Lana's Second Tank

[lana]

ok so i went and got a 10g tank to use for sick/qur/ birthingtank

i have my pure ammonia

tank is washed and all set up , add a peice of fiber from old tank ( which is still cyclcing with fish in) thought it can't hurt right

used the tool at top of page says add 1.99 ml do i just add to the water and that is it

 

[lana]

day 1


ok added 2ml about an hour ago

12:00 pm reading

ammonia 1ppm

just added another cap full of ammonia

temp 30 C


EDIT: 12 20 pm

ok added another cap reading between 2 and 4

added another cap
reading now closer to 5ppm
chart only goes to 4 then 8 nothing inbetween
so i am guessing but it is dark Green like a ermald green

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you don't need to cycle it to just use for hosp, quarantine etc. just take the filter from it and run i in your main tank, it'll cycle by itself over the next few weeks along with your main tanks filter and then when you need to use it just fill the tank with water pop the filter over and set it all up.

 

[lana]

you don't need to cycle it to just use for hosp, quarantine etc. just take the filter from it and run i in your main tank, it'll cycle by itself over the next few weeks along with your main tanks filter and then when you need to use it just fill the tank with water pop the filter over and set it all up.

lmao well now to late ammonia added ....... s'ok learning proccess

 

[Miss Wiggle]

not too late at all, you can just pop the filter over onto the main tank, strip down the spare one and store it all somewhere.

the problem with cycling temporary tanks this way is you have to keep them cycled, which either means after the cycle is done you need to still add 5ppm of ammonia every single day to keep the bacteria alive. alternatively you put some fish in there, then it just becomes a second tank and then when you need to use it for quarantine you need to move the existing fish out or risk infecting them. Take it from someone who'se been there, if you keep a temporary tank cycled by this method it won't end up being a temporary tank, it'll just be a second tank and you'll be without somewhere to use as hospital/quarantine etc!

 

[lana]

not too late at all, you can just pop the filter over onto the main tank, strip down the spare one and store it all somewhere.

the problem with cycling temporary tanks this way is you have to keep them cycled, which either means after the cycle is done you need to still add 5ppm of ammonia every single day to keep the bacteria alive. alternatively you put some fish in there, then it just becomes a second tank and then when you need to use it for quarantine you need to move the existing fish out or risk infecting them. Take it from someone who'se been there, if you keep a temporary tank cycled by this method it won't end up being a temporary tank, it'll just be a second tank and you'll be without somewhere to use as hospital/quarantine etc!

hmmmmmm

welll now it is only a 10g and the filter only has 1 bio bag in it


so do i drain it added filter to bigger tank,
and most of all will that interfear with bigger tank cause it is still cycling

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah exactly, just pop the filter onto the main tank, drain the rest of the tank clean it out etc and store it somewhere, then when you need to use it you fill it with dechlorinated water, switch the heater on and move the filter over then it's ready to go. when you're done using it you don't want to risk transferring any diseases etc over into the main tank so you sling the media and put new in then stick it back in the main tank.

 

[lana]

yeah exactly, just pop the filter onto the main tank, drain the rest of the tank clean it out etc and store it somewhere, then when you need to use it you fill it with dechlorinated water, switch the heater on and move the filter over then it's ready to go. when you're done using it you don't want to risk transferring any diseases etc over into the main tank so you sling the media and put new in then stick it back in the main tank.

will that slow my main tank down as it is still cycling ?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no, all you're doing is adding some extra places for the bacteria to grow, shouldn't make one IOTA of difference.

However during the cycling process and in the few weeks afterwards you could bugger things up by taking the filter across and using it on the small tank so you have to just imagine you don't have the second tank until the cycle is done and it's been stable for a month or so.

 

[waterdrop]

Yeah MW, this may be my fault, maybe Lana asked this question earlier and I didn't get a chance to talk about QT tanks... Lana, yes, the two methods which I see talked about the most on TFF are what MW says, namely, running the filter for the QT tank on your main tank so that its cycled and ready as she says, or the other one is to just have enough extra mature media available to be able to run a small QT tank immediately by setting up even with a fresh small filter and just almost completely loading it with mature media.

This could either be a small internal or HOB filter.. OR, a very popular thing is to have what is known as a simple sponge filter. There are pictures of these on TFF (I think somewhere you can see Tolak's baby angel tanks with lots of these filters, remember those pics MW?) ..Anyway, you have a simple stiff tube with holes and you fit a square sponge that has one central hole over the tube and you use an airline to run bubbles up the tube, thereby pulling water thorough the sponge. The sponge is about the right size that it can stay stuffed in a main filter for most of its life but be pulled out, stuck on the airtube and be big enough to handle a few fish in a small temporary QT tank.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lana]

no, all you're doing is adding some extra places for the bacteria to grow, shouldn't make one IOTA of difference.

However during the cycling process and in the few weeks afterwards you could bugger things up by taking the filter across and using it on the small tank so you have to just imagine you don't have the second tank until the cycle is done and it's been stable for a month or so.

that is just what i don't want to do and from what i have read fishless cycling is alot faster 2 weeks maybe? i could always add a couple neon tetras to small tank till i have to use it and just put them in bigger tank,

am i right in the way i am thinking

 

[waterdrop]

Fishless cycling can be much faster, as fast as 2 weeks perhaps, if you successfully get a significantly big batch of mature media into the filter as an inoculant.

Fishless cycling is not faster just because a tank is smaller. The water volume of the tank doesn't have much effect, none really, on the fixed things like bacterial lag and growth curves. Kinda like small moms still need about 9 months for a human baby, just like large moms.

Is the filter for the new 10 gallon a sort that you could run over on the big tall main tank?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lana]

Fishless cycling can be much faster, as fast as 2 weeks perhaps, if you successfully get a significantly big batch of mature media into the filter as an inoculant.

Fishless cycling is not faster just because a tank is smaller. The water volume of the tank doesn't have much effect, none really, on the fixed things like bacterial lag and growth curves. Kinda like small moms still need about 9 months for a human baby, just like large moms.

Is the filter for the new 10 gallon a sort that you could run over on the big tall main tank?

~~waterdrop~~

no i looked don't think it would fit very small angled area behind both filters in the main tank

and no room for any thing in new one it is a very small 10 g pump, i did take a peice of media from main tank and stuff it in the small opening of new one

it is filter floss, that has been in my main tank for maybe 2 weeks i just tore a peice if it off, i did this last night when i filled it with water,

 

[lana]

ok so i put the filter in my main tank

now what i am wondering can i still run the little tank just by added a sponge to the filter basket so if needed all i have to do is put the filter in it when needed

all i have in it is rocks and log

 

[waterdrop]

Sorry, your question is not clear. Yes, you can just bring mature media from the main tank's filter over and use it to create a new filter on the QT tank right when you need it. Usually you are only putting a very few fish in a QT tank and so you will not need as much bacteria to balance with their load. QT tanks can just sit in the closet until needed. You don't want to to be pulling a bunch of media out of a filter that is not yet cycled however. (didn't look back, did we go over this before? even a small bit would be a good inoculant if you are feeling you need the QT now, before the big tank is cycled.)

~~waterdrop~~