How long will a empty tank stay cycled?

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R

Rob Martin

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 30, 2009
49
0
6
Ontario, Canada
Hey all,

I've been into fish for years, but have just come upon a situation that is new to me....

I have a 135 gallon aquarium fully stocked with african cichlids. A few minutes ago, I just accepted a $100 deposit on them and the balance will be collected on Saturday when the buyer comes back to pick up the fish.

In my area, good fish are hard to come by, so a road trip will be in order to buy my new fish. Here's my problem... Due to work I can't make this drive until the weekend AFTER I've sold the fish, meaning my tank will be empty of fish for at least 7 or 8 days... How long will the beneficial bacteria in my tank and filters stay alive without fish supplying them a food source? I don't want to have to cycle this tank again since it is already well established. Will I lose all my bacteria if my tank sits fishless for a week? Should I be adding drops of ammonia to the tank everyday that it is empty to keep it cycled? If so how much should I add to a 135 gallon and how often?

Thanks to any who reply!
 
I'm not sure how much ammonia, but I would definitely recommend adding it to the tank to keep the tank cycled while the fish are out of the tank, that's the only real way to keep it cycled. I think you can calculate how many ml it would take to put 135 gallons at 4ppm of ammonia. 4ppm I would think is a good goal to reach for a fully stocked tank. Someone else may jump in and correct me though!

Just be sure you do a very large water change before you add any more new fish to the tank.

EDIT:: you wouldn't get 4ppm on your water test though, since your bacteria will already be converting it, but the first calculations would be whatever will get 135 to 4ppm.
 
I'd add about a half-teaspoon a day to keep the bacteria going. They won't so much die as shut down without ammonia. But if you add enough ammonia that it reads on a test kit, it's too much because your goal is to maintain the cycle, not defeat it by overdosing it. If anything you should see nitrates climbing.
 
eh personally i'd just buy some garbage feeders or something, put em in a 5 gal bucket of water about 90 degrees and a bunch of salt for like 15 minutes to kill any chances of ick and then toss em in the tank to keep things going, but i guess that's just me
 
I thought about getting a few feeder goldfish to keep the tank going, but worry about disease being introduced to the tank.... \

Even when I had different carnivores in the past I never fed live for that reason. I raised a shoal of 10 red breasted piranhas once on nothing but shrimp, tilapia, and nightcrawlers (so, I guess technically the worms were "live")....

If I was sure the feeders were "clean" this would be the most simple solution, but I'm too chicken to risk this route I think...
 
I would also not use feeders to cycle a tank, but to each his own.
 
Dump a market prawn into the tank.

LOL!
 
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