cycle?

[wckdkl0wn]

i usually add if not all almost all of the water from the esrablished tank, established filter, a couple of other stuff and add fish. works for me

Well I still want to keep the other 20 gallon up and running since it has fish in it. So using all water is not an option as well as the filter. Maybe I will bring over 2-3 neons from the established tank. I'll test the water first to make sure the levels are ok.

 

[wckdkl0wn]

tested the water and this is what it came up with.

Ammonia 0
nitrate <20
nitrite <.5
gh roughly 150
kh roughly 300
ph 7.2

I think a lot of the high numbers is because of my tap water

 

[Dr Joe]

i usually add if not all almost all of the water from the esrablished tank, established filter, a couple of other stuff and add fish. works for me

All you did was change tanks

 

[Dr Joe]

You can do fishless cycle if you prefer not to use live fish for cycling. You use clear ammonia in minute amounts.

The thing that hasn't been made clear here is that you are not cycling the tank you are cycling the filter, the tank contains the nutrients and waste for/of the filter.

The detritus/mum that you vacuumed up is mainly unusable by the BB that you want to establish and will cause more harm than good.

Easiest/quickest would be to add some filter material from your established filter (place it so it is first in line of the filter materials so the filter draws the bacteria thru to the new media)

As mojo2776 stated, you may have to start over if the tank has been to long without nutrients, but I think you would be ok with the neons.

Keep us posted on how it goods,

Dr Joe

.

 

[wckdkl0wn]

well I have added 3 neons to the tank. Also took me pad out of my other filter temporarily and stuck it to the intake of the new tank's filter.

 

[wckdkl0wn]

My ammonia has increased today. Thats the only difference.

Ammonia .25
nitrate <20
nitrite <.5
gh roughly 150
kh roughly 300
ph 7.2