fish in tank while cycling...how bad is it...

[chefrific]

Ok, I had a tank cycling for my new bowfin. Problem was, tank wasn't ready, so I introduced fish to existing tank and my fish in there started beating up on him, so I moved bowfin to new tank. The tank is cloudy now, I'm adding Nitrivec to speed things up. The new bowfin came in stressed as hell, now this..... what can I do, or will he be ok. He's in a peaceful environment now with cover, and just a few danios (starter fish). I've just never ran fish (except "starters") in a tank that wasn't through with initial cycle. I'm very concerned.

 

[Ianab]

It can certainly be done safely.. IF

The tank is large and the fish are small.
You take things slowly.

Best plan though is to use an exisiting filter, or media from one to jumpstart the new filters. Moving in a few filter pads or some biomedia from a working filter, or even a whole small filter gives you some working filter bacteria from day one. Not enough for a full load of fish, but OK for a few. Once things settle down and the new filter starts to cycle then you can slowly build up fish number like normal. Doing this it should be possible to cycle without any hazardous ammonia or nitrite levels.

If in doubt, do some water testing. If ammonia and nitrite are still low, then just carry on as you are and continue to monitor. If they are building up, then try moving some used filter media in and/or doing large water changes to control things.

Cheers

Ian

 

[repair]

The way that I would do it (and I have done it a bunch of times)

I would

#1 completely drain the tank.
#2 refill the tank ith the same temp water that came out.
#3 add the declor chem.
#4 start the filters.
#5 add the fish.
#6 add Stability (you add it for 7 days)

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Stability.html

#7 enjoy.

The reason that you drain the tank is to get rid of any amonia that is in there now. If you don't do this you won't get as good of a result as if you did.

I hope that this help.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

That beneficial bacteria in a bottle stuff is useless if it has not been refrigerated constantly during its transport and storage, it is about as helpful cycling a tank as snake oil is.

There are a variety of bacteria products on the market which claim to be able to increase the speed at which your tank cycles (note: none of them claim instant cycling, whatever LFS employees may say). Personally I can't see how they could work, since the bacteria require a source of ammonia and oxygenated water, but even if they can be held in some sort of "suspended animation", that still doesn't get around the fact that they can't instantly colonise your gravel and filter. Colonisation takes time!


If the cloudyness in the tank is a white/milky colour then it means you have a bacterial bloom on your hands.


What are the measurements of this cycling tank (length, width, height) and what is the size of the fish in it?

The first thing you need to do right now is to buy an accurate water quality test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph and test the water ASAP and post the stats here. If you cannot get a test kit today, then do a 30% with dechlorinator water change for now and get one tomorrow as soon as posible- the liquid test kits in general are a lot more accurate than the basic paper strip test ones.

What types of fish exactly did you also introduce that bullied the fish which is currently now in the cycling tank?

 

[repair]

That beneficial bacteria in a bottle stuff is useless if it has not been refrigerated constantly during its transport and storage, it is about as helpful cycling a tank as snake oil is.

There are a variety of bacteria products on the market which claim to be able to increase the speed at which your tank cycles (note: none of them claim instant cycling, whatever LFS employees may say). Personally I can't see how they could work, since the bacteria require a source of ammonia and oxygenated water, but even if they can be held in some sort of "suspended animation", that still doesn't get around the fact that they can't instantly colonise your gravel and filter. Colonisation takes time!


If the cloudyness in the tank is a white/milky colour then it means you have a bacterial bloom on your hands.


What are the measurements of this cycling tank (length, width, height) and what is the size of the fish in it?

The first thing you need to do right now is to buy an accurate water quality test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph and test the water ASAP and post the stats here. If you cannot get a test kit today, then do a 30% with dechlorinator water change for now and get one tomorrow as soon as posible- the liquid test kits in general are a lot more accurate than the basic paper strip test ones.

What types of fish exactly did you also introduce that bullied the fish which is currently now in the cycling tank?

This dosen't need to be refrigerated .... please try it before you call it snake oil.

I have set up many many tabks and I have used it with great results.... so far I have never lost a fish durring a start up.

 

[beachman22]

Bio-Spira worked for me when I was in a rush once. That stuff does need to be refrigerated.

 

[Bderick67]

This info is from Marineland's website concerning "Bio Spira".

http://www.marineland.com/products/mllabs/ml_biospira.asp

IMPORTANT:
BIO-Spira is a "live" bacteria culture that is sold refrigerated and must be kept refrigerated until used. It can not be overdosed. Repeated dosing of your aquarium with ammonia removing liquids (such as BIO-Safe, Amquel, Ammo-lock and Aqua-Safe) can inhibit the beneficial action of BIO-Spira. Ammonia removing liquids should only be used to initially treat tap water. It is normal to have a small (<2 ppm) amount of ammonia or nitrate during the first few days after set-up. These concentrations are not harmful and will quickly drop to zero with proper use of BIO-Spira.