Hmm.. Did I miss the bacterial bloom in my cycle?

[genEus]

Wow that title could sound very strange to someone not in this forum...

Anyways. I'm just starting up my 20 gal tank in my cubicle at work. I put in pool filter sand, set up the filter and heater, treated the water and got a used filter cartridge from a friend's established tank and stuck it into my filter to start the nitrogen cycle.

This was on Friday. Then I left for the 3 day weekend and came back yesterday. The water was crystal clear and I expected it to be cloudy from a bacterial bloom. Did it not happen or did I just miss it in the 3 days that I was absent? I am going to go to get an ammonia test kit tonight so that I can test the water tomorrow. But, how long do you think the tank will take to cycle, and do you think I may have missed the cloudiness (if there was any?)

Thanks!

 

[andyjs]

Are there any fish in there or has any other ammonia source been added? If not, you're just starving the bacteria and the tank will not really be cycling at all. If you're adding an already colonized filter cartridge, at that point it would probably be ok to add a couple hardy fish as there shouldn't be that extreme of a cycle introducing that much bacteria at the start. That's generally the method I use for setting up a new tank-add a lot of colonized filter media and then add a few fish right away. If enough bacteria are added, there is little to no real cycle

 

[genEus]

No, no other fish and no ammonia had been added. I figured just having a colonized filter would have been enough. I'm not really in a hurry to add fish. I'd rather just add the fish I want off the bat knowing that I have a stabilized tank...

 

[jcardona1]

you didnt do anything. because you didnt add any fish, your bacteria is probably dead and nothing happened. i dont know how long bacteria can survive without a food source (ammonia), but they will start to die off without it. add a FEW fish in there asap

 

[TwistedPenguin]

If you used cycled filter media the tank should be cycled. CHeck with a test kit to be sure but that's how I set up quarrantine tanks and add the fish to be quarrantined right away and I've never had an ammonia or nitrite spike. You should be good to go and can start slowly adding fish. (But test to make sure).
Edit: I posted and then saw the other remarks. But I've had tanks stayed cycled easily for a week or more without fish in them. I always advise people to add a source of ammonia if there's no fish in there anyway though.

 

[genEus]

Can I just do a fishless cycle? I got some ammonia at home. I'll get my test kit today and put 5ppm of ammonia in tomorrow morning. Maybe that'll get things going

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I think you missed the point If you used filter material from an already cycled tank then you ARE cycled already. Get a test kit, if it shows '0' for ammonia and nitrite and you get a reading for nitrAtes-then it's cycled and you can start slowing adding fish. If you're not ready to add fish, then yes-use a tiny bit of ammonia (or fish food) to KEEP it cycled until you're ready to add fish.

 

[genEus]

No, I guess I understand... I did use a cycled filter but has the bacteria now transgressed onto MY filter? I have an aqueon filter and I got a whisper filter cartridge (I just stuck the old one behind mine)... and I promised to return the used filter to the guy since he said he still wanted to get some use out of it.

 

[jcardona1]

I think you missed the point If you used filter material from an already cycled tank then you ARE cycled already. Get a test kit, if it shows '0' for ammonia and nitrite and you get a reading for nitrAtes-then it's cycled and you can start slowing adding fish. If you're not ready to add fish, then yes-use a tiny bit of ammonia (or fish food) to KEEP it cycled until you're ready to add fish.

not quite. if he just added established filter media and didnt add any fish, there should be ZERO ammonia/nitrite readings regardless since there was no source of ammonia to begin with. Granted if he added fish right away it should also show ZERO ammonia.

Here's what you should do: Get some pure ammonia and add it to the tank to bring the ammonia levels up to about 4ppm. Wait about 24hrs and re-test the water. If your ammonia read ZERO, then you tank is 'cycled' and the bacteria is still ok in your filter. Then add a few fish.

If you have a slight ammonia reading, then the bacteria in your filter died off and its not fully cycled. You can proceed by doing a fishless cycle or throwing in some tough fish (like goldfish) to cycle the tank...

 

[andyjs]

Yep, I agree, test it out by adding ammonia up to about 3-5 ppm and see if it is converted to nitrite and then nitrate in 24 hours or less. If so, you should be good to add at least half of the fish you plan on adding, if not you can do a fishless cycle.