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Faster way to cycle 2.7 tank from established tank?

3K views 28 replies 5 participants last post by  Zoidburg 
#1 ·
For a while now I've had a Fluval Spec V 5 gallon tank. After it was cycled, I added about 10 red cherry shrimp. I've been watching the parameters as of late, trying to make sure the water is good for them. Though I started out with nearly 10, I was then down to 5 (too high of calcium had created some molting issues but I got water softener).

Well, stupidly I also wanted to get a betta and figured maybe this betta might not be too aggressive, and if he was, I could take him back to the store. He doesn't really attack them but he does like sticking his nose in every hiding place, which is obviously stressing them since they've taken up to hiding. Except I don't want to take him back to the store, I've grown attached to him.

After not seeing my rcs for a while, I began to lift up driftwood to check up on them. I didn't have time to fully check since it was before work this morning, but I found one whole dead male (he was fully intact, not molted, would have looked alive except he just wasn't moving) and one berried female. It was my mistake, first of all, getting the betta with only a few shrimp (and some of them berried) before they were established, and not realizing the shrimp were just going to hide the whole time. I really like these shrimp, and watching them, so having them in hiding and stressed isn't my thing.

I decided on my way home from work, I'll pick up a Fluval Spec 3 for the betta. I want to know, is there a really fast way to cycle a 2.7 gallon tank, perhaps using water from my Spec V? The reason I ask is not only for the health of my shrimp, but that tomorrow I'm receiving more that I had ordered a month ago. I'd like to keep the shrimp in the 5 gallon and move the betta to the 2.7. Any advice?
 
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#3 ·
That sounds like a plan; so I put new filter media in my old tank, and the old tank's filter media in the new one? I was going to move over some plants as well. I'll add in some substrate. I read that I should fill the tank with tap water and then wait 30 minutes to put the dechlorinator in, and then add ammonia. Would the filter media count as that?
 
#4 ·
Yes, I think so. Squeeze the old filter media out over the new one, or squeeze your old media in a bucket of tank water and rinse the new media in that to seed it. The put the new media in the existing tank, and the old media in the new tank.

Keep an eye on the params for a few days, though- you still might not get an 'instant cycle' and your existing tank could get a bit of ammonia spike as it rebuilds the bacteria colony.

Alternately, you could just squeeze the filter from the existing tank over new one in the new tank, or cut a piece off and transfer that to seed the new tank... it will definitely shorter the length of time the tank takes to cycle.
 
#5 ·
If possible, set a new filter up in an existing tank for at least a couple of weeks, then move that to the new tank.


Most of the beneficial bacteria is on the surface of things, not in the water. Take snow for an example. It settles on the ground, in the trees, on roof tops. Trying to remove snow from the air you would only get minimal amounts... but if you moved a plant, or a bunch of gravel covered in snow, it would be easy to move it.


What is the GH and KH of your water? And tanks?
 
#9 ·
So I'm hearing these options:

a.) Swap filters (for how long, this switch?) and suffer an ammonia spike in the old tank
b.) Wash out the old filter in the new tank (either in the tank's water or over the new filter)
c.) Cut off a piece of the old filter (how big of a piece?) and put it in the new tank.

Which of these would be the most efficient and fastest?

What is the GH and KH of your water? And tanks?
Right now the parameters of my established tank are a little out of whack. It's a Fluval Spec V 5-gallon, medium planted, with 10 cherry shrimp and a betta.

PH: between 7.2 and 7.8 ppm
KH: 4.47 dKH (too high)
GH: 4.2 dGH
Nitrate: 80 ppm (too high)
Ammonia/Nitrite: about .5 to 1 ppm (little high)
TDS: 335 ppm (too high)
Chlorine: 0
 
#6 ·
Normally I wouldn't want to be impatient with cycling but I want to separate my rcs and the betta as soon as possible without hurting either of them. I paid for different colored rcs that after waiting a month, are arriving tomorrow, and I don't want to risk them getting eaten. Is there a solution for holding them somehow while waiting for the other tank to cycle? I don't believe my lfs sells dividers for 5 gallons.
 
#7 ·
Even better than 'bacteria in a bottle', "Instant cycle" is commonly done commercially and in fish rooms. Take the sponge or floss media from the filter of an established tank and 'clean' it in the new tank water with the filter running. The beneficial bacteria from the established filter will populate the new tank and filter. Then you can slowly populate the new tank with no waiting.
 
#12 ·
Worst case scenario, the shrimp can remain in a tank or bucket with no filtration. Add an air stone for extra oxygen and keep an eye on the parameters.



Do this while you are getting the second tank up and running.


I've done this before for a few weeks. Had a plant floating for the shrimp and checked ammonia often. They were all fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
I'm wondering if replacing my carbon filter did it. Can I bump up the GH with mineral rocks? And decrease ammonia with an ammonia toxifier? How come my Nite-Out II wasn't bringing nitrites and ammonia down with the water changes? I could just forego both the Stress Coat and the Nite-Out II and get Amquel.
 
#14 ·
It's possible that removing the carbon filter could have caused a change in the tanks parameters. Most people that I am aware of don't use carbon with shrimp.

I don't recommend mineral rocks... If you mean the mineral balls, they degrade very slowly and don't really add much benefit to the tank. If you mean mineral rocks that do degrade, these often degrade quickly and can shoot your GH, KH and TDS out the wazoo! Rocks like seiryu stones. You are better off using a GH remineralizer. You don't need one with KH, only GH.


Quick search on Nite-Out II, I see some people who love it, others who prefer Safe-Start.



No experience with Amquel either, but I'd recommend doing water changes over trying to treat a tank with ammonia, nitrites and nitrates... having plants that could eat up the excess nutrients could also help... duckweed, frogbit, red root floaters, salvinia natans.... (would kind of need to "overload" the tank with plants)

My thoughts here is that shrimp can be sensitive to water conditioners and it can result in stress. Accidentally OD'd on Seachem Prime (basically same as Amquel, little different than Stress Coat - I think?) with a water change (it went into the fresh water prior to going into the tank) and it caused the shrimp to swim about the tank and even a few tried climbing out of the water.

If you want to use the conditioner straight in the tank, then care needs to be used as too much will cause stress. So, rather than adding even more stuff to the tank that could result in stress, why not just do frequent but small water changes to get the current levels down? You want to do them at least every 3 days, if not a little more frequent, until things get stabilized.



If you can isolate the betta in the current tank, definitely try that! Shrimp though can sometimes find their way into places they shouldn't be.... such as breeding boxes, canister filters, HOB's... Case in point, I pulled 4 shrimp out of the HOB on my 20 gallon tank. I'm surprised I didn't kill them since the HOB was turned off and drained of water (massive water change caused the water in the HOB to drain out... tank is doomed...). I started a drip acclimation back into the tank, then remembered I saw a shrimp in the HOB, and it would probably be a good idea to drip the water back into the HOB to keep the bacteria alive. In case the shrimp was still alive, despite the HOB being drained of nearly all the water, I moved the drip to the HOB. Three days later, tank still isn't filled back up and I check the HOB and see 3 shrimp just sitting at the edge right where the water flows back into the tank! I look inside and there's 4 shrimp! I'm honestly not convinced that there isn't a 5th or 6th shrimp hiding in there somewhere!



As far as your choices... I would go with "B". Take the filter and give it a good squeeze or two into the new tank or into the new filter media, then place it back into your first tank.

Bump:
I'm probably doing everything wrong. I filled the new 2.5 gallon tank with water, waited 30 min, put in some dechlorinator, then put in the dead body of the cherry shrimp earlier today and some mini-pellets. I just rinsed my established's tank inner sponge filter in the new tank's water until the water got really cloudy. I took the nasty old biomax bio rings from my old filter and put it in the new filter, in the bottom compartment. Then I transferred a few handfuls of gravel, some plants, a moss ball from the old tank to the new one. Am I on the right track? I'll check the ammonia levels tomorrow when I find my master test kit.

I would have put the dechlorinator in the water prior to adding it to the tank...


I would have also tossed the dead body...



I'd say everything else is good though.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I'm probably doing everything wrong. I filled the new 2.5 gallon tank with water, waited 30 min, put in some dechlorinator, then put in the dead body of the cherry shrimp earlier today and some mini-pellets. I just rinsed my established's tank inner sponge filter in the new tank's water until the water got really cloudy. I took the nasty old biomax bio rings from my old filter and put it in the new filter, in the bottom compartment. Then I transferred a few handfuls of gravel, some plants, a moss ball from the old tank to the new one. Am I on the right track? I'll check the ammonia levels tomorrow when I find my master test kit.
 
#16 ·
If you have an Ace Hardware, they'll have ammonia!


Sponge filters are popular in the shrimp hobby... the type driven by an air pump. To give you an idea... linked to some below. Not necessarily these specifically, but these style of sponge filters!

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Biochemical-Sponge-Filter-XY-2830/dp/B0127YLRRQ/
https://www.amazon.com/Huijukon-Double-Biochemical-Powered-Aquarium/dp/B01LZDXECV/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4BNZ7F/

Although these specific ones are used in shrimp tanks - and similar ones
Mattenfilter Shop - SWISSTROPICALS
Cornerfilter Shop - SWISSTROPICALS



I'm not currently using sponge filters in the tanks here, and I do need to get some replacement sponges... right now though, two of the tanks have AquaClear HOB's with a Foam insert (off-white in color) and topped with Seachem Matrix.


For your Fluval, you might want to consider getting some extra foam to cover the holes or even stainless steel mesh. The adults might not go into the small openings, but babies probably would! (making foam better...)



If you went with stainless steel, you could look for something like this. I don't know if this is small enough that baby shrimp wouldn't go through, though...

Stainless Steel Mesh - Han Aquatics



Might be okay to move the Biomax. Just keep an eye on the tanks water parameters!
 
#17 ·
If you have an Ace Hardware, they'll have ammonia!
We don't have one, but I found regular ammonia at the grocery store today!

Sponge filters are popular in the shrimp hobby... the type driven by an air pump. To give you an idea... linked to some below. Not necessarily these specifically, but these style of sponge filters!
Would I be wrong in saying I think Fluval Spec III and V have these? It's a big sponge thing with cartridges, next to a compartment that has the air pump.

For your Fluval, you might want to consider getting some extra foam to cover the holes or even stainless steel mesh. The adults might not go into the small openings, but babies probably would! (making foam better...)
The trick to the Fluval Spec tanks is to pull the sponge/foam filter? thing (I'm still learning the terms, so I don't know what to call this thing yet) up so that the mesh/sponge blocks the holes. I run a pen underneath the handle so that the weight of the water doesn't drag it back down to its original position.

I didn't find a heater with a thermostat at my local pet store so I'm going to order this one: https://www.amazon.com/EHEIM-Jager-...AXQA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1
 
#18 ·
Shake the ammonia. If it looks like clear water, you are good!

If it's colored or foams up at the top, it's bad.



From what I know, the Fluval Specs have basically a built in sump. Other than modifying it due to the slits, it should work just fine as a filter.


Found a DIY mod for the slits using stainless steel mesh.

How to Make Fluval Spec Stainless Steel Overflow Cover


And this thread shows modifications made to the Specs

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/9-equipment/200283-all-fluval-spec-mods.html


Doing the mods may be easier than having to rely on a pen long term.



The Eheim heaters are good!
 
#19 ·
Shake the ammonia. If it looks like clear water, you are good!

If it's colored or foams up at the top, it's bad.
It's called Signature Home All-Purpose Cleaner Ammonia. It's clear but when I shake it, it foams up a lot at the top. Ingredients are ammonium hydroxide and surfactant. Contains no phosphorous.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Yeah, it says to avoid surfactant, that that's soap. I'm looking at just getting some off Amazon and having it shipped quick. https://www.amazon.com/Ammonia-6312...e=UTF8&qid=1485225812&sr=8-1&keywords=ammonia Only ingredient seems to be the ammonium hydroxide. Doesn't contain phosphates, but I could try to look for something that does. Someone had mentioned pH Down does but at my local pet store, the one they hadn't didn't mention it.

Addition: I'm googling like crazy what to do about the two drops of ammonia+surfactate that I put in my 2.6 gallon tank. Some people say drain the whole thing and start over. Some say just do several water changes. Confused and alarmed. I figure what I'll do is get a tub of water, add stress coat, put the plants in it. Dump out the gravel and the water (this is going to be such a huge pain), and rinse the filter stuff out in tap water, and then start over. D':
 
#24 ·
Don't think you need phosphates? That ammonia should work fine, but it is unclear how much ammonia is actually in it... Looks like it used to be 2%, but now it's 0.5 to 2.5% ammonia.

http://austinsbleach.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Austins-Ammonia.pdf


Guess that explains why the ammonia I got is as hazardous as it is! It's 10% in comparison.


Knowing how much ammonia there is can help you calculate how much to use.


That does sound like a huge pain and a lot of work! I wonder how many people have successfully used ammonia with surfactant vs those who just destroyed their tanks.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Better safe than sorry, so I took the advice to just redo the tank. Washed the plants and foam block and filter, threw out the gravel and filter media, washed the tank with some diluted white vinegar and rinsed well several times.

From there, I put in a new carbon pack and the pre-sponge filter from my established tank into the filter compartments, transferred a handful of gravel from the established tank, replanted the plants and squeezed my foam block into the water and onto the foam block of my new tank.

Now I have to wait for the things I ordered online to get here; the water heater and the ammonia (pure this time, from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M8NEDS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

The ammonia was clear and didn't foam, so I started using it. My issue though is that I'm not actually detecting any ammonia in my cycling tank.

Cycling a 2.5 gallon tank

Tank set up and seeded with gravel and plants and filter media from established tank. Heater set to 83 degrees to encourage bacteria.

Day 1 - 1/25 - dosed tank with 2 drops of ammonia
Day 2 - 1/26 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm)
Day 3 - 1/27 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm); added 4 drops of ammonia
Day 4 - 1/28 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm)
Day 5 - 1/29 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm)
Day 6 - 1/30 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm); added 4 drops of ammonia
Day 7 - 1/31 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm)
Day 8 - 2/01 - measured ammonia (ammonia: 0 ppm) and nitrites (nitrites: 0 ppm)

Is something soaking up the ammonia somehow?
 
#26 ·
Sorry for posting again but it's been about a week since my last post. It's Day 8 of cycling the new tank and there's still no traces of ammonia or nitrites! It's a Fluval III, 2.6-gallon, it has a working filter, heater, and light, the temperature has been set to 83, I seeded the tank beforehand with media from the old tank (pre-filter sponge I put in the filter compartment), gravel, plants. There's frogbit, wisteria, a moss ball, and java fern pups. I added the last of the gravel from my bag as well and forgot all about gravel dust but I can siphon that out later.

Why isn't the ammonia showing up?
 
#28 · (Edited)
I thought it'd take a month at least; is it really possible to cycle a tank this fast? I'll dose it later today with 4 more drops of pure ammonia and then check it tomorrow.

Q1: If tomorrow it shows no ammonia or nitrites, does that mean it's really cycled?

Q2: If it is, and I vacuum the dust off the gravel, will it undo my work and restart/kill the cycle?
 
#29 ·
Yes, it should mean that the tank is cycled. Seeding a tank from another established tank can result in a faster cycle. Using a filter from another tank can even "insta cycle" a tank. If you wait 3+ weeks, that does give the tank more time to grow biofilm, though.

Vacuuming the dust should only result in a mini cycle, at most.
 
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