Fish Tank Cycling

[CrabbyLover77]

Hello fish friends!

I have a question about cycling a new tank. A few months ago, I added an extra hang on filter to my existing 40 gal breeder fish tank. I knew I wanted to upgrade my goldfish to something bigger, I just didn't know when it was going to happen. So I added the extra filter to make sure I could have it with all the happy good bacteria for whenever I got a new tank.

Last weekend, my friend gave me her old 65 gal aquarium with stand for my goldies, yay! It's in great shape, just needed some wiping down. I finally got it all filled with water a couple of days ago and got the extra filter from my established tank running. I added a couple of my fake plants in the new tank from my old tank to help with getting the good bacteria going in there too. The hang on filter has 2 cartridges and a bio wheel (I never rinse the bio wheel). I added some fish food the last couple of nights to get some waste in there to start the nitrogen cycle. Here's the intersting part. I've been checking the water since Wednesday, and I already have a Nitrates reading at 20ppm. There is 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. I also have an ammonia alert monitor hanging in the tank and that reads 0. I know I added an established filter to the tank, but since when does that instantly cycle the tank? I figured I wait a week, until next Wednesday before I add my fish into the new tank. I'll keep checking the water everyday until then. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

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[hermitcrablover2]

I'm no fish expert, but I'm pretty sure to cycle the tank, you leave the tank (with filters, water, etc. in the tank) for about a week or two. When you put the goldies in, make sure to acclimate them by having them in a bag or cup of their old water, sitting on top of the water in the new tank. I don't really know for how long, I think about an hour, but I might be remembering wrong or it might vary depending what fish you have. After they're acclimated, you can gently let them swim out into the new tank! Hope this helps!

[CrabbyLover77]

I'm no fish expert, but I'm pretty sure to cycle the tank, you leave the tank (with filters, water, etc. in the tank) for about a week or two. When you put the goldies in, make sure to acclimate them by having them in a bag or cup of their old water, sitting on top of the water in the new tank. I don't really know for how long, I think about an hour, but I might be remembering wrong or it might vary depending what fish you have. After they're acclimated, you can gently let them swim out into the new tank! Hope this helps!

Thanks so much! Yeah, I expected to have the tank running for 2-4 weeks with no fish. That's why I'm so surprised I have Nitrate readings already, and the other readings are 0. That usually means a tank is cycled. I just never heard of a tank cycling that fast, even with an established filter. Crazy!

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[wodesorel]

Once a filter has those bacterial colonies fully formed on the media inside, its pretty much ready to use immediately. It must have a constant food source or the bacteria will die off, so waiting won't do anything. Just remember to not change the media, or else you're throwing out everything that is eating the ammonia! Now, keep in mind your filter will only be able to process as much waste as it's been eating up to this point, which is why it's recommended to add fish a little at a time to a new tank - to give the bacteria time to divide and grow and catch up.

I'm no fish expert, but I'm pretty sure to cycle the tank, you leave the tank (with filters, water, etc. in the tank) for about a week or two.

This is NOT cycling! Cycling requires a food source to allow the bacteria to grow, as it's these bacterial colonies that eat fish waste quickly enough to make it harmless. From scratch, it takes at least a couple weeks for these colonies to form, usually it's a couple of months before the water quality is safe enough. Seeding a filter on an existing tank is much faster. It's also kinder to use an existing tank or ammonia as the food source, as using live fish is extremely stressful due to how bad the water will get and it can cause conditions that can kill them.

[CrabbyLover77]

Once a filter has those bacterial colonies fully formed on the media inside, its pretty much ready to use immediately. It must have a constant food source or the bacteria will die off, so waiting won't do anything. Just remember to not change the media, or else you're throwing out everything that is eating the ammonia! Now, keep in mind your filter will only be able to process as much waste as it's been eating up to this point, which is why it's recommended to add fish a little at a time to a new tank - to give the bacteria time to divide and grow and catch up.

This is NOT cycling! Cycling requires a food source to allow the bacteria to grow, as it's these bacterial colonies that eat fish waste quickly enough to make it harmless. From scratch, it takes at least a couple weeks for these colonies to form, usually it's a couple of months before the water quality is safe enough. Seeding a filter on an existing tank is much faster. It's also kinder to use an existing tank or ammonia as the food source, as using live fish is extremely stressful due to how bad the water will get and it can cause conditions that can kill them.

Thank you so very much Wodes! I've been adding a pinch here and there of fish food the last few nights so the bacteria had something to work with. I didn't realize having the established filter would make everything go so fast. I have 2 large filters that were running my 40 gal with 4 large goldfish. So I'll transfer the second filter over as soon as I move the goldfish. I'm not adding any fish, just moving my existing guys from the 40 to the 65. Thanks again!!

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