11 days, cycling complete?
- Thread starter andsoitgoes
- Start date
there are other sources of nitrifying bacteria besides BioSpira. If you have another tank, or a trusted friend with a *healthy* tank, you can take a handful of that gravel or squeeze the filter sponge over your tank. I've done that and I cycled in less than a week! The caveat is that it must be from a healthy, established tank that will not introduce diseases or parasites into your tank.
I wish I lived in Canada, too! Gotta love free healthcare for all.
I wish I lived in Canada, too! Gotta love free healthcare for all.
plah831 said:
Two birds in one stone - I'm in the process of trying to get some tank gunk from a friend's healthy tank - But I haven't had a chance to do that yet. Also - for the website that ships to canada, my only concern is the cost - Overnight is 42 bucks US and 5 day only goes down to 18! =(
As for adding in material from the other tank, would it be best to squeeze the filter gunk into the filter rather than direct in the tank?
Thanks! And free healthcare is good, but FAR from great. Sometimes paying for GOOD doctors is better than getting a truckload of crappy ones given to you on a silver platter
Nick
Another update....
The tank has been stable with Amon. at 0 from last night to this morning.
Nitrites haven't changed from .3mg/l and I had the luck of acquiring a very well established 20g tank and I've taken some of the high quality filter water from that and added it to our tank.
I had to change the filter media because stupid me decided to pour water in and stir all the gravel, which got a lot of floaties. Now my poor guys are looking a little sore and uncomfortable, which I'm frustrated by... anyway the filter was a bit older and was SOOOO clogged that enough water wasn't getting through. What I did was take that filter out (it's from a Hagen Elite Hush 20g filter) and drop it in the tank, then swap in the new, clean filter. I'd rinsed out the old filter a few times and it just kept clogging up.
Once a few days have passed, can I take that old filter and put it in my new tank to help things out?
Look forward to thoughts as always!
Nick
The tank has been stable with Amon. at 0 from last night to this morning.
Nitrites haven't changed from .3mg/l and I had the luck of acquiring a very well established 20g tank and I've taken some of the high quality filter water from that and added it to our tank.
I had to change the filter media because stupid me decided to pour water in and stir all the gravel, which got a lot of floaties. Now my poor guys are looking a little sore and uncomfortable, which I'm frustrated by... anyway the filter was a bit older and was SOOOO clogged that enough water wasn't getting through. What I did was take that filter out (it's from a Hagen Elite Hush 20g filter) and drop it in the tank, then swap in the new, clean filter. I'd rinsed out the old filter a few times and it just kept clogging up.
Once a few days have passed, can I take that old filter and put it in my new tank to help things out?
Look forward to thoughts as always!
Nick
I'm confused. I think you're using the word "filter" when you really mean "filter media." The filter is the entire machine that does the filtration. The filter media is the sponge on which your good bacteria live. Anyway, see this thread because it talks about how to jumpstart a new biological filter (good bacteria) with an old tank/filter and media
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82295
Also, using water from an established tank will not help your tank, because most of the nitrifying bacteria reside on surfaces. Things like bio-sponges, foam, and ceramic rings are great biological filter media because they have massive amounts of surface area, so will have relatively greater numbers of bacteria than anything else in your tank.
If you want to borrow some bacteria from your friend's tank, would he let you have his old filter sponge? He would still have enough bacteria in his gravel and tank that he probably won't notice a change. Otherwise, you could just take his filter sponge and squeeze the gunk into your tank. The bacteria will float around for awhile in the water, until they settle onto surfaces. So you might see cloudiness in the first few days which will be the bloom of beneficial bacteria.
Yes, gunk will clog your filter sponge. This is not good because it impedes the flow of water, hence reducing effectiveness of your filtration and suffocating your good bacteria. They need oxygen to do what they do, which is supplied by adequate flow of fresh water. To prevent the clogging of the filter sponge, you need mechanical filter media. This is usually cottony like filter floss, or the white bags you usually get in packs designed for your filter model. This mechanical filter media must be placed in the filter in front of the biological filter media. This way, water will pass through it first, particles will be trapped on it, allowing only water to continue through the bio-sponge.
For more examples of the various types of filter media, check out
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113803
It's where I buy most of my supplies from. On that page, there is also articles about the different kinds of filtration: mechanical, chemical, and biological. Just so you know, I don't find a need for chemical filtration. I do water changes often enough that I remove the things that chemical filtration media claim to.
hope that helps, I know it's a lot to absorb. You'll find that once you feel comfortable with your aptitude as a fish-keeper, you'll also be somewhat of a water chemist! Good luck, Nick, and I look forward to seeing more of you around the forum
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82295
Also, using water from an established tank will not help your tank, because most of the nitrifying bacteria reside on surfaces. Things like bio-sponges, foam, and ceramic rings are great biological filter media because they have massive amounts of surface area, so will have relatively greater numbers of bacteria than anything else in your tank.
If you want to borrow some bacteria from your friend's tank, would he let you have his old filter sponge? He would still have enough bacteria in his gravel and tank that he probably won't notice a change. Otherwise, you could just take his filter sponge and squeeze the gunk into your tank. The bacteria will float around for awhile in the water, until they settle onto surfaces. So you might see cloudiness in the first few days which will be the bloom of beneficial bacteria.
Yes, gunk will clog your filter sponge. This is not good because it impedes the flow of water, hence reducing effectiveness of your filtration and suffocating your good bacteria. They need oxygen to do what they do, which is supplied by adequate flow of fresh water. To prevent the clogging of the filter sponge, you need mechanical filter media. This is usually cottony like filter floss, or the white bags you usually get in packs designed for your filter model. This mechanical filter media must be placed in the filter in front of the biological filter media. This way, water will pass through it first, particles will be trapped on it, allowing only water to continue through the bio-sponge.
For more examples of the various types of filter media, check out
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113803
It's where I buy most of my supplies from. On that page, there is also articles about the different kinds of filtration: mechanical, chemical, and biological. Just so you know, I don't find a need for chemical filtration. I do water changes often enough that I remove the things that chemical filtration media claim to.
hope that helps, I know it's a lot to absorb. You'll find that once you feel comfortable with your aptitude as a fish-keeper, you'll also be somewhat of a water chemist! Good luck, Nick, and I look forward to seeing more of you around the forum
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