# Cycling A New Tank



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

I set up a 75 gallon tank on Sunday (3 days ago) and want to know the best way to cycle it; with or without fish? I have heard may things from many ppl, and would like some input into this situaion. Also, can you really cycle a tank by putting in fish flake food everyday?


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

There are many ways to cycle an aquarium and the flake food method is one of them.
The others are using the ammonia method, seeded method, plant method and fish method.
The easiest and cheapest method is the ammonia method.
http://www.algone.com/fishless_cycling.php


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*cycling new tank*

thanks very much for your reply. i have read somewhere that adding water from an established tanks helps too. i put in some from my established 10 gallon yesterday, and today the tank is all coudy. I have read this is a good thing, and my ammonia has risen to .25, but i still dont know for sure. i figure ill put 1 or 2 of my decorations into the big tank to see what happens, but should i now that the tank is blooming with bacteria?


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

Hi there ..
welcome ... i cant answer your question but came to say hi ..........lololol
I have to break news to hubby today ROLMAO he is at work right now so i have time to cook and clean and be NICE for a few hours , ROLMAO .
Looks like ill be getting a new tank this weekend 
..

congrats on your new tank


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

You can add the decorations as well but it is not necessary. Also some people squeeze a seeded sponge filter into the new tank as to fast track the cycling process.
Others put the unseeded filter on the seeded tank for a week or so to get it full of bacteria. Then the filter is moved to the new tank and a small fish or two is added. The cloudy haze you see in the tank is ammonia consuming bacteria. Usually it shows up early in the seeding process so it is a good thing but don't over do it.  Everything slow and in moderation.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*What next...?*

good! im glad ive got things rolling. what should i do now though? lol since the cloudyness means i have ammonia in the tank, do i need to add more each day?(ex-pinch of flake food?) im sort of stuck on what to do next now...


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Keep on adding to your tank ammonia or flake food as you have been. and wait for the cloudiness to clear. When it clears then the ammonia bacteria are producing a sizeable nitrite waste. Next are the nitrite bacteria to become established and their by-product is nitrate. When you have a nitrate reading then it will be established. Add fish very slowly at this point. Any big changes and you are back with an ammonia spike and fish start feeling poorly. This may help explain better: http://stason.org/TULARC/animals/aquaria/beginning-fishkeeping/28-What-Is-the-Nitrogen-Cycle.html


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

I don't have a lot of experience, but I have cycled two tanks using ammonia (no food).

If your filter is new, try to get some "seed material" from a cycled filter. This can greatly speed up the cycling.

I added ammonia initially at 5 ppm and daily thereafter at about 2-3 ppm.
Measure the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate often. Keep the tank on the warm side (80 c).

If nitrites are rising and ammonia is dropping, the primary culture (nitrosomonas) is getting established. If nitrates are rising then the secondary culture (nitrobacter) is getting established.

If your nitrites go off the chart and don't drop after a week or so, I would recommend a partial water change.

The only cloudiness I've had is a very brief (2 day) brown algae bloom. I don't believe ammonia by itself should cloud the water.

My favorite link on this subject: http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html



newbiefishfanatic said:


> good! im glad ive got things rolling. what should i do now though? lol since the cloudyness means i have ammonia in the tank, do i need to add more each day?(ex-pinch of flake food?) im sort of stuck on what to do next now...


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*hmm...*

well, what would an algea bloom mean? would that be a good sign or a bad sign?


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

Test your water every couple days and when you get Nitrates your golden! 

then add fish!


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

I wouldn't worry about it. It's common during cycling, from what I have read.



newbiefishfanatic said:


> well, what would an algea bloom mean? would that be a good sign or a bad sign?


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

You can still have nitrites when you have nitrates. Wait until the nitrites are 0 before you add fish.



XbrandonX said:


> Test your water every couple days and when you get Nitrates your golden!
> 
> then add fish!


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

**

very nice info. thanks a bunch! i was having some issues with my 35 gallon until 2 days ago too. it wasnt cycling properly. finally the ammonia has gone and the nitrites are skyrocketing. *yay* i do have a deliema to this situation though...i needed to treat the tank with marycn-two (popeye due to the high ammonia that was at 4 ppm for 3 WEEKS) and im afraid to do a water a change! the box says i need to, but will i just set my cycling back to the start?!?!


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

Amy pardon me if I missed this (medicine head) are any of your tanks cycled or are they all new set up's? What type of filter are you using? I'll give you some of my ceramic rings or part of one of my sponges if you are running a hang on the back filter (HOB) you can just stick in right in and it should help.


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> very nice info. thanks a bunch! i was having some issues with my 35 gallon until 2 days ago too. it wasnt cycling properly. finally the ammonia has gone and the nitrites are skyrocketing. *yay* i do have a deliema to this situation though...i needed to treat the tank with marycn-two (popeye due to the high ammonia that was at 4 ppm for 3 WEEKS) and im afraid to do a water a change! the box says i need to, but will i just set my cycling back to the start?!?!


I'd do the water change. The water conditions are probally what is responsible for the bacterial infections. What is also really helpful to bind your ammonia in a pinch is Seachems Prime which is a water dechlorinator. When I first started out my MIL dumped a 15 gallon tank in my house with 13 full sized goldfish and a broken filter without any notice. Prime & sponge squeezings from an established tank helped keep them alive until the tank cycled.

Hope this helps!

Kat


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*thanks for the offer *

i have 3 tanks right now. i have a fully cycled and well establish 10 gallon. 0 ammonia 0 nitite 0 nitrate. beauty of a tank! i have a just-now cycling 35 gallon tank (the one with meds) and my brand spankin new 75 gallon, with just yesterday .25 ammonia. i am using an aquaclear 50 on my 35 gal, and a marineland 350 (or 360 cant remember but i know its good for up to 75 gal bio wheel on my 75 gal. my 10 gallon is an aquatech from wal mart.  but it works very nicely.

im stuck once again at what i should do. i was supposed to do a 25% water change today (last med treatment was yesterday) and im afraid to! i have no idea what to do now. any suggestions help immensly.


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

I would do the 25 % water change on the 35 as prescribed on the medicine package. Most of the bacteria is attached to the filter, substrate, glass, decorations ...
What is in the 10 and 35 gal tanks?


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

I have a question about cycle..
The tank i just got was emptied and we filled it here .. LOTS plants .
Will the tank have a mini cycle ?
Or the will by having the plants prevent this ?
We left it dirty and using the used filter media .
I wish there was a cycling sticky


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*i did it!*

i did the 25% water change...and boy did it need it!  not sure if you mean what decorations/plants or fish i have in the tanks, so ill let you know everything! lol

10 gallon - 1 small plastic driftwood with plants 
1 small plastic driftwood
2 large plastic plants
3 real plants (small but growning!)
6 tetras (3 cardinal, 3 glow light)
1 bolivian ram

35 gallon - 2 bunches of large plants (22 inches tall)
3 bunches of small plants (less tham 6 inches)
1 small plastic driftwood
3 small plastic decorations
1 wall bubbler (shut off now-think may have contributed to popeye-air pump is for 60 gallons)

2 mollies
2 platies
1 panda cory
1 tri colour shark
1 red tail black shark
2 female dwarf gouramis
1 dwarf male gourami

I use HOB filters (aquaclear50 and aquatech respectively) and both tanks have stealth fully submersible heaters. The 35 gallon has substrate and the 10 gallon has regular gravel.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

**

well good news! my ammonia in the 35 gal is 0! *yay* but the nitrites are 4ppm or over. *sort of yay* is there any way to get the nitrites down quickly? im afraid for my fish...theyve gone through so much already, i just want this tanks cycle dealt with.

oh..and double *yay* my 75 gal is up to .50 ammonia! seems to be rising .25 every 6-8 hours. i added a used filter from my etablished 10 gal (it was time for a change) and the water is all cloudy again. (hopfully a good sign) i also added some plants from my 35 gallon. im hoping to get the cycle done in less than 2 weeks! that would be ideal.

i dont know if youre going to go through a full cycle blossom...if i had to guess, id guess at yeah you are going to have to. maybe one of the forums level 10 tank experts can help you out!


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

blossom112 said:


> I have a question about cycle..
> The tank i just got was emptied and we filled it here .. LOTS plants .
> Will the tank have a mini cycle ?
> Or the will by having the plants prevent this ?
> ...


Mini cycle? probably not as the plants will take that in as nourishment really quick. Make sure the plants are getting adequate light. An even lesser chance of a mini cycle if the bacteria is still alive in the filter and substrate. 
One way to get a mini cycle is to take a large portion of the plants out all at once after the aquarium has been cycled. It leaves a real bad void where the bacteria can not make up the difference in time. One fast way to cycle a tank is to cram it full of plants and wait a few days before adding a fish or two. If the fish are happy after a few days or more then add a few more fish. This gives an idea of how fast fish by-products are taken up by the plants. The floating plants are usually the best for that.
http://www.aquabotanic.com/plants_and_biological_filtration.htm


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

OH thanks very much ... great link too !!!
so much to learn so little time


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Your welcome


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Thanks for the aquarium statistics, newbiefishfanatic. I was actually deciding about asking, what carbon life forms where in each aquarium? but I was afraid of sounding to much like Mr. Spock 
I hope when you moved some of the plants to the 75 gal that you left most of the plants in the 35 gal. The plants will take a few days to settle in after a move as their root system has been disturbed. Also the same goes for moved terrestrial plants. Luckily the 35 gal aquarium isn't overpopulated so the fish load should be low. It seems the 35gal. is going through the second stage with nitrites rising. Keep an eye on the fish. If they show signs of toxicity then do a 25% water change. Also in case of toxicity you may want to consider moving either the two mollies or the two platies to the 10 gal. for a while. If any of those fish had the popeye then don't move them as the stress may be too much.


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

If the tank was established (already cycled), you should be able to do a 100% water change without it re-cycling. 
It is the tank surfaces (especially filter media) and not the water itself that host the bacterial culture.



blossom112 said:


> I have a question about cycle..
> The tank i just got was emptied and we filled it here .. LOTS plants .
> Will the tank have a mini cycle ?
> Or the will by having the plants prevent this ?
> ...


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*SuperBac Nitrifying Bacteria*

Thanks for all the input. I am quite concerned about the high nitrites. (5ppm or higher...) After I did the water change yesterday, the nitrites fell to 3ppm, but are way up again today. I was wondering if anyone recomends SuperBac nitrifying bacteria. I poured it in after 3 weeks of 4ppm ammonia (in the 35 gal) and in 2 days, the ammonia was at .25, and the nitrites had started going up. would it be beneficial for the nitrite spike aswell?


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

I would monitor the nitrate level. If it is rising, then your bacterial culture is there but needs to grow more.

Keep in mind that the bacteria required is slow growing, doubling only every 15 to 20 hours.

"In the time that it takes a single Nitrosomonas cell to double in population, a single E. Coli bacterium would have produced a population exceeding 35 trillion cells." (http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html)

So patience is an essential ingredient. Again, check out your nitrate level. If is on the increase, things are progressing.



newbiefishfanatic said:


> Thanks for all the input. I am quite concerned about the high nitrites. (5ppm or higher...) After I did the water change yesterday, the nitrites fell to 3ppm, but are way up again today. I was wondering if anyone recomends SuperBac nitrifying bacteria. I poured it in after 3 weeks of 4ppm ammonia (in the 35 gal) and in 2 days, the ammonia was at .25, and the nitrites had started going up. would it be beneficial for the nitrite spike aswell?


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

OH thank you .........you hit what i was looking for ............
when i get this im gonna think oh boy were my questions stupid lololol


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*Yay*

Fantastic news! (just had to share) my nitrites are down to .50!!!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! after only 2 days at being HIGH, they have dropped! i dont know whats happend, but my tank has almost fully cycled in 1 week exactly! i think it was due to the SuperBac nitrifying bacteria. I put it in when the ammonia was skyhigh, and it dropped to .25 in less than 2 days! yay for superbac! now i can almost safely add the fish i want to the 35 gal!

my 75 gal is still only at 1 ppm ammonia though.


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

That's great to hear. If this was a tank with brand new biological filter media and no seed material, I think you are right about the Superbac. I think seed material can really make a difference.



newbiefishfanatic said:


> Fantastic news! (just had to share) my nitrites are down to .50!!!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! after only 2 days at being HIGH, they have dropped! i dont know whats happend, but my tank has almost fully cycled in 1 week exactly! i think it was due to the SuperBac nitrifying bacteria. I put it in when the ammonia was skyhigh, and it dropped to .25 in less than 2 days! yay for superbac! now i can almost safely add the fish i want to the 35 gal!
> 
> my 75 gal is still only at 1 ppm ammonia though.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

*seed material*

i did use seed material from my 10 gallon established tank. i put in a handful and a half of gravel. i guess that helped too.  i did not however know about seeding when i used the superbac for the ammonia and it severely dropped. that was purely thanks to superbac.


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

My limited experience is that eliminating ammonia is a lot easier than eliminating nitrites. Perhaps nitrobacter is a slower growing or more sensitive species than nitrosomonas.

There have been others on this forum with very positive reports about superbac.



newbiefishfanatic said:


> i did use seed material from my 10 gallon established tank. i put in a handful and a half of gravel. i guess that helped too.  i did not however know about seeding when i used the superbac for the ammonia and it severely dropped. that was purely thanks to superbac.


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