I Didn't Cycle The Water!

[Christine1014]

I'm totally new to online forums, so I hope I'm doing this right...

I had a 10-gallon tropical freshwater tank for five years and just upgraded to a 44-gallon. The woman at the pet store told me to put the gravel in the tank, add the water and let it run for 2-3 days. I did that, then three days ago added my fish (11 of them, the largest being 3 blue danios and a large black-skirted tetra) and about 2/3 of the water from their old tank .

NOW I'm reading all this stuff about cycling the tank. Is there anything I can/should do at this point, or does the fact that my fish are all still alive three days after putting them in the new tank mean everything is going to be okay?

 

[Chri$]

This means that your are doing a Fish Cycle.

I would have a read of the Cycling With Fish pinned topic whic can be found in Tropical Chit Chat.

 

[timmystood]

The gravel you moved into the new tank will contain quite a quantity of bacteria, so that's on your side! Firstly, don't panic.. it's not the end of the world and you shouldn't lose any of your fish providing you keep on top of things. You say you've read about cycling, so I assume you understand the nitrogen cycle etc. so there's no need for me to explain that!
The problem your facing is obviously that you've added a big load to a new filter, so lets make an action plan.

1. You don't say where you live, but i'll assume the UK (meaning it's now night-time!) This means the fish-shops are closed. Do a water change tonight (about 30-40%) - make sure to treat the water with de-chlorinator before adding it to the new tank.

2. If possible, first thing tommorow get to your local shop and purchase a product containing 'live bacteria' Some brands include; Soll Bactinettes, Tetra Safe Start, Nutrafin Cycle etc. Get one of these products and add to your tank straight away.

3. While at the shop get yourself some test kits for Ammonia and Nitrite so you can keep track of the levels over the next few days.

4. Do water changes every 3 days (always treating the water with dechrolinator) of about 30%

5. Keep track of the Ammonia and Nitrite levels and things should drop quite fast

6. When Ammonia and Nitrite are 0ppm, revert to your usual tank maintainence (I recommend 25% water change every week)

7. Enjoy the tank!

Good luck and let me know how it all goes

Hope this helps
TIM

 

[Christine1014]

Thanks! I'm in the US (Pennsylvania) so I'll have time to get the pet store after work. And I didn't actually add old gravel to my tank, just the old water. But I still have my old tank - with about an inch of water and all the gravel in the bottom -- so I'll put some of that gravel in the new tank.

 

[Creature Seeker]

I would buy a test kit first and see what your readings as priority.

...

 

[Creature Seeker]

Water doesn't really contain any essential bacteria, so need to get that gravel in there and hope the bacteria is still alive.

...

 

[Christine1014]

I'll keep my fingers crossed! Too bad a fish semi-emergency doesn't count as a valid excuse to leave work early; I'd love to go home and check the levels and everything now! I'll be sure to let you know what happens....

 

[InaneCathode]

You're in for a world of hurt mate. Unless you're very diligent on your water changes (3 times a week for probably 2 months) your fish will end up dieing. They're probably already damaged too, ammonia doesnt just annoy your fish, or make them unhealthy for a short time, it permanently burns their gills and damages their immune systems. Supressed immune systems are bad enough, but when you factor in the stress of a new tank and nearly a dozen fish they've never seen before it becomes a time bomb of sorts.
I know an empty tank is boring, but in my opinion you need to take your fish back and do a fishless cycle. 11 fish is overstocked for a regular 10 gallon, and for a fish cycle it's /extremely/ over stocked.
I think the merits of 'bacteria in a bottle' are questionable at best, and the best you could hope for with them is a lighter wallet and a calmer mind. You probably already know that the bacteria we like are sessile, as in the stick to things. This means they dont live in the water. Partly because they'res low levels of oxygen, and low water flow, not many nitrifiers live in the gravel, granted you'd get quite a few, but not nearly enough to process that much ammonia.
This is /NOT/ a fish cycle, a fish cycle is a controlled process with a few hardy fish that you very slowly add new fish to. This is a giant ammonia bomb that's ready to go off and take most, if not all of your fish with it (neons are sensitive anyway).

 

[Christine1014]

Hi, InaneCathode
Thanks for responding to my fish disaster! It's not *quite* as bad as all that, though (at least, I hope not!) -- I moved my 11 fish FROM the 10 gallon, into the new 44-gallon, which contained no other fish.

Interesting that you mention the "bacteria in a bottle," as I've heard such mixed opinions on the merits of these products. The pet store seems to push them, but they probably just want a sale!

 

[timmystood]

'Bacteria in a bottle'? Depends on what you get... if it is in a fridge or has special storage instructions then it will contain live bacteria and be very benefical to your filter.

Adding water from your old tank won't really help in anyway. In fact, the fish would prefer fresh water rather than old tank water.

InaneCathode, it isn't quite that drastic. There is bacteria there in the gravel and Christine1014 is sorting out the situation ASAP so the fish will be ok providing everything gets sorted quickly, which, judging by your response Christine1014 I think it will!

...11 fish is overstocked for a regular 10 gallon...

No it's not!

 

[InaneCathode]

'Bacteria in a bottle'? Depends on what you get... if it is in a fridge or has special storage instructions then it will contain live bacteria and be very benefical to your filter.

Adding water from your old tank won't really help in anyway. In fact, the fish would prefer fresh water rather than old tank water.

InaneCathode, it isn't quite that drastic. There is bacteria there in the gravel and Christine1014 is sorting out the situation ASAP so the fish will be ok providing everything gets sorted quickly, which, judging by your response Christine1014 I think it will!

...11 fish is overstocked for a regular 10 gallon...

No it's not!

Yes, it is. 11 fish in a ten gallon, 3 blue danios and a black skirt tetra included.

As far as the bacteria in a bottle, its pretty much biologically impossible for, nitrosomnas even, to live without a food supply for more than a week in a full aquarium without the filter running, let alone a packet or a bottle with little or no ammonia present. That's not even going into how the nitrite oxidizing bacteria are supposed to live in there, concidering they're even more sensitive than nitrosomnas. Special storage instructions could be, you can only store it on the middle shelf of your fridge at 50 degrees and only until the next full moon, doesnt mean its any better than the little bacteria tablets.

@ the OP, sorry i didnt read carefully enough. 11 fish in a 44 gallon shouldnt be a problem for a while

 

[erk628]

Buy a test kit ASAP and do 20 % water changes until your readings are were there suppose to. Also with the bacteria in a bottle they have a thing called Bio Spira which it says you can add to your tank and 24 hours later it ready for fish. However since you already have fish in there do NOT add this stuff, it would take away way to much oxegen and your fish would die. Just test your water daily and do whater changes until it gets in the safe zone. It will take awhile just keep at it. Also feed very sparingly, What I would do is feed every other day and very little, over feeding will just prolong your water changes and high readings.

 

[StuCarr]

Assuming your other tank had a filter and its not been out of water too long could you not run that together with a new one in your tank??

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Assuming your other tank had a filter and its not been out of water too long could you not run that together with a new one in your tank??

it's been 3 days since the change over, if the old filter was kept in water after 12 hrs the bacteia would die off, kept out of water for 3 days the filter bacteria's dead.

but everyone chill, 11 fish in a 44g tank isn't horrendous for cycling with fish, you actually need a decent size bioload in the tank to get the bacteria started, when you hear about people's tanks cycling for months on end it's generally cos they lost half the fish they bought and are now trying to cycle with 2 danios.

personally i don't rate the bacteria in a bottle type products, up to you though if you wanna try it then go ahead.

get a test kit, test your water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph. post your results here and we'll tell you what they mean if your not sure.

you need to test your water every day, any day that you get a reading for ammonia/nitrite you need to do a 10% water change. this will be for several weeks maybe a month or so.

they key to this is management, you can come through unscathed but your gonna need to be vigilant with testing and water changes

 

[Christine1014]

Hi everybody,

Thanks for all the help/advice with the tank cycling (or lack thereof!).

I did a 25% water change last night, added some of the gravel from my old aquarium (an inch of water or so was still in the old tank with the gravel, but I took out my old filter a few days ago, so using that filter in this tank isn't an option). I do have a few zillion little snails still in the old tank, so hopefully that was enough to keep the bacteria alive??

I also had a small philodendrin rooting in a glass of water, so that plant is now floating on top of my tank, as I read that the roots help eat up nitrite.

Levels before I went to work this morning were: Nitrite: .25, Nitrate: 30, Ammonia: .5

Fish are acting normal.