Starting Over

[little_mermaid]

So after several days of just having an empty tank from when Loretta died, I finally dumped out the old water, threw out the old filter, and cleaned everything; now it's all air drying. I want to make sure I set up my tank properly for my next Betta. I scanned over the cycling process, and I am sorry, but it just confuses me! I need a cycling for dummies book! It just all seems so complicated! So maybe someone can shorten it for me without all the fancy words/terms and what-not?

Also, I am thinking about getting real plants, and I was wondering where I could find info on how to plant/manage them. Like do you use sand or gravel? Big rocks or little rocks? How do you change the water with live plants? Etc.

AND I am wondering who is selling Bettas on here in the US?

Thanks Ya'll!

 

[Honeythorn]

What do you mean you threw out the filter? The whole unit or just the media inside? Doing either was a REALLY bad idea. If you chucked the whole thing , you now have to fork out for another one, and also if you threw away the media/sponges ect inside it, then you have utterly destroyed your cycle. You could have simply done a large water change when your last fish died and then got another to prevent the cycle from stopping.

You now have to begin all over again in terms of cycling. If you have any other tanks that are set up and mature, or know anyone who does have one , then put your filter in their tank for a month to cycle it. Or ask at a fish store and see if they will allow you to either have or purchase some used sponges/ceramics/floss from one of their filters ( do not wash them when you get them !!! ) Personally I do agree with fishless cycling , but I don't do it because there are much quicker ways of going about cycling if you can get hold of some used filter media. If you can fill up the compartments inside your filter with used stuff, then you will basically have a cycled filter and can get a fish immediately. If not, you will have to do the fishless method ( the one in the sticky IS simplified ) .

If you want real plants that are easy and can do fine in low lighting, then get some Camomba, Elodia, Java fern, Java moss and mossballs. I have an Amazon sword that is doing perfectly well under the 6watt light in Dunc's tank, so you could also try that.

When things like Cabomba and Elodia get too long and trail along the surface of the water too much, just pinch out the tips like you would with ordinary plants .

Floating plants are also very nice, Unfortunately I can't suggest that you get Salvinia as I know it is banned in the US .

But you may be able to get hold of a water lettuce. It has broad fleshy/hairy leaves, and long roots that trail underneath it as it floats. Duncan loves his, and has made his first bubblenest since I added it, so it's a big hit!

I use sand in my 30 gal and small grade gravel in the betta tank and my 12 gallon. Plants do fine in either. Water changes are exactly the same, just avoid sucking the plants up the tube . When you pour your dechlorinated water back in, pour it so it hits a rock or ornament if you have one in the tank. This will avoid disturbing or uprooting plants, and will prevent sand from getting swept up into the water if you have sand in there.

 

[little_mermaid]

No I threw out the old media...because I was worried about getting my new Betta sick.

But thanks for the advice...I am going to try and comprehend the fish cycling business again. But can you please explain the quick way you cycle?

 

[Honeythorn]

All you had to do was put some carbon in the filter to remove any medicaments and do a big water change. You new fish would be unlikely to get sick.

I explained the quick way in my last post.

If you have any other tanks that are set up and mature, or know anyone who does have one , then put your filter in their tank for a month to cycle it. Or ask at a fish store and see if they will allow you to either have or purchase some used sponges/ceramics/floss from one of their filters ( do not wash them when you get them !!! ) If you can fill up the compartments inside your filter with used stuff, then you will basically have a cycled filter and can get a fish immediately. If not, you will have to do the fishless method

Basically those are the two easiest ways. The quickest of those two would be going to a friendly fish store and asking if they'll let you have enough filter media to fill up your filter ( without you having to add any brand new ) or if you can buy some off them.

Setting up your filter in another tank will take the same amount of time as a fishless cycle, but you won't have to faff about with ammonia and testing every day. You do need a liquid test kit regardless, to test your water periodically in order to see how the biological cycle is doing, is everything functioning well ect. I test my tanks once every month or so.

 

[little_mermaid]

All you had to do was put some carbon in the filter to remove any medicaments and do a big water change. You new fish would be unlikely to get sick.

Oh well, too late this time...though hopefully the next time won't be for a long while!

If you have any other tanks that are set up and mature, or know anyone who does have one , then put your filter in their tank for a month to cycle it. Or ask at a fish store and see if they will allow you to either have or purchase some used sponges/ceramics/floss from one of their filters ( do not wash them when you get them !!! )If you can fill up the compartments inside your filter with used stuff, then you will basically have a cycled filter and can get a fish immediately.

This confused me. You say I need to put the media in someone else's tank for a month, then you go about saying that if I dunked the media in a mature tank I could get a fish immediately? Sorry, but I am still a little lost

 

[LauraFrog]

If you run the filter in somebody else's tank for three or four weeks, the filter media will be colonised with bacteria and you will have a cycled filter. Dunking media in a mature tank or adding water from a mature tank does nothing as the bacteria live in the filter, not in the water. If you added media that had been in a mature filter and running for some time, you will instantly cycle it. Even if it's a bit grotty when you get it, it will cycle your new media and then you can chuck it out and you've still got a cycled filter.

 

[ReMz]

In one of your first threads here, I feel that Tolak gave you the most simple explanation of the cycling process he possibly could. If you cannot understand it.... well then... there really is no hope as it really is not that complicated. You are simply waiting for your filter to "grow" beneficial bacteria that convert the fish's waste into less harmful chemicals. You can do this by way of a "fishless cycle", which entails supplementing ammonia (fish waste) into the tank and checking water stats until you can verify that the bacteria is efficiently 'eating' the ammonia. Or you can do a "fish in cycle" which entails frequent water changes to prevent spikes of ammonia while the bacteria cultures grow. The goal of cycling is to have the bacteria always present to keep harmful chemicals down. Of course nitrites and nitrates are part of this cycle, but i'm trying to keep it basic for you.

You just NEVER want to kill these bacteria cultures.

Just re-read this... it's a great explanation

All living things produce waste products, fish produce ammonia as waste. Ammonia is an irritant to fish at low levels, toxic at higher levels. The only way to remove this ammonia in a tank without biological filtration is with water changes.

Your filter provides biological filtration. It does this by colonizing two types of bacteria. Bacteria are living things, they produce waste just like any other living thing.

The first type of bacteria eats ammonia. they produce nitrite as waste. Nitrite is not quite as nasty for fish as ammonia, but it is a close second.

Not to worry, the second type of bacteria eat nitrite. They produce nitrate as waste. Nitrate is a pretty tolerable thing for most fish at low to medium levels. The nitrate, being much less harmful for fish need to be removed less frequently by changing water.

Bacterial colonies, like all living things, start life quite small, need to eat a lot to grow to the required size. This is all cycling is about, taking the few bacteria, letting them eat what they do, grow, and eventually become big enough to consume all the fish waste.

In the mean time, while they are growing, there is excess food, ammonia & nitrite, which must be removed with more frequent water changes. Once the bacterial colony, your biological filtration, grows large enough to consume all the ammonia & nitrite produced your aquarium is considered cycled.

These bacteria grow mainly on the filter media, the cartridges, sponges, floss, or whatever media your filter uses. Your pet store told you to take this out, this would remove all of your bio filtration.

Shops love to tell people to change media often, they sell lots of media & make lots of money. Unless the media, whatever it might be, cartridge, sponge, floss, is quite literally falling apart it does not need to be replaced, just rinsed in dechlorinated water.

My record for a filter sponge is seven years, it is still good, I stopped using that filter. I have other media running that is over five years old, still works fine. The cheapest Whisper cartridge will last a year, so replacing filter media is a bad idea.

You will still have to change water in a cycled tank, just no where near as often as an uncycled tank. A little work at the start makes for less work later on.

 

[Honeythorn]

This confused me. You say I need to put the media in someone else's tank for a month, then you go about saying that if I dunked the media in a mature tank I could get a fish immediately? Sorry, but I am still a little lost

HOW did I even say that? I said leave your filter in another tank ( that has fish in it obviously ) for a month. When I say filter I mean the whole filter. Put it in there and plug it in, leave it running in there for a month then take it out and put it in your tankfull of water , then add the fish.

If you go to a fish shop and ask them if they will allow you to buy or have ( for free ) some of their sponge out of one of their working filters ( from one of their display tanks for example ) , you take it home ( wet in a bag ) , stick it in your empty filter, put it in your tankfull of water and switch it on. Then add a fish.

This really isn't rocket science. Fish poo/wee and give off ammonia, that gets sucked into your filter with the water, and is passed over the sponges. Bacteria grow on the sponges and eat the ammonia, make it less harmful by turning it into nitrIte, then more bacteria eat that and make it even less harmful by turning it into nitrAte. That gets passed out of the filter, back into your tank where it will build up over the course of the week . You then remove nitrate by doing regular water changes. The smaller your tank, the quicker it will build up because there is less water to dilute it. So that's why in small or unfiltered tanks you have to do a lot of water changes, to dilute the nitrAte and make it less harmful to your fish.

Simple.

 

[little_mermaid]

Ya know what...sorry for bothering you all with something so simple! I have had fish my whole life and have NEVER had to do any of this! We've had Bettas in bowls for 2+ years and they were happy as can be! So I am doing the best I can! I do have a life outside of fish keeping and there is only so much money I can put into it...and so far, I have spent way more than I probably should have! I am very tempted to just leave this forum all together. It's getting to be a little too extreme.

 

[puppyjess123]

Yeah its pretty simple once its up and running but starting can be diffucult with all this talk about filters , heaters, cycling etc. (Espeically for 12 years old lol me). Yes its expensive for me and you have loads more money than me probly (but i occasionally persaude parents to buy me something hehe). Simple - if you can't afford don't do it.

 

[ReMz]

i guess ignorance is not bliss......

don't over-react. everyone is trying their hardest to help you.... but we can't learn how it works for you. i really don't know what else to say. no hard feelings, that's just how it is.

you have been presented with a lot of very good information by a lot of very knowledgeable and kind people. afterall, everyone could just ignore you and not waste their time trying to help you figure things out. once you get the basics down, it's a piece of cake and fun.

:shrugs:

 

[Honeythorn]

Ya know what...sorry for bothering you all with something so simple! I have had fish my whole life and have NEVER had to do any of this! We've had Bettas in bowls for 2+ years and they were happy as can be! So I am doing the best I can! I do have a life outside of fish keeping and there is only so much money I can put into it...and so far, I have spent way more than I probably should have! I am very tempted to just leave this forum all together. It's getting to be a little too extreme.

Firstly, bettas in labs have lived up to 9 years. Just throwing that out there.

Secondly, You aren't bothering anyone. We have all given you all the info you need in the simplest terms we can. It really is not difficult. I was educated in one of the worst schools in my area and even I can understand this stuff. You just need paitience.

Thirdly, a small betta tank is not that expensive. And since you already have a filter and I assume a heater? then you already have everything you need and really don't need to buy anything. Unless you need to get another sponge for your filter. All you have to do is one of the two methods I mentioned for a quick cycle.

Either set up the whole filter in another mature tank or buy some filter media from a fish store if they won't give you any for free. Even that should cost you very little.

The cheapest out of those two is to put the filter in someone elses or another tank for a month in order for it to cycle fully. Then you don't have to buy anything but the betta and food.

There's nothing extreme about it.

 

[little_mermaid]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I am pretty sure I have all of it almost figured out

Though about getting used filter media...the LPS said that it's dangerous to do that 'cause you could transfer disease/sickness.

 

[Honeythorn]

Surely they know wether their own tanks are healthy or not? Do you know anyone who has a nice mature tank? Or do you yourself have another tank up and running? Just bung it in there and leave it until it's cycled. Much quicker and easier. I'd do fishless cycling myself if I had no other tanks or access to one, but while I do have access I just go about it the quickest way I can!

 

[little_mermaid]

Surely they know wether their own tanks are healthy or not? Do you know anyone who has a nice mature tank? Or do you yourself have another tank up and running? Just bung it in there and leave it until it's cycled. Much quicker and easier. I'd do fishless cycling myself if I had no other tanks or access to one, but while I do have access I just go about it the quickest way I can!

Yeah, unfortunately I don't have any other tank(s) right now but that does sound like one of the easiest ways to cycle the tank!