This might be a silly question, but I'm getting a bigger tank for Xmas and I understand that using the filter and substrate from my already established tank can assist in the cycling process, but can the same be said for plants? I have one argentine sword and a whole lot of salvinia, would they also be any help to cycling?
Ok, so this is something i have been wondering. When you set up a tank for the first time there is no nitrifying bacteria, you need to provide amonia so the beneficial bacteria (bb) begin to apear; but... where do they come from for the process to begin? I mean, the bb don't just appear from nowhere.
Many tanks (including mine) were cycled without any products, in my case just a good pair of snails (snail in cycle). And keeping in mind that the tap water used is treated and has no bacteria (i use reverse osmosis in one of my tanks), where did the bb come from?
Please note this is not a question about cycling. Its about where the bb come from when their population is nonexistent in the setup.
I have investigated with no satisfactory direct answer.
Bit of background. I caught a number of freshwater native fish in my area a few days ago - Blue-Spot Gobies (Blue-spot goby, Pseudogobius Olorum). They're pretty common, but an interesting little native fish, and I'm mostly interested in Australian natives in my own tank. Since they're wild caught, I put them in a separate tank I've been setting up, and dosed it with Promethyasul and Stress Coat immediately to deal with any parasites / immediate stress issues.
I noticed one of the gobies developed what looks like cotton ball fungus on the ends of the pectoral fins and on the tail overnight, so I removed it from the tank and put it into a large jar for inspection, and the tail fin fell off. Given that its state of health was poor and it was obviously in significant distress, I euthanised it without delay.
However, this has made me concerned about the state of the water in the tank and whether the infection was contagious. The other gobies look fine (good clear fins, active, interested in their environment, not showing distress), but I dosed Melafix into the tank anyway.
So this got me thinking. When I move some of the better specimens into my main tank (after waiting another day or two for the Promethyasul to fully work), I was considering adding a dose of Stress Coat and Melafix to the main tank as a precaution against introducing any bacterial infections. Does Melafix trash the nitrifying bacteria in the tank? I'd really rather not destroy the cycling I have in my main community tank with a precautionary measure, so I'm interested in any thoughts on the matter.
When my aqua clear HOB loses power it drains all the water from the media compartment into the tank. It doesn't self prime when the power comes back on. My question is how long can nitrifying bacteria will last without water in the HOB compartment? How quick does it die off? Minutes? Hours? How will the cycle be affected?
First timer here, really wanting to be careful doing my research so I don't kill my fish. I'm planning to do a fishless cycle ideally in around 2-3 weeks before getting 2 baby Oranda goldfish in a 36 gallon tank (thinking of upgrading in the future because of how big they grow). The Petsmart worker (who seemed like she knew what she was talking about) also suggested a couple snails to help with the maintenance, but I'm not sure about them yet. If anything, I'd get 2.
I've watched dozens of youtube videos from decades long fish owners and there was no mention of dechlorinating water, but I did see somewhere that tap water is harmful to fish because of the Chlorine in it, so I did some more research and what I've found said yeah, it can kill fish and may even mess with your Nitrogen Cycle if you don't dechlorinate the water so I went and bought Tetra Aquasafe which says it will dechlorinate the water and make it safe for fish. Along with that, I bought TopFin Readistart Nitrifying Bacteria in a bottle to start my cycling. On the bottle it says "allows immediate introduction of fish", but just to be safe I thought I'd wait a couple weeks.
My question is as the title says; should I dechlorinate before I start cycling with the bacteria in a bottle, or do I just start cycling and the chlorine will evaporate before I add the fish? And when using bacteria in a bottle, do I need to add ammonia anyway so they have something to eat since I'm doing a fishless cycle?
Any other tips or corrections are welcomed and appreciated! I'm really excited to be a new fish owner soon! It's more involved than I thought but I've always been really into fish so I haven't been spooked off quite yet :-)
Title pretty much says it. I just wonder if I should have some on hand for starting a new tank.
My filter has been slowly getting clogged for a while, and now it’s having difficulty pushing water through it. My nitrites have been slowly climbing the past few days. Although, my ammonia is practically zero and my nitrates are lower than I’d like.
I think this means I have a lot of bacteria capable of converting ammonia to nitrites, but not enough that can convert nitrites to nitrates?
Also, how do I change my filter to help water cycle past bacteria and still preserve All of my bacteria at the same time?
I have some fluval biomax hanging around in my tank in the back, next to a bubble machine but opposite the filter. Not sure if that would be useful info.
P. S. What kind of nitrite levels are safe/harmful? I haven’t been able to find any sources online, the hype is all geared towards ammonia.
As an aspiring reefer, I have a potentially stupid question.
Is there any guidance out there about the correct amount of beneficial bacteria to foster in a reef tank and then the appropriate amount of suitable surface area to house such bacteria?
For example, is it necessary to waste sump space, in an AIO aquarium for example, on biological filter media when your tank is full of rock?
Surely one could continue adding beneficial bacteria until nitrite levels are zero and only add new biological filter media if adding bacteria fails to lower nitrites i.e. because your existing biological filter media (display tank rock) is "full" and can't support more bacteria.
Am I missing something glaringly obvious here?
Just curious as to everyone’s experience with buying nitrifying bacteria in a bottle. I’ve been cycling my tank for a little over a month and my ammonia has consistently stayed at around 4ppm. 0 nitrites. I’m all about patience, but having not seen a single sign of nitrite is getting annoying. So I’m looking into buying something to get this thing going, unless any of you have another suggestion. I don’t have access to an established aquarium, so using another filter media isn’t a possibility.
I know seeding and WAS reduction can help. But what if you have the mass but your just missing nitrifiers? Is there anything else that can be done to speed up the process Or is it just a matter of time?
I'm looking for a way to speed up my tank cycle. I was thinking about asking my local pet shop for a cup of sand from their tanks, but then thought that maybe the plants they have in their tanks may hold some of the bacteria I need. Any thoughts?
say, 1ppm?
