stupid cycleing question

[mrairportjunke]

hey gang.  i konw the answer but i just wanna confirm with yall before i drop in my babys.  just setup a new tank,  everything up and runnin, and i put in a big back of seeded for like 2 yrs bio ceramic rings in the filter area to seed my new bio balls in there.  doing so my tank is fully cycled at this point correct.  so no need for the wait.

[spyke1969]

Re: stupid cycleing question

I would say no it is not cycled but you have a nice starter culture

[Zulaab]

Re: stupid cycleing question

Have the ceramic noodles been used for the last 6 weeks ? and where they allowed to dry out or not before putting them in sump / canister ?
If dried out the bacteria died.    Another thing to remember if they ran in a tank without fish in them for a few weeks and no feeding was done to the tank the bacteria will die out because there was no ammonia for them convert.   Now if they came from  a nice active tank that had a ton of fish in it, those ceramic noodles has tons of bacteria on them.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: stupid cycleing question

Depends on how much media, how much fish comparing the two and how the water of the new tank is.


But there's one sure way to find out....

[mrairportjunke]

Re: stupid cycleing question

media has been in a running tank with fish for like 2 yrs.  no it didnt dry out and media is more than needed for this tank but im seeding the new media with it.  the fish are going in tommorrow.  i though i could.  i have done this tons of times.  but these fish are muy importante to me.  lol.  just wanted to reasure myself that i didnt get lucky the other times.  haha thanks guys

[CichlidFan]

Re: stupid cycleing question

Agree with spyke....your tank is well seeded, but not cycled, I would keep the fish count down low in the beginning....then go up after a few weeks....

Happy Holidays...

CF

OH...how are the burundi doing?

[wesleydnunder]

Re: stupid cycleing question

I wouldn't stock it fully right away. Also, I'd test daily to track any ammonia and nitrite that may appear.

Mark

[mrairportjunke]

Re: stupid cycleing question

well the amount of fish goin in are 3 small apistos compared to the tank the media came from that is full of african cichlids.  

burundis are great. thanks again.

and if i dont stock something in there, then my active media isnt gonna have anything to feed on and die right?  

and why wouldnt this be just like doing a reallly really good tank cleaning and useing the same filter with out cleaning the filter?  i dont know.  i dropped them in late last night and all is well.   i do that with sick tanks all time and it seems ok.  but i never do water tests all the time because im not home enought to see the changes.  i cant check everyday.  so i would probably miss a spike or too of the levels.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: stupid cycleing question

Here’s my take on the situation.

Nitrifying bacteria  live in the water/ground/air.
Chlorine will kill them.
Decaying organic matter produces ammonia.
The bacteria consume ammonia and convert it into nitrites/nitrates.
(Some convert ammonia to nitrite, while others convert nitrite to nitrate.)
If they have sufficient ammonia the bacteria will reproduce.
If they don’t have sufficient ammonia they will die off.
If you fill an aquarium with tap water there is no organic waste and no bacteria.
Our water company filters out the waste and adds chlorine to kill the bugs.
Some bacteria will fall out of the air and settle in the clean water and die off because
    there is no ammonia / wastes for them to consume.
If you add a lot of fish they will make a lot of waste and the resulting ammonia may be
    enough to kill them.
If you add just a few fish they will produce a little ammonia and the drop in bacteria will
    be fruitful and multiply.   Eventually the bacteria will match the organic waste.  And
    you will have no elevated ammonia levels. (generally takes a couple of weeks).
You can jump start this by adding bacteria to the clean water    I takes less time to grow
    from 10K to 1M than it does to grow from 1 to 1M.  
It is impossible to start with a perfectly cycled aquarium. .  You will either have not
    enough ammonia and they will starve and decrease in number or too much ammonia
    and the bacteria will multiply.   But, eventually you will achieve a balance between
    fish waste & bacteria.
Test the water for ammonia to protect your fish.  If it is high take some out.
    If it is not high you can add some more fish.
Test the water for nitrates.   If it is high, you need to do a partial water change.

Everybody feel free to jump on me & let me know if Im out in left field anywhere.  

[CichlidFan]

Re: stupid cycleing question

You know, when you consider that folks are draining almost every drop of water when they do water changes, you bring up a good point about your seed media ....??

It is my understanding that ultimately, the entire body of water and just about every piece of substrate and or driftwood, decorations, etc has some form of bacteria that grows in the tank, adding to the "cycle" process. Although, your filter media is coming from an established tank, the new tank may not be up to the same levels of elements to sustain a "normal" fish load.

You should have a few fish in your new tank, but just don't overload the new eco system until it has a chance to mature or fully cycle.

You know what you're doing.... :)

Happy Holidays...

CF

[mrairportjunke]

Re: stupid cycleing question

well thats what i have done in past.  i just wanted to reasure i wasnt the only one doing this.  apparently i might be. lol. but it works for me.  maybe i get lucky i dont konw but i used bio from a estabilished tank and a piece of driftwood too.  obviously i treated the water for chlorine and crap before i put my stuff in it.  but thanks anyways

[CichlidFan]

Re: stupid cycleing question

I have done the same thing, the main thing is to keep the load on the tank low....

When I set up a new tank, I TRY to add only a few small fish at first, and add to the tank as time goes by...

CF

[Lifeguard6t9]

Re: stupid cycleing question

Hey junkie,

When you gonna come by fshfrk's house again?

How have you been?

Say hello to Christy for me.

Good luck with the new tank.

[Cesar]

Re: stupid cycleing question

didnt really read everybodys post, I have used some tank water from one of my other aquariums in addition to a seeded filter
to speed the process up.

[CichlidFan]

Re: stupid cycleing question

Same here....I have done that as well....thinking it's got to be of some help in speeding up the cycling process.....

I'm still wondering about those folks like EK and Dan at HAW, that either are doing or have told me of nearly 100% water changes. That kind of action has to dramatically impact the cycle system of a tank????

CF