Cycling help!

[pacu mom]

Scuttlebutt on fish forums years ago was that Dr. Tim worked on Biospira and then formed his own company. When I fishless cycled my 300 gallon tank 16 years ago, I dosed very liberally with bacterial additives - as in dumping in a LOT. Just as with filtration in general, "you can't have too much of a good thing.

Patience is the key to fishless cycling. It took my tank about 2 months. The bacteria that consume ammonia colonized quickly. The group of bacteria that consume nitrite took MUCH longer to colonize. It seemed that I had nitrites forever and ever. Once the tank was cycled, I never had another nitrite reading, but did get ammonia readings when I fed my fish UNLIMITED amounts of water melon and after a prolonged power outage.

The biological additives came in handy with the mini-cycle -- I poured (dumped) the bio additive into the tank which quickly took care of the problem. I am a believer in bio additives. I would rather use them rather than seeding the tank with media from some one else's tank and possibly introducing a pathogen to my tank.

 

[MetalRavioli]

Scuttlebutt on fish forums years ago was that Dr. Tim worked on Biospira and then formed his own company. When I fishless cycled my 300 gallon tank 16 years ago, I dosed very liberally with bacterial additives - as in dumping in a LOT. Just as with filtration in general, "you can't have too much of a good thing.

Patience is the key to fishless cycling. It took my tank about 2 months. The bacteria that consume ammonia colonized quickly. The group of bacteria that consume nitrite took MUCH longer to colonize. It seemed that I had nitrites forever and ever. Once the tank was cycled, I never had another nitrite reading, but did get ammonia readings when I fed my fish UNLIMITED amounts of water melon and after a prolonged power outage.

The biological additives came in handy with the mini-cycle -- I poured (dumped) the bio additive into the tank which quickly took care of the problem. I am a believer in bio additives. I would rather use them rather than seeding the tank with media from some one else's tank and possibly introducing a pathogen to my tank.

That’s a good idea! I might add a few different bacteria starters, as my LFS has a few good ones that have been mentioned. Thank you so much for this!

Unrelated question: what do you have in that 300gal? (I will take a wild guess and say pacu?)

 

[jjohnwm]

Definitely take your time to do things right...but bear in mind that if the filter and media came from an established cycled tank, your tank would be pretty much cycled as soon as you set it up, assuming that the bioload you install is similar to that in the previous tank the filter came from. But, if you wait too long and don't provide that bacterial colony with an ammonia source...whether that be pure ammonia from a bottle or a bioload sufficient to produce the ammonia the colony requires...you will actually be moving backward with regards to having a cycled tank. The bacterial colony will die back to a level that can survive on the ammonia in the tank; no ammonia will result in no bacteria and you will be starting almost from scratch.

The only way to be sure the tank is cycled is to add measured amounts of ammonia and determine by testing if it is being converted to nitrite and then nitrate. Start doing that now; the longer you wait, the further you will be from your goal of a completely cycled tank. Assuming that not too much time has passed since the filter media was removed from its previous tank, you may be surprised to find how close you are to that goal.

 

[pacu mom]

That’s a good idea! I might add a few different bacteria starters, as my LFS has a few good ones that have been mentioned. Thank you so much for this!

Unrelated question: what do you have in that 300gal? (I will take a wild guess and say pacu?)

I hate to admit that my two poor fish are still stuck in that way too small 300 gallon tank. The big tank upgrade is the longest tank upgrade in the history of fish forums. Family illness and multiple surgeries for me have derailed my working on the big tank. I'm working on a virtual memorial service for my mother which I hope to publish in June. My hand is healed as much as it is going to get from my last surgery last September. So by July I will have no excuses not to climb down into my tank and finish the backgrounds and complete the flooring. Hopefully my two fish will be in their 2,000 gallon system this year.

A couple of months before I finish the set up, you can be sure that I will be fishless cycling the media using copious amounts of a bio additive.


Here's a log I made to record while fishless cycling.

 

[MetalRavioli]

I hate to admit that my two poor fish are still stuck in that way too small 300 gallon tank. The big tank upgrade is the longest tank upgrade in the history of fish forums. Family illness and multiple surgeries for me have derailed my working on the big tank. I'm working on a virtual memorial service for my mother which I hope to publish in June. My hand is healed as much as it is going to get from my last surgery last September. So by July I will have no excuses not to climb down into my tank and finish the backgrounds and complete the flooring. Hopefully my two fish will be in their 2,000 gallon system this year.

A couple of months before I finish the set up, you can be sure that I will be fishless cycling the media using copious amounts of a bio additive.


Here's a log I made to record while fishless cycling.

View attachment 1494031

Thank you for the chart! But wow, that sounds like a wild ride. I'm so sorry about your mother, I'm sure she'd be proud of you once you finish that tank. And I'm sure your pacu will be very happy as well! You going through all of that just to give your two fish enough room to swim and be happy shows that you are in fact, the best pacu mom

Hit me up on this thread when you start the cycle! I can't wait to see the progress!

 

[MetalRavioli]

Definitely take your time to do things right...but bear in mind that if the filter and media came from an established cycled tank, your tank would be pretty much cycled as soon as you set it up, assuming that the bioload you install is similar to that in the previous tank the filter came from. But, if you wait too long and don't provide that bacterial colony with an ammonia source...whether that be pure ammonia from a bottle or a bioload sufficient to produce the ammonia the colony requires...you will actually be moving backward with regards to having a cycled tank. The bacterial colony will die back to a level that can survive on the ammonia in the tank; no ammonia will result in no bacteria and you will be starting almost from scratch.

The only way to be sure the tank is cycled is to add measured amounts of ammonia and determine by testing if it is being converted to nitrite and then nitrate. Start doing that now; the longer you wait, the further you will be from your goal of a completely cycled tank. Assuming that not too much time has passed since the filter media was removed from its previous tank, you may be surprised to find how close you are to that goal.

This is amazing to know!! I have ordered the ammonia and it will be here tomorrow, so you'll be sure as heIl I'll be doing that! I'll be posting updates in my 90-gallon tank thread as well, so I'll reply to this when I post the updates there for anyone who's interested!

 

[andyroo]

Is RidX out of fashion?

We used a locally available different-same'y septic-treatment stuff to accelerate stocking of our 250 for my wife's family's pending visit - no losses nor visible stress.
Caveat that the tank was understocked and we'd added pond-plants with muck-seeded charcoal in the can-filter & "live" beach-sand too... so bets were hedged.

 

[Rocksor]

Is RidX out of fashion?

We used a locally available different-same'y septic-treatment stuff to accelerate stocking of our 250 for my wife's family's pending visit - no losses nor visible stress.
Caveat that the tank was understocked and we'd added pond-plants with muck-seeded charcoal in the can-filter & "live" beach-sand too... so bets were hedged.

Rid-x is better used as bacteria for removing organic compounds (before it turns into ammonia).

Lots of info here using it as a probiotic versus fishless cycle starter.

The Use of Probiotics in Aquaculture

The use of probiotics in aquaculture has been around for decades but has gained some new popularity in the past few years due to a few fish food manufacturers incorporating some of these bacteria in their food. While numerous publications & studies about the use of probiotics and/or...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[MetalRavioli]

Hey y’all! Here’s the update!