When would you add a Betta to this tank?

[Kris2005]

Hello, got a question...when can I safely add a Betta to my new tank? I have a 5 gal tank I set up just yesterday. Added safe start bacteria, filter media from my established tank and filled it with water from my established tank. Of course since the water is from another tank it tests cycled. I temporarily added a zebra danio to the tank which I will remove when I add the Betta. There are my perimeters right now. How long do I wait to safely add a Betta? 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 10 ppm nitrate. Thanks in advance!

 

[Essjay]

Using the danio to do a fish-in cycle, is not good for the danio. I would put him back in his tank.

Water from another tank will do nothing to cycle a tank as the bacteria we need don't live floating in the water but attached to surfaces. Taking some media from an established tank's filter and putting that in the new tank's filter will help.

The only way to be certain that the used media contains enough bacteria is to add ammonia to the tank - without any fish in it. For a betta in 5 gallons, adding enough ammonia to get 1 ppm is plenty. After 24 hours if both ammonia and nitrite are zero, it is cycled; if one or both are not zero, it is not cycled.

 

[Kris2005]

Ok thank you!