tank recycled

7 posts

Member introductions and random (non-aquarist) topics.


petersonestates
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:16 pm

tank recycled

by petersonestates

have a 75 gallon fresh water tank fake plants and lava rock it recycled it was my falt what happens on a recycle should i just let it recycle or do a water change and how long does a recycle last dont know if i should be concerned i hate when i know i mesd up


mro2you2
 
Posts: 625
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:37 pm

by mro2you2

cycles????


wait 2 week to add your first fish


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Please be more specific. Are you talking about getting the bacterial nitrogen "cycle" going in your new tank?

What did you do wrong?

OK. There is only a few main things you need to understand in order to keep fish alive.

The fish poop and other waste in a healthy fish tank normally gets converted from a toxic substance to a not so toxic substance by millions of benneficial bacteria that live in your filter and all over the surfaces of your tank.

Without these bacteria the fish will die pretty quickly because the poop turns to ammonia. There is a 2 step process where bacteria in the filter turn the ammonia into nitrite (with an I), and then another kind of bacteria turn the nitrite into nitrate (with an A).

You need to grow these bacteria in your filter by slowely adding fish, only a few at a time, so that the "cycle" can produce nitrates which are basically plant food, and not so bad for the fish.

With no fish poop there can be no bacteria because ther is no food for the bacteria to feed on, but if you add too many fish all at once the ammonia, and or nitrite level will rise too fast for the bacteria to change it to the good nitrates and the fish may die.

It's a good idea to only clean part, half, but not all of the filter pads when they get clogged up. If you take out all the pads at once ther will be no bacteria to "cycle" the waste and you will have killed the cycle. You should only change one pad at a time so that the old pad can pass bacteria to the new one and there will allways be a healthy colony of benneficial bacteria alive in your filter.

The benneficial bacteria eventually make nitrate (with an (A), and this stuff is OK untill it gets to too high a level, and that takes a while depending on how much waste has to be converted.

You will need to remove say 1/3 of the water and add fresh water periodically, say every 2 weeks more or less to get the level of nitrates down to a safe level.

I do a "water change" when my nitrates get to 10-30 ppm, and this keeps the fish hapy and the algae under control.

A water test kit is a good investment.

Talk to me (or us here at RMFT) and we'll try to help. PK


petersonestates
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:16 pm

by petersonestates

i know how the cycle works. i put in a px4 filter half way threw the cycle had a power head in it with a paper cartridge to a house water filter. work great have play sand in tank.cleand the in a water change made the mistake of changing the filter on the power head and tank cycled over again ommiea spike will it cycle faster this time have 10 fish in it they are doing fine. hoping it will be a minnie cycle .know one tills you what to do in a minnie cycle .parden the spelling thanks.2days now tank is clearing up


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

not sure what a mini cycle is, or if a px4 filter is big enough for your tank and fish.

Seems like you are figuring it out. Good luck, PK


GiantDogg
 
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:24 pm

by GiantDogg

By "Mini-cycle" are you saying you cleaned your filter in tap water and are concerned you killed off some of the bacteria? Define "Ammonia Spike" (How many PPM??), and what are the other readings (nitrite and nitrate)?


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

mini cycle is a periodic spike in ammonia...like peterson said, he took out the filter with the good bacteria, and the bio load could not handle the ammonia, so it spiked or mini cycled.

continue to change the water, water test and the mini cycle will calm back down to ammonia 0

sometimes if more fish are added to the tank, the extra fish poop or ammonia creates a spike or mini cycle...again water change, cut down on feeding, water test, and in a bit, the ammonia will go back to ammonia 0

by the way, even in established tanks (years) mini cycles or spikes happen, it's natural...the key is, how to manage it

hope this helps

tank recycled

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