Nitrogen Cycle

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Bigtdotcom

Bigtdotcom

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2009
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Gold Coast
So I picked up a tank on the weekend, came with every thing...2 filters, stand, heater light and some fake plants. Tank was empty when i picked it up but one of the filters was an internal filter and the guy had it running on his current tank, he removed it from the tank while i was there and i put it in a bucket of tank water for the drive home. Once home I turned the filter on in the bucket and added a few pellets to produce some ammonia to keep the bacterica alive while i sort out the tank. Later that night i tested the water in the bucket and ammonia was 0.5. no nitrates or nitrites. Was expecting nitrate as it was tank water from his tank.

Day 2- In the morning i tested the water again and ammonia was still the same. later that night i came across a pouch of filter media i didnt see the previous day, to me it looked like used purigen, it was still a little wet. I messaged the seller to confirm what it was, he said he was unsure but it came from his canister filter and he thought i might be able to use it. I threw it in the bucket with the filte hoping there might still be some BB alive.

Day 3- checked the water parameter first thing in the morning. Ammonia had risen to 4. nitrite 0.25 Nitrate 5.0. seeing the nitrate and nitrite made me think i had enough bacteria to keep the cycle going. Now this is when i start to get confused. Check water that afternoon and nitrite had dropped back to zero. ammo and nitrate were the same.
Day 4- (today)this morning still the same ammonia 4, nitrate 0, nitrate 10-20. I changed some of the water and got the ammonia down to 2 as i read somewhere that if its to high it can mess up the cycle.

Can anyone shed some light on whats happening? I thought the internal filter coming from another tank should have been contained bacteria to deal with ammonia and nitrate. Does this mean the sellers tank was not cycled? it was lightly stocked.
Could the "purigen" have something to do with this? an it leacj toxcin back in to the water?
Why did the nitrate show up then disappear so quick?
Thoughts anyone?
 
Bigtdotcom said:
So I picked up a tank on the weekend, came with every thing...2 filters, stand, heater light and some fake plants. Tank was empty when i picked it up but one of the filters was an internal filter and the guy had it running on his current tank, he removed it from the tank while i was there and i put it in a bucket of tank water for the drive home. Once home I turned the filter on in the bucket and added a few pellets to produce some ammonia to keep the bacterica alive while i sort out the tank. Later that night i tested the water in the bucket and ammonia was 0.5. no nitrates or nitrites. Was expecting nitrate as it was tank water from his tank.

Day 2- In the morning i tested the water again and ammonia was still the same. later that night i came across a pouch of filter media i didnt see the previous day, to me it looked like used purigen, it was still a little wet. I messaged the seller to confirm what it was, he said he was unsure but it came from his canister filter and he thought i might be able to use it. I threw it in the bucket with the filte hoping there might still be some BB alive.

Day 3- checked the water parameter first thing in the morning. Ammonia had risen to 4. nitrite 0.25 Nitrate 5.0. seeing the nitrate and nitrite made me think i had enough bacteria to keep the cycle going. Now this is when i start to get confused. Check water that afternoon and nitrite had dropped back to zero. ammo and nitrate were the same.
Day 4- (today)this morning still the same ammonia 4, nitrate 0, nitrate 10-20. I changed some of the water and got the ammonia down to 2 as i read somewhere that if its to high it can mess up the cycle.

Can anyone shed some light on whats happening? I thought the internal filter coming from another tank should have been contained bacteria to deal with ammonia and nitrate. Does this mean the sellers tank was not cycled? it was lightly stocked.
Could the "purigen" have something to do with this? an it leacj toxcin back in to the water?
Why did the nitrate show up then disappear so quick?
Thoughts anyone?
Click to expand...
You most likely created more ammonia with those pellets than the colony of bacteria in that filter could handle initially. The nitrite is disappearing because the rotting food is creating more ammonia than that bacteria can handle, so the bacteria converting the nitrite to nitrate is eating through their supply of food faster than its being created.

Fill the tank, get it set up, put that filter on there so the bacteria have some area to populate, not just in a tiny internal filter.

My advice is buy tetra safestart or seachem stability....cut out the middleman of a tedious cycling process and just get some fish, dump them and whichever product you buy in, and monitor.

Also have some seachem prime or safe on hand if you get an ammonia or NITRITE spike.
 
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Cheers, that what i was hoping to hear. Was just worried that if there nitrate was a sign of something else??? not sure what but at least i know there is bacteria present. Im sure when the filter is in the tank apposed to a bucket every thing will be fine. Going to try get some more cycled media from a friend before i add fish
 
Bigtdotcom said:
Cheers, that what i was hoping to hear. Was just worried that if there nitrate was a sign of something else??? not sure what but at least i know there is bacteria present. Im sure when the filter is in the tank apposed to a bucket every thing will be fine. Going to try get some more cycled media from a friend before i add fish
Click to expand...
nitrates a good sign, it means the cycle is working. NITRITE on the other hand means half the cycle is working and isn't complete yet.
 
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How big is the tank?
Let me try and understand: the filter is running on a bucket only? Is the water from the old tank or is it fresh?
 
the is 40 gal. Yes the filter was running in a bucket with tank water toped up with dechlorinated tap water. Pellets were added to produce ammonia to feed bacteria while the tank was set up and fish were added. Added 2 juvenile cichilds about 5 days ago. ammonia and nitrite are both 0, nitrate is about 5. Keeping a close eye on water parameters to ensure everything is in check
 
The ammonia and nitrite levels are very high. You have a few options: chemical-add Prime to make ammonia levels safe for fish you have in there, biological--add more seeded filter material or bio bacteria, physical--water changes! 50% changes twice daily. Or....do nothing and let it cycle naturally. Either route you go, the tank will eventually cycle, you may lose some fish in the process unfortunately. Good luck!
 
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