Well I am very new to this hobby and I bought some tetras a few months ago and put them in a tank that I had used aquasafe on. Since I am new I did not know that you had to cycle a tank and was wondering if the tankhas been cycled and bacteria made since the fish have been in there a month with no problems. If it help the filter is from a previous tank.
Oops!
- Thread starter mouse33
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stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
Did you put the filter straight into the tank after removing it from your old one? Also, what size tank was your old one and what size tank is the new one?
I should imagine if your fish are fine after a month then you have no problem. We took media from our big tank and added it to the filter in our 48G tank and it was cycled within a day. The best way to be sure is to test your water parameters.
I should imagine if your fish are fine after a month then you have no problem. We took media from our big tank and added it to the filter in our 48G tank and it was cycled within a day. The best way to be sure is to test your water parameters.
doresy
Sometimes Right, Sometimes Wrong but ALWAYS certai
Oh, hi stang1 btw.....you been away?
Ops sorry OP.......yes when you do a cycle system it is in fact the filter you are 'cycling' not the tank. As suggested by stang1 as long as you didn't allow the bacteria in that filter to die, by drying out or kept without a supply of ammonia, either artificially or by fish, all should be well for the fish you have.
This is how it works. When a filter in a tank has been cycled with a certain amount of fish it means that that filter contains enough of the 2 types of bacteria required to nutrify the amount of ammonia and subsiquent nitrIte produced by that number of fish. If you move that filter into a new tank of dechlorinated water without a break of use then it will still be able to support fish upto the same number and type as in the previous tank. However, if there are less fish then some of the bacteria will starve and die. This is ok, it just means that future stock will have to be introduced more slowly to allow the bacteria to increase in line with the new quantity of introduced fish.
It does sound like you are still cycled but the only way to be sure is to do a water test by either taking a sample to your trusted LFS making sure that they explain exactly what they are doing and what the results mean otherwise you learn nothing. Better still, get your self a test kit and test it yourself. (My recomendation is The Freshwater Master Test Kit by API at just over £20 for 700 tests of the main 5 tests)
Ops sorry OP.......yes when you do a cycle system it is in fact the filter you are 'cycling' not the tank. As suggested by stang1 as long as you didn't allow the bacteria in that filter to die, by drying out or kept without a supply of ammonia, either artificially or by fish, all should be well for the fish you have.
This is how it works. When a filter in a tank has been cycled with a certain amount of fish it means that that filter contains enough of the 2 types of bacteria required to nutrify the amount of ammonia and subsiquent nitrIte produced by that number of fish. If you move that filter into a new tank of dechlorinated water without a break of use then it will still be able to support fish upto the same number and type as in the previous tank. However, if there are less fish then some of the bacteria will starve and die. This is ok, it just means that future stock will have to be introduced more slowly to allow the bacteria to increase in line with the new quantity of introduced fish.
It does sound like you are still cycled but the only way to be sure is to do a water test by either taking a sample to your trusted LFS making sure that they explain exactly what they are doing and what the results mean otherwise you learn nothing. Better still, get your self a test kit and test it yourself. (My recomendation is The Freshwater Master Test Kit by API at just over £20 for 700 tests of the main 5 tests)
stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
The tank will not have been cycled when you added the fish if the filter hasn't been used for a while. Doresy explained it perfectly about the cycling side of things.
It is safe for you to test the water with the fish in. You take water from your tank to test it so it won't affect your fish at all. Like Doresy said, either take the water to your lfs to be tested or invest in a liquid test kit.
Doresy - Hiya, hope you're well? I've been busy at work so not had a chance to come on here much.
It is safe for you to test the water with the fish in. You take water from your tank to test it so it won't affect your fish at all. Like Doresy said, either take the water to your lfs to be tested or invest in a liquid test kit.
Doresy - Hiya, hope you're well? I've been busy at work so not had a chance to come on here much.
doresy
Sometimes Right, Sometimes Wrong but ALWAYS certai
Yup great thanks! You busy lady, takeDoresy - Hiya, hope you're well? I've been busy at work so not had a chance to come on here much.
it easyAs suggested not cycled as all bacteria would have died at the start. Water testing is now even more important as you will now have to do partial water changes as much as daily to keep the ammonia and nitrIte (when formed) down to a safer limit.
Ok so your fish are doing well but do read this link, not all of it is your situation but there is a lot of help for you.....HERE
radioman
Fish Crazy
Typical Cycle using fish.
Ok the following is only a guide and only by testing with a kit that does Ammonia,Nitrite and Nitrate you will know the true state of the tanks progress.
Start by doing "no" water changes for about 2 weeks by which time the Ammonia level should be comming down with nitrite levels spiking. Then do about a 20% water change. Then after about another 2 weeks of no water changes the nitrite should be declining with nitrates starting to rise. If all goes well you should be able to start regular 20 to 30% water changes. (During the cycle feed the fish sparingly to avoid a bio overload effect) A fully cycled tank will read Ammonia 0,Nitrite 0,nitrate under 40ppm and under 20ppm or lower is best. If your using fish that you want to keep and they start showing signs of severe stress you can do 5 to 10% weekly water changes (More in real bad cases) This will naturally lengthen the time it takes to cycle the tank considerably.Also adding aquarium salt (or non iodized cooking salt) at a rate of 1 table spoon per 5 US gallons (about 20litres) of water will help will help reduce the effects of nitrite toxicity.
The actual time it takes can vary a lot as temperature,ph,whether or not you use gravel,filter media from an established tank and other factors can play an effect on how fast or slow a cycle will finish.
Also note that a tank doesant have to be new to restart a cycle. This can be caused by too much off a water change too often, overloading a tank with too many fish, using certain medications will kill off the nitrifying bacteria needed to keep the tank healthy
THIS WAS TAKEN FROM WORLDCICHLIDS.COM
When it says to do a 20 to 30 percent water change does that mean per week.
thanks
Ok the following is only a guide and only by testing with a kit that does Ammonia,Nitrite and Nitrate you will know the true state of the tanks progress.
Start by doing "no" water changes for about 2 weeks by which time the Ammonia level should be comming down with nitrite levels spiking. Then do about a 20% water change. Then after about another 2 weeks of no water changes the nitrite should be declining with nitrates starting to rise. If all goes well you should be able to start regular 20 to 30% water changes. (During the cycle feed the fish sparingly to avoid a bio overload effect) A fully cycled tank will read Ammonia 0,Nitrite 0,nitrate under 40ppm and under 20ppm or lower is best. If your using fish that you want to keep and they start showing signs of severe stress you can do 5 to 10% weekly water changes (More in real bad cases) This will naturally lengthen the time it takes to cycle the tank considerably.Also adding aquarium salt (or non iodized cooking salt) at a rate of 1 table spoon per 5 US gallons (about 20litres) of water will help will help reduce the effects of nitrite toxicity.
The actual time it takes can vary a lot as temperature,ph,whether or not you use gravel,filter media from an established tank and other factors can play an effect on how fast or slow a cycle will finish.
Also note that a tank doesant have to be new to restart a cycle. This can be caused by too much off a water change too often, overloading a tank with too many fish, using certain medications will kill off the nitrifying bacteria needed to keep the tank healthy
THIS WAS TAKEN FROM WORLDCICHLIDS.COM
When it says to do a 20 to 30 percent water change does that mean per week.
thanks
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