Mini cycle or full cycle?

[batang_mcdo]

Just finished setting up my new 5x2x2 tank.

, now the problem is when i tested the water, i was able to detect a 1 ppm Ammonia, 0 nitrite. the water was cloudy.

what happened before was ,

Yesterday I transferred my arowana into the tank.
what i did was, when i got the tank about 3 - 4 days ago, I filled it up with water and also let the canister run empty for 3 days. then yestderday,
I emptied the new tank's water, I transferred 1/4 water from my old arowanas tank into the new tank. I also transferred the old media from my arowanas old filter into the canister, but besides that i also got some old filter media from another canister which i left inside the canister but it was turned off for a month already, so it smelled of rotten egg, what i did was i rinsed the media in tap water a few times and added it into my canister together with the cycled media. btw Also before the transfer of the media into the canister , We had a p[ower outage of 1 hour, not sure if this killed some bacteria in the established filter

Just wondeirng if this is a mini cycle, or will this be a full cycle?
I'll do another test tomorrow.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

most likely a mini-cycle. Get Prime

 

[batang_mcdo]

most likely a mini-cycle. Get Prime

thanks I've dosed with ammolock, prime is not available here
I'll have toget another bottle tomorrow as I've run out of ammolock as well.

 

[shellies215]

Does ammolock do anything about nitrite?

 

[batang_mcdo]

Does ammolock do anything about nitrite?

it only works on ammonia, for nitrite, I've added salt to my tank. really wish prime was available here

 

[J.Lake]

Yeah prime is godly

 

[batang_mcdo]

tested water last night and the ammonia was at .25 , I fed my aro and this morning the ammonia was back to 1 ppm
I added Ammolock last night, will have to make a water change later.

 

[maysick1]

nice tank!!

 

[KaiserSousay]

I filled it up with water and also let the canister run empty for 3 days.

Fine way to check for leaks and general operation, but did nothing to cycle the tank.

I transferred 1/4 water from my old arowanas tank into the new tank. I also transferred the old media from my arowanas old filter into the canister

Moving the water was a bit of bother for not much gain.
Using the old media is almost always a good idea.

i also got some old filter media from another canister which i left inside the canister but it was turned off for a month already, so it smelled of rotten egg, what i did was i rinsed the media in tap water a few times and added it into my canister together with the cycled media.

I wouldn`t have done that. At least, not without a good soaking in a bleach bath to kill off any baddies lying dormant in that stuff.
But, Oh Well..it`s already done.

able to detect a 1 ppm Ammonia, 0 nitrite. the water was cloudy.

Classic sign of a bacterial growth.
Even with the used media you have a good chance of seeing this when doing a new tank.
0 ammonia would be cool, but at appx. 1ppm you aren`t in that bad a shape.
You can WC your way through this.

I've dosed with ammolock

"Works instantly, in both fresh and saltwater, to detoxify ammonia and remove chlorine and chloramines
Locks up ammonia in a non-toxic form until it can be broken down by the tank's natural biological filter
Eliminates fish stress and promotes healthy gill function"

I wouldn`t use that, but you have to use what you can get.
If you can`t get Prime, this stuff say`s it will do everythhing Prime does.
I would test my tap water to see if I need to add anything at all.

tested water last night and the ammonia was at .25 , I fed my aro and this morning the ammonia was back to 1 ppm
I added Ammolock last night, will have to make a water change later.

Sounds like your moving in the right direction.
You have bacterial activity that will only improve with time.
That sponge filter will start to show some positive results pretty quickly.
Might cut back on feeding a bit untill your BB catch up to the load.
Good Luck...


BTW: Nice tank

 

[Natalie]

That old media from the canister that was turned off for a month is likely the source of the ammonia. Bacteria die within 24 hours if they don't have an ammonia source to feed on, so they died and then decomposed, along with all of the waste and organic material stuck in that filter. I'm not surprised you've got an ammonia spike now, but... the ammonia blocker will help.