha

No, he never did, I figured he was going to go the way of the rest of them and I was going to just quit for a while, but he lived, so I saved him. One day i looked into the tank, saw that he was still alive... and I was like "Ok fishy, this is your lucky day!" I felt bad, I really didn't think he'd survive, the other goldfish had consumed the algae and there was no saving them, thought he had as well, but he lived! So now I'm back to maintaining it, testing my water occasionally to see when I should be changing the water considering my stock has shrunk about 90%. I think that's why I'm not getting any spikes, there was JUST enough bacteria left to handle the small bio-load.
 

 
Nope still lost - Oh well, long as he's alive and happy

 


 
I had several goldfish, a comet, a ryukin and an oranda (the comet wasn't even supposed to be there, my little sister brought it home to me and it had nowhere to go, eh, oh well), my tank developed a black algae problem and was consumed by my goldfish, I got rid of the algae problem, but my Ryukin and Oranda still passed away due to eating the algae, so I gave up. I thought the comet would die shortly thereafter, as the others did, but he didn't... yadda yadda yadda... cleaned the tank, switched on the filter, and here we are today. Still lost?

 

[dgwebster]

Correct on the bacteria there. I am going to envision that the nitrite dudes had a longer food supply and were hardier. Or my api test is poop, also possible.

 

[Sophie]

 

 


 

So the fish never got taken out? I am so confused with this story now ha ha

No, he never did, I figured he was going to go the way of the rest of them and I was going to just quit for a while, but he lived, so I saved him. One day i looked into the tank, saw that he was still alive... and I was like "Ok fishy, this is your lucky day!" I felt bad, I really didn't think he'd survive, the other goldfish had consumed the algae and there was no saving them, thought he had as well, but he lived! So now I'm back to maintaining it, testing my water occasionally to see when I should be changing the water considering my stock has shrunk about 90%. I think that's why I'm not getting any spikes, there was JUST enough bacteria left to handle the small bio-load.
 

 
Nope still lost - Oh well, long as he's alive and happy

 


 
I had several goldfish, a comet, a ryukin and an oranda (the comet wasn't even supposed to be there, my little sister brought it home to me and it had nowhere to go, eh, oh well), my tank developed a black algae problem and was consumed by my goldfish, I got rid of the algae problem, but my Ryukin and Oranda still passed away due to eating the algae, so I gave up. I thought the comet would die shortly thereafter, as the others did, but he didn't... yadda yadda yadda... cleaned the tank, switched on the filter, and here we are today. Still lost?
 


 
Nope good now
Got confused where you said the filter was switched off for months at a time - I assumed it was empty with just stagnant water in it.
Point still remains, bit of a miracle tank if left off for that long

Correct on the bacteria there. I am going to envision that the nitrite dudes had a longer food supply and were hardier. Or my api test is poop, also possible.

 
Very possible - I had to return one of my API testing kits recently as the Nitrate test was duff. No matter what I did it constantly showed my Nitrate reading as 0 even after constant shaking of the bottles, doing everything right. I had been using it for months wondering what the hell ha ha!

 

[dgwebster]

I had been using it for months wondering what the hell ha ha!

I spent an extra 3 weeks fishless cycling my first tank because i didnt realise the ammonia kit needed put in a B&Q paint mixer

 

[Sophie]

 

I had been using it for months wondering what the hell ha ha!

I spent an extra 3 weeks fishless cycling my first tank because i didnt realise the ammonia kit needed put in a B&Q paint mixer
 

 
Bahaha well, better safe than sorry I guess!
 
I love how many who haven't used the API test kit wouldn't understand that joke - I laughed out loud.
 

So i upgraded to a new 55 gallon

and i was wondering if i could transfer over all my decor from my old tank and put it into the bew tank to make an "instant cycle". i could also add some substrate as well ( or all of it ) with this method can i add fish instantly? ( i have some slightly sensitive fish a farlowella and khuli loaches) Thank you all

 
Sorry for detouring off your original topic, are you all ok with everything now? Need to know anything else?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The bacteria do not die so easily. When there is a sudden loss of food and oxygen, they notice and go dormant. They can last for some time as long as they do not actually dry out. They live in a bio-film, so what seems dry to you or me may still be OK for them.
 
How long they can stay dormant and how fast they can recover depends on what shape they were in when they went dormant. In established tanks they should be in pretty good condition.
 
The bacteria can survive for a number of months with no food or O. And in an established filtration system they need not have ammonia.nitrite every day to be just fine.
 
And pretty much the same things affect both the AOB and the NOB- it is highly unusual for one group to be doing well and the other not.
 
Nor is it possible to go from 0 to 8.8 ppm nitrite on an API kit as fast as in the quote by dg above. You actually have to pour something nitrite related into the tank for that to happen. 1 ppm on an API test kit coverts into 2.56 ppm of nitrite on their kit. To get to 8.8 you need an excess of 3.4 ppms of ammonia over the normal load being handled- either all at once or else a reading lower reading but for several days- hard to miss that.

 

[Skies]

The bacteria do not die so easily. When there is a sudden loss of food and oxygen, they notice and go dormant. They can last for some time as long as they do not actually dry out. They live in a bio-film, so what seems dry to you or me may still be OK for them.
 
How long they can stay dormant and how fast they can recover depends on what shape they were in when they went dormant. In established tanks they should be in pretty good condition.
 
The bacteria can survive for a number of months with no food or O. And in an established filtration system they need not have ammonia.nitrite every day to be just fine.
 
And pretty much the same things affect both the AOB and the NOB- it is highly unusual for one group to be doing well and the other not.
 
Nor is it possible to go from 0 to 8.8 ppm nitrite on an API kit as fast as in the quote by dg above. You actually have to pour something nitrite related into the tank for that to happen. 1 ppm on an API test kit coverts into 2.56 ppm of nitrite on their kit. To get to 8.8 you need an excess of 3.4 ppms of ammonia over the normal load being handled- either all at once or else a reading lower reading but for several days- hard to miss that.

 
Thank you, that's what I had suspected, and apparently what I experienced. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[HHH]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies i will be doing the transfer tomorrow wish me luck Hopefully i will get no spikes but im sure my fish can manage to pull through.