can i cycle a tank this way?

ok check this out. so i have a 29 gallon tank. the ammonia level is high from the start. so i tested my tap water from the tap. its reading about .5 ppm so if its this high from the tap. can i do a 5 gallon water change daily with a filter on the tank and cycle it ?

i have 3x 29 gal and 3x 20 gal long tanks needing of cycling for my fish room setup.

i have 3 home made filters set up and running in one of the 29 gal tank. the tank has 6x 2" gourami fish in the tank to cycle it. these fish are goin in my community tank is why i picked them. also im doin more monitoring then i normally would just so these fish dont die.


my process is like this. i do 2x 10gallon water changes daily. one in the morning and one at night. the water comes from my discus tank. so i know the water is at the right levels for the tank. then i put tap water back into my discus tank.

i check the water before i do the water changes.

right now
my nitrites are about 2.0 - 5.0 ppm
my ammonia is 1-2ppm

so i know my tank is NO where near being cycled.

alright, cant wait to get some feed back on this. thanks for reading.

*UPDATE*

alright. so i tested this morning. my numbers are getting lower. but still no where near good LOL..

Ammonia 1-2 ppm
nitrite 1-2 ppm


so nitrites are dropping but ammonia is maintaining. im going to do a water change right now and test later tonight.

*UPDATE*

tested again after i had lunch.

ammonia .5 ppm
nitrite .5 ppm

these seem to be dropping pretty fast. since ive only had this tank up for 3 days now. but i did seed it from my discus tank. a 95 gallon system and 55 gallons of that is a sump. 40 breeder tank.

*UPDATE*

ammonia .25 ppm
nitrite .25 ppm

how do my levels drop like this over just an hour. i didnt do anything to the tank

also tested nitrate is at 20 ppm this time.

How did you 'seed' the tank?

in my sump of my discus tank. i have pot scubby pads in it. i took 6 of them and put them in the air stream of the biggest DIY moving bed filter. my discus tank has been up for almost 9 months. so i think they are good and seeded.

*UPDATE*

ammonia .25ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm

Sounds like you have a good solid colony of bacteria there mate. Seeded filters are normally pretty good to go within a few days as long as they have had a constant source of ammonia to prevent die off.

Sounds like it will work fine but if you need additional "seeding" Nutrafin has a wonderful product called Cycle. It's a high dose of beneficial bacteria that will assist in bringing your Ammonia and nitrate levels down rather quickly. We use something similar for ponds after doing a spring cleaning. Kudos to you for being so diligent about your water testing. Working in a Pond/LFS I see so many people that don't even bother.

*Update*


my numbers are both zeroed this morning. so i think the filters are done cycling now. im gonig to keep 2 of the pads with each filter till next month.

im going to split the filters up among my tanks tomorrow when my heaters get here. my tanks are 70-72F right now at all times. but my tanks need to be higher temp before i can put my angel pairs in them.

thanks for reading my post and i hope this helps some one out with seeding a tank. been a pretty good experience for me.

the tank with the filters in it has 6 guami fish in it. this is givin the tank bacteria a food source.

*UPDATE*

ok so here i am after lunch. tested my system again. both seem to be still at 0. do i try to put my fish in this tank now?
its been 0 since this morning. or should i let it sit like this for another week ?

i dont know if i should risk my breeding pair just yet.... any suggestions?

so i checked my levels again ha ha ha.


nitrites 0
ammonia 0
nitrates 5 ppm.... i think its time to add fish. the levels stay the same. its a little cold for my angelfish but i do get my heaters and my big air pump for these tanks tomorrow. so now its time to speed cycle another tank..

this only took me 4 days to cycle this tank.

It may be cycled but do you know the bio capacity of the tank vs the output of the fish that will be in it. The tank seems to have the proper nitrifying bacteria present but are they in the right numbers for the bioload being applied. You will want to continue testing to verify that the system is not overloaded. Currently without fish in the tank the bacteria have nothing to eat.

Here is how i cycle any new tanks I set up:
1. fill it with water
2. add substrate
3. add my "seeding" HOB filter (this is a filter that almost never gets cleaned and is my starter for all tanks)
4. add the filtration that will remain in/on the tank, UGF, sponge filter(s), HOB, canister, etc.
5. add clear ammonia till i get a test over 3 ppm
6. run seed and tank filtration until the tests read ~.5 ppm
7. remove the seed HOB after giving the filter media a good squeeze to release some additional seed
8. add clear ammonia till i get a test over 3 ppm
9. test until the ammonia and nitrite tests are both 0 ppm
10. do 30-50% water change, declorinate and add fish

This process usually takes 10-14 days but it sets up such a high potential for bioload that i've never lost any fish that i've ever added after this process is completed and don't get secondary ammonia or nitrite spikes once the fish are added.

DLJ

Sounds like its cycled. I always stock slowly over time as pointed out above there are issues with throwing all fish in at once

I'd throw a few hardy fish in there to keep it going

like i said in my first post. i have 6 gaumi in the tank. so thats whats keeping it cycled for the timing being.

I agree with Doug. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't risk any valuable fish or fry in the event of a mini cycle .

Gouramis can be a tricky fish when it comes to cycling a tank. As they are a labyrinth fish they can breathe air meaning they are not as affected by ammonia in the water.

I'd add a bristlenose into the mix as well. I think they are really good for indicating the health of a tank. Pay attention to your bristlenose and you will not have issues.

Excellent point Doug re: the gourami's.

well thats good to know. i will add a BN later. i only have fry right now that are safe. my grow out BN are possibly infected with the red worm from the anus. there has been 3 guppies with it in that tank and 2 BN so far.. waiting on meds to get here so i can treat it. never had this problem before.

i ordered enough to treat all my tanks. just in case.

Callamanus worms? Do you feed live foods? What kind of meds are you planning to use ? If any of your fish will even eat I'd suggest minced garlic right away !!

yes all my fish eat... what do you do with this minced garlic?

i have angels i am worried about. i pulled them from this tank and put in a tank for just them. i also left all the pleco in the big tank.




the stuff i ordered is Levamisole HCl

Try feeding it to them, in conjunction with your meds. Usually will get rid of intestinal worms. You probably could have found praziquantel at a good pond store but it is rather expensive. I would also sterilize all equipment.