Not Cycling Tank?

[khial]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has set up a tank without completing a full cycle?

I did it when i was younger and allot less knowledgeable but it was a success! I had 6 black widow tetras and a red tail shark in there for a few years (unfortunately had to sell them when i moved home),
tank was set up for 3 days prior to adding fish, but nothing was added just straight forward tap water, and like I say, the tank was ran for 3 days.

So up until now I have always thought this was fine as I had no problem doing this before.

Anyway to get to the point I just wanted peoples opinions on this as I have heard so many stories about cycling, fish-less cycling and I have just bought another tank (second hand so filter media has been used and a few live plants and bogwood)

sorry for the mix- match post

 

[DrSlackBladder]

I did a fish in cycle with my first small tank before I knew better. But my next tank was a much better informed effort, thanks to this forum, and completed a fishless cycle before fish go anywhere near. I'd never do another tank fish in cycle!

 

[khial]

Whats the difference between them, I mean I bought 6 Harlequin Rasboras a couple of days ago (I think

), one of them hasnt made it but to be honest he wasnt right since he was took out of the shops tank, but the other 5 are doing brilliant,
maybe even mating (I think that's what i saw)

 

[DrSlackBladder]

with a fishless cycle you use liquid ammonia to grow the bacteria in your filter which you need to convert toxic ammonia (fish waste) into nitrite, and the toxic nitrite into less harmful nitrate, which you then remove with water changes. If you're doing an inhumane fish-in cycle, you need to be doing 50% water changes DAILY to control the toxins your fish are experiencing. Read the countless threads on here about fishless cycling in the New Tank section!!! And you'll NEED to invest in a liquid test kit, must of us on here use the API Master Kit, £20 online. It'll likely save your fish and make you a better fish keeper!

 

[khial]

Well will definitely purchase a kit asap, and will the fact that my filters should already be cycled help? also how do I do I water change, do the fish need to be removed while the water stabilises.

 

[DrSlackBladder]

Yes, use as much pre-cycled filter media as you can. Old water won't help, but filter sponge, floss, ceramic rings, even gravel, ornaments, etc - anything with a surface that good bacteria would have grown on. Do a water change by syphoning out 50 %, then replacing with TEMPERATURE MATCHED and DECHLORINATED fresh water. You shouldn't remove the fish when doing a change, it's more stressful for them. Just do it gently! Get that test kit quickly and start changing water at least once a day if you want to give those fish a fighting chance......good luck!

 

[khial]

ok, well the filter media and everything was un-touched (i helped the lad empty the tank and i just took the filter with water left in it) several plants and bogwood so hopefully they will be ok, thank you for your help

 

[DreamertK]

You can also scoop the water out with a 3 liter container such as for milk or juice that's been washed out, or really any container but a larger one would make the water change go faster. Siphoning is putting one end of a tube in the tank and the other end into a bucket, you shake the end of the tube in the tank up and down to force water to go down the tube and then wait until the bucket is full. When replacing water you can use bottled water and not have to add a dechlorinator like Prime, but it costs an arm and a leg in the long run. If you don't add the dechlorinator to the tap water, the chlorine will kill off the bacteria in your tank.

For the first two or three weeks test for ammonia (NH3). Once the NH3 starts to naturally decline, start testing for nitrite (NO2). After another week or two the NO2 will subside as well and then your cycle is complete. If any of your levels are over .5ppm, do a water change. NH3 and NO2 are extremely poisonous to fish, and is what causes a majority of fish death (especially when starting a tank).

Good luck!

 

[the_lock_man]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has set up a tank without completing a full cycle?

I did it when i was younger and allot less knowledgeable but it was a success! I had 6 black widow tetras and a red tail shark in there for a few years (unfortunately had to sell them when i moved home),
tank was set up for 3 days prior to adding fish, but nothing was added just straight forward tap water, and like I say, the tank was ran for 3 days.

So up until now I have always thought this was fine as I had no problem doing this before.

Anyway to get to the point I just wanted peoples opinions on this as I have heard so many stories about cycling, fish-less cycling and I have just bought another tank (second hand so filter media has been used and a few live plants and bogwood)

sorry for the mix- match post

Humans used to succesfully live in caves, but I can't say I'd want to do that now. The world moves on, technology moves, our understanding moves on. These days we know a bit more about ensuring that the aquatic environment is less harsh.

 

[khial]

hi guys, thanks for all your help, wont be able to get hold of an api kit untill next week but in the mean time i have just purchased an ammonia testing kit, my tank has only been running a few days with fish and shows 0, i compared against the water from the shop i buy from and there is showing higher than mine (somewhere between 0 and 0.5) so a good sign hopefully?

 

[the_lock_man]

hi guys, thanks for all your help, wont be able to get hold of an api kit untill next week but in the mean time i have just purchased an ammonia testing kit, my tank has only been running a few days with fish and shows 0, i compared against the water from the shop i buy from and there is showing higher than mine (somewhere between 0 and 0.5) so a good sign hopefully?

I would be amazed to see a LFS with ammonia in their tanks, and if they genuinely do, then never ever go to that fish shop ever again. If you had tested the water in the bag, then that ammonia will have been produced by the fish on the way home.

If you have a relatively large tank, and just the 5 harlequins, then it may be that the ammonia hasn't built up enough to be visible yet.

 

[khial]

i never thought of that, of course, i tested it straight from the bag,

is there any chance my filter is already cycled, like i said it is a used tank?

 

[bmonki]

when did the last fish leave the tank before you got it? the bacteria will die off pretty fast if there is o ammonia for it to feed on.

 

[khial]

the fish were removed last thursday afternoon (3rd), i bought the tank and set it up on the friday (4th), also have the live plants and bogwood, heater etc.....basically it was just moving a tank without the gravel and fish.

 

[bmonki]

And when did you add the fish in?