canister filter bacteria boost

[pitchblack]

hey all just a quick question. my tank is now going through its cycle so to speed things up i went to a friends place who has the same filter a got some of his bio balls and gravel and placed the balls into the filter and the gravel into my tank. the temp is at 30 degrees celcius
will this speed up the cycle process

thanks for the replies

[Merrilyn]

Yes it will give the cycle a boost. Are you doing a fishless cycle, feeding the bacteria with pure ammonia?

The more bacteria you can transfer from a fully cycled tank, the shorter the cycle should be in the new tank.

[pitchblack]

no just in the large 4x2x2 tank. the discus are in a temp tank at the moment cause the ammonia is at a high level 5.0ppm. It dropped this morning to 4.0ppm im not adding ammonia there is enough in the water at the moment but i couldnt find the super bio concentrate that you mentioned at my local lfs

[Merrilyn]

To get the tank to cycle fully, you'll need to add an artificial form of ammonia for the next week or so to maintain the colony of bacteria and allow it to grow.

In the cleaning section of Safeway, you'll find "Pure Ammonia". Add this to the tank daily to maintain an ammonia level of 5.0 ppm. The cycle is finished when the bacteria colony can consume all of the ammonia and convert it to nitrite and then nitrate within 24 hours, leaving you with a reading of zero ammonia, zero nitrite and some nitrate.

[pitchblack]

how much should I add the tank is 340ltrs.???? Never added ammonia before he he he But ill give it a go if you think this will work. Wont it kill the bacteria in the filter

[pitchblack]

just tested the water for ammonia its sitting on 1ppm dropped from last night should I still add the ammonia merrlyn or not

[Merrilyn]

Yes definately. Think of it as food for the bacteria. Without food they die. Give them lots of food and they multiply and make little bacteria :wink:

Can't give you a set amount. It's different for every tank. Start with 10 mls and test it after a few minutes. If the reading is still under 5 add a bit more. We are aiming for that magical 5. If your reading is over 5, well, you have just given them a bit too much food, so you won't need to add as much tomorrow.

Each day you do a test, and toss in a bit more ammonia to bring the reading up to 5 again. The day it uses up all the ammonia in 24 hours, and you get zero ammonia, zero nitrite and a small reading of nitrate, you're done. The bacteria colony has grown big enough to handle a full load of fish.

It's just that easy. :P

[pitchblack]

thanks will give it a go today

[flukes]

I found in a 4ft tank 4 cap fulls from the bottle of ammonia got me too 5ppm. Try not put too much because it will take longer too work..

If the next day your reading is still 5ppm dont add ammonia again.. wait till it drops too 3-4ppm..

In the article section there is a write up if you get stuck on anything..

HTH

[pitchblack]

i went today only cloudy ammonia gees it smells the clear stuff i need from the atricle and merryln ill try another suoermarket tonight

[flukes]

I went too a few supermarkets and found it at the 3rd one.. It was called power ammonia with a yellow lable with red writing.. I dont think they stock up on it very often because everyone that looks for it the first time has trouble..

1 bottle will you a 100 fishless cycles though..

[pitchblack]

the ammonia has dropped to 0ppm nitrate at 0.05ppm looks like the tank is nearly cycled. I will lookmagain tom during the weekly food run added some fish to the tank. Only a few tetra's and some of the flying foxes to see what eventuates.

[flukes]

probably dead fish will eventuate... Unless your sure its cycled dont add fish, as its like gassing them.. Ammonia is very toxic for them and will cause them fin and resprituary problems...

Not very nice for the fishy...

[pitchblack]

the ammonia has been high for about 1 week now. Its finally dropped but will test it every day to see. Have ammo lock on hand if the rise happens but should be good. Discus not going in untill a week of zero ammonia

[pitchblack]

day two progress: in total 10 small fish in the tank.

ammonia 0
nirate 0
nitrite 0
ph 6.8
gh 40ppm
kh 100ppm
iron 0.5ppm

looking ok so far

[Merrilyn]

I'd like to see a nitrate reading of some kind. That's the proof that the tank has cycled. Now that you've got fish in there, naturally you can't add any ammonia, so just keep a check on your readings for any danger signs.

[pitchblack]

the nitrate reading was still up yesterday it has only come down today. It was at 15ppm then fell to 10ppm yesterday it was at 5ppm. Now zero