Trying To Remember How To Cycle

[Wills]

Hi just set a new tank up (i have other threads running about stocking) but just want to set something straight in my mind. Ive just come back to fish keeping after about 6 months without a tank in the past i ran about 4-5 tanks at the same time but obviously they all started about a year apart, to kick start them i always jammed their filters full off old media from the older tanks......this did work didnt it? The introduction of the mature pads into the new tank got the bacteria into the tank right?

I'm just asking because one of my old fish keeping buddies has offered me some of her old pads to really mature my new tank but my memory has totally gone as to weather this was good or not? But if it will work Ill defiantly be taking some, she only lives round the corner from me so I can easy run home in under a minute lol.

Also I totally trust her tanks to contain no disease as I am aware this could cause problems I also trust her not to give me any media from a tank that has had a disease in. But if people still warn me off this idea ill understand.

Thanks Wills

 

[gaz gun man]

taking mature media is fine, though it should only be used to compliment a cycle, not replace one.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, as Gaz says, mature media should compliment a cycling process, not replace it. Well said!

If you've not experienced working a fishless cycle along with mature media in a while, it can be a pretty controlled process compared with some of the things people have commonly done in the past. Its possible to gain a greater understanding of what goes on with your filter and to know better the extent to which your filter is cycled if you work through the process interactively with the members here. Its fun and you may kind of know it all already but sometimes there are interesting insights you get from the others.

Most people start with our working document on fishless cycling, written by rdd1952 and available in the Beginners Resource Center in this sub-forum. Then you post up your tap water stats and get started telling people what you're doing right here in your thread. There are plenty of add-ons and helpful comments people can make that go beyond the article.

You won't want to take more than 1/3 of your friend's biomedia, but as long as you stay at or below that, her filter will still function just fine although she should refrain from adding new fish for a week or two after that. You should be prepared to supply her with replacement media of the type she is giving you of course. You won't have to run back to your house as the media should just be put into some of her tank water and carried and it would do fine for about 24 hours this way, although of course you want to act on it as soon as possible and you want to be sure to already be dosing your tank with the appropriate level of ammonia prior to the media exchange, so the bacteria will have food.

Good Luck!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[Wills]

thanks guys yeah i realised that the mature media would only aid the process not be everything done. How long does the fishless cycle take with ammonia drops and where do i get them from? I read the article and agree with the reactions of the chemicals how ever in the past they have worked for me so this is kind of what ive started to do this time again. Not in any rush at all but just wondering of time as I have an old LFS buddy holding some fish for me for when this is cycled.

 

[waterdrop]

A mature media donation that "takes" well could shorten your fishless cycle to a week, but there's no guarantees in these processes and its much better to be safe than sorry.

If you're in the UK the guys can give you all sorts of recommendations for looking... Boots.. Uh, gee, the other odd names are escaping me since we don't have any of them over here in the USA, lol.

You want simple clear household ammonia that's usually in "mop and broom" sections of stores and you'll want to look yourself and not just ask. It needs to have no dyes, fragrances or surfactants. When you shake it there should only be bubbles for 2 or 3 seconds like water, it should not foam.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[RobynR]

I found my ammonia at Ace Hardware, if that's any help. I personally had no luck at Wal-Mart, H-E-B or Lowes, but different locations may have different things.

 

[backtotropical]

If you're in the UK the guys can give you all sorts of recommendations for looking... Boots.. Uh, gee, the other odd names are escaping me since we don't have any of them over here in the USA, lol.

Homebase is another common place to pick it up in the UK.

 

[RobynR]

Edit: Really sorry, wrong button and got an extra post. All thumbs tonight.

 

[susan22]

If you're in the UK the guys can give you all sorts of recommendations for looking... Boots.. Uh, gee, the other odd names are escaping me since we don't have any of them over here in the USA, lol.


got my ammonia from robert dyas

 

[Wills]

thanks for all the replies guys!!

Spoken to my LFS and they have set the fish aside for me and told me no rush so now im not panicing lets do this 100% right

Finaly got my main piece of wood to sink today so the tank is half scaped now still need a few more crypts for it but other than that it is done!

Regarding the cycle - Ive not got the pad from my friend yet but the tank has been running for exactly a week now - On day one I added API stress zyme and on day 6 I added a Bactozyme tablet (hope in okay to mention brands) and the readings today were Nitrite - 1 and Ammonia - 0.25 how ever this was after a slight water change literaly a jug of water was taken out and back in so i didnt splash to much when I was fidling in the tank.

So from this could you guys help me work out what I need to do next ive not added any more products and Im able to get to a homebase easily to get the ammonia (im from the UK) what kind of a stage am I at now in relation to the cycle being fish ready? I know i need double zero on ammonia and nitrite so im not there yet.

Thanks Wills

 

[gaz gun man]

just dose with ammonia when the mature filter pad is in there.

When it goes down to 0 (or there abouts) top it back upto 5ppm again.

How long it'll take depends on how much mature media is in your filter. There is an aquarium calculator at the top of the page which will allow you to calculate how much ammonia will be needed.

 

[Wills]

cool thanks mate getting the ammonia tomorrow do I need to do the 5ppm of ammonia daily?

 

[gaz gun man]

cool thanks mate getting the ammonia tomorrow do I need to do the 5ppm of ammonia daily?

no, you just need to add 5ppm, then monitor the ammonia levels. only when it drops to near 0, should you add anymore.

 

[Wills]

ok so i add the 5ppm let work down to 0 then add an other 5ppm let that go to 0 so when do I add the fish? when the nitrate and the ammonia is 0 right?

 

[waterdrop]

Right, you're going, in general, to be adding ammonia and watching it drop to zero anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, totally unpredictable, but you figure out how much bacteria you've got by how much time it takes to drop ammonia and nitrite to zero.

~~waterdrop~~