New to fishkeeping and need some advice

[bilwith1l]

Hi, I just found this forum yesterday and have been enjoying reading these threads. Anyway, I bought a 75gal on Craigslist for my daughter for Christmas. I already added a few fish and they have been doing fine, but I never cycled the tank before I put them in there. I bought a water test kit and ammonia was at 0.25ppm nitrite and nitrate were both at zero. I don't want to lose any fish, but I want to get the tank cycled properly. I was wondering how I can do this.

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[mnemenoi]

My suggestion is to get some Seachem Stability, a water supplement that has active bacteria to start your colonies and cycle the tank, and follow the directions. Its fairly easy and just requires daily dosing and occasional water changes should anything go awry. Welcome aboard and you found the place to get any help you need! If you can find anyone up in your area local, ask for some media mulm (the nasty stuff in their filter pads or sponges) as this is the bacteria you'll need to 'establish' your filter media and kick start your Nitrogen cycle. Ammonia first, then it will fall and Nitrite will rise, this will start to fall and your Nitrates will rise. Nitrates can be reduced by water changes. Once you have no Ammonia or Nitrite readings you will be cycled. Good Luck and jump into these forums, there are a lot of knowledgeable folks here that are happy to help

[bilwith1l]

Ok, that was Friday last time I tested. I am testing now and ammonia is still .25 but nitrite is between 2 & 5 ppm(hard to tell between the shades of purple). The nitrate level looks slightly darker yellow than a zero reading. I have an emperor 400 filter, but I didn't add any bio media until last Friday other than the bio wheels it came with.

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[mnemenoi]

Newly purchased bio-media is absent of bacteria and will need to be 'seasoned' over time and accumulating bacteria colonies. They colonize only on surface areas in the tank and filtration system. This is why it is a bad idea to throw out used bio media. You again start a new cycle with the newer media. Just rinse lightly in old tank water (chlorine in the sink will kill it as well). These colonies are what break Ammonia and Nitrite down into Nitrate. The 'Bio-Wheel' of Emperor was a design sparked from the idea that if bacteria need oxygen to work, that giving them access to atmospheric oxygen would speed their metabolism of Ammonia and Nitrite in the tank. It was tested and nothing indicates this works any better then a normal hang on back filter (HOB) without the bio-wheel. I was a bit bummed by the results as I love creative ideas and this one had the bones of a decent theory, at least in my own mind. Again, the filter new will have no bacteria present and will need time to build up colonies and should never be changed or washed under the sink, only lightly swished in old aquarium water to remove any excessive sediment or built up mulm. This is the advantage to adding mulm from a running aquarium (just like Stability) as you are adding live colonies instead of slowly building them from scratch. Some local Fish Stores (LFS) will give you some if you ask nicely. Just take a Ziploc bag and have them squeeze their nasty filters into it. Then dump said mulm into your filters at home. It seems counterproductive, but this adds tons of bacteria and can quicken the process from a month+ to less then a week. We usually run an extra filter or two so if we need to set up another tank we can just move it over and the tank is almost instantly cycled. (Sorry for being so long winded, but a good understanding goes a ways in realizing what is going on)

[bilwith1l]

Thanks for the advice.

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[mnemenoi]

No sweat, please ask away if anything is confusing or sounds wrong. I know I get a bit sidetracked when answering and come back to it a few times, lol.