My First Test Results...?

[OldMan47]

I would probably try a different approach with that new tank Stuuk. Since you intend to retain the old tank and filter for some fish, try just using the new tank, with its filter running and water dechlorinated, as the cleaning bucket for your cycled filter. Then you can add a few doses of ammonia to "fishless" cycle the new filter using that huge jump start that a clone gives on a new filter. My own experience doing things that way is that the new filter is cycled in just a very few days. I do not even worry about getting a tank ready for new fish these days. Instead I wash an old established filter in a new tank and add fish as soon as the water starts to look clear. The tank is a bit messy looking at first but the fish really don't care and the water chemistry stays good from the start. With 25 tanks running, there is always one filter that badly needs cleaning, that is the one I use. Tonight I actually cleaned a filter without cloning a new filter in the process, but next week, when I come home from the ALA convention, I will probably need to clone several filters. So be it. I have plenty of semi-dirty filters to choose from. I even have tanks with more than one filter running on them which can just be moved to a new tank.

 

[gbailey141]

Just be carefull with not using the cabinet that comes with the Rio 240. A friend of mine thought he had it level on some other cabinet and his tank cracked and 240 litres of water over the floor is not good.

 

[OldMan47]

The 240 litres of water on the floor would definitely make for a bad day. I routinely clone filters and use all manner of things as my tank stands. The worst tank stand that I use is probably an ordinary table for holding one or many 38 litre tanks. When I bring home fish that need a home in an emergency, a simple 38 litre tank is the most commonly available at my home. I have been known to set one up on a simple table top and toss in a semi-mature filter that I have recently cloned and dump the fish into the tank. After that I will monitor my water quality closely for a few days to make sure the clone has taken. Meanwhile the fish are relying completely on my ability to test their water and anticipate the need for a water change before it does them any harm. In most cases the fish do quite well but I do not begin to think that this is a wise course of action. Instead it is a need thrust upon me by my ridiculous inability to resist certain new fish.

 

[stuuk1]

The 240 litres of water on the floor would definitely make for a bad day. I routinely clone filters and use all manner of things as my tank stands. The worst tank stand that I use is probably an ordinary table for holding one or many 38 litre tanks. When I bring home fish that need a home in a =n emergency, a simple 38 litre tank is the most commonly available at my home. I have been known to set one up on a simple table top and toss in a semi-mature filter that I have recently cloned and dump the fish into the tank. After that I will monitor my water quality closely for a few days to make sure the clone has taken. Meanwhile the fish are relying completely on my ability to test their water and anticipate the need for a water change before it does them any harm. In most cases the fish do quite well but I do not begin to think that this is a wise course of action. Instead it is a need thrust upon me by my ridiculous inability to resist certain new fish.

Haha, that last bit is classic! My tank is on my kitchen work top, its all level etc. I have nowhere for the stand in my apartment so.... had no choice there.

240ltr's of water on the floor would be devastating! Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine as my apartment is on the first floor.... Im scared now!

 

[stuuk1]

Just thought i'd update this, not that anyone will be interested but nevermind...!

A simple switch over of the cycled media hasnt worked unfortunately. My reading today are as follows:

PH: 7.6
PH High: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0.10 (the colour is somewhere between 0 and 0.25)
Nitrate: 10

Just to conclude, doing water changes on a 240ltr tank is a b*tch compared to the 48ltr I used to have. FACT