The Planted Tank Forum banner
Cancel

Used tank - cycling

1395 Views 7 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  Econde, 
M
Hi,
Im starting my first planted tank, and have a 120l tank that I have secondhand. I dont have any of the old substrate but i have the okd filters (two fluval U2,s ) with dirty media. It was waiting two days before going in the water but remained wet and i rinsed it in my old tank water before adding them. I also plan on squeezing over the media from my current tank.

Ive read conflicting things, will my tank be instantly cycled?
I also read that you should add fish straight away with the old media, but havent done this after setting it up last night as the water was so cold and is only 10 degrees this morning. I'll turn the heater on tonight when the house has warmed the tank up a bit.

I have an API test kit and dosed with prime, and will be adding the plants from my current tank (not until last minute as i dont want to remove the cover for my ottos )

Thank you for your help.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Econde
How long has your two fluvals been running for? If it has been sitting, unused with dirty media then the beneficial bacteria might be done for.

10degrees celcius is a bit cold, I believe that beneficial bacteria will do a lot better at 18 degrees to about 26~. Why not double check to see if it is indeed cycled by testing your tank out? Add a bit of ammonia(just plain ammonia cleaner) use your api test til ammonia is reading about 1ppm-4ppm and wait at least 12 hours before testing for nitrites and nitrates. If everything zeroes out within 24 hours, then you can be sure your tank is cycled. If you want to add fish in right away and your tank isn't properly cycled yet, be prepared to do nearly daily partial water changes to keep parameters in check.

Let us know what you decide.
Reply
Save
Like
M
Theyd only been running a few hours. Ive raised the ammonia using fish food as would take a while to have it delivered and its not commonly available unscented where I live. I'll test the parameters over the next 24hours and see what they do.
The heaters on now too.
I dont plan on adding fish until its fully cycled.
Reply
Save
Like
Econde
Modestlysublime said:
Theyd only been running a few hours. Ive raised the ammonia using fish food as would take a while to have it delivered and its not commonly available unscented where I live. I'll test the parameters over the next 24hours and see what they do.
The heaters on now too.
I dont plan on adding fish until its fully cycled.
Click to expand...
Ah okay, good good. I prefer fishless cycling myself, but doesnt bother me when others do fish in cycle. As long as you watch the parameters, everything should be good. You can squeeze an older filter over your new one, it helps to get beneficial bacteria in there, but the rest of the tank still has to cycle. Here in the US, they readily sell 10% ammonia cleaner. It's fairly easy to get a bottle and start cycling a tank. You can also use this..
Reply
Save
Like
M
It took a while to get the ammonia so i continued to add a bit of fish food.

On Saturday I had ammonia 0.25 and nitrite 0.
On Sunday at 10am I added 2ppm ammonia and had 0 nitrite.
I was unable to test again until Monday at 6pm, and it read 0.25 ammonia, 0 nitrite and between 5 and 10 nitrate.
I havent seen nitrite above 0 yet, is the test faulty or could it be being transferred to nitrate too quickly to see?

I raised ammonia to 2ppm again at the 6pm reading but wont be able to test again until 9.30pm tomorrow, is that close enough in time to tell if it is cycled?
Reply
Save
Like
Econde
Keep testing. Ammonia and Nitrites should zero out and Nitrates continue to raise. You do not have any plants in there no? Just be a little bit more patient as to make sure its completely cycled. If your Ammonia stays at 2PPM then it's still cycling.
Reply
Save
Like
M
Econde said:
Keep testing. Ammonia and Nitrites should zero out and Nitrates continue to raise. You do not have any plants in there no? Just be a little bit more patient as to make sure its completely cycled. If your Ammonia stays at 2PPM then it's still cycling.
Click to expand...
I do have plants, its probably just over 25% planted. It just hasn't got the plants from my existing tank yet.

Ill keep testing until im sure. Im just not around often at the same time each day which isnt helping.
Reply
Save
Like
Econde
Modestlysublime said:
I do have plants, its probably just over 25% planted. It just hasn't got the plants from my existing tank yet.

Ill keep testing until im sure. Im just not around often at the same time each day which isnt helping.
Click to expand...
It doesn't have to be on a schedule. Do the best you can and try not to stress about it to much. I'm sure you're making progress.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
The Planted Tank Forum
A forum community dedicated to Aquatic tank owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about flora, fauna, health, housing, filters, care, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Tank Journals General Planted Tank Discussion Equipment Fish Shrimp & Other Invertebrates
Top