Panic mode

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G

guppy

Small Squiggly Thing
Apr 15, 2005
11,595
88
0
confused, lost, and lonely
Here is a bad way to cycle a tank.
It usually works.
I have been guilty of acquiring a fish (fgresh caught, impulse buy, or given to me) and not had a tank set up for it. Tank, sure, but dry.
Example, 10" SMB, in a 5g bucket containing a fresh caught fish and 2g water.
Fill tank and set up filter and heater, but put fish in a 3/4 filled holding container, 20g.
Get temp stabalized and pH as close as possible to source water.
Next day transfer fis to tank and add 1-2 tbsp filter sludge to filter.
Do daily 50% water changes for 3-5 days the cut back to 33% for another 3-5. Believe it or not the BB should be almost caught up.
Cutback to 20% daily 3-5 days but watch levels for spikes.
Go to 35% weekly
As long as you see no spikes this is now cycled, if you do see spikes go back to larger water changes for a week or so. It actually works (at least in mid size tank with mid size fish,
 
I normally run extra filters on my tanks so they are cycled and ready to go. No waiting. But then I also have spare tanks, no room for them to be set up, but I have them just in case.
 
I have took the whole cartridge from a power filter and put it in my canister but yours is a more scientific way.
 
Lucky Bass are so freakin' hardy,or you may have had more than just BB as a problem.But this does not need to be said to the man with damn near 10,000 posts!!!!!!!!!!!!! When you get 10g,will it go to zero or 10,000? I't just looks like it's gonna reset to 0 to me,not enough digit space.
 
I have also pdone it with 3, 8" pond smelt (korean), yellow perch, and a leopard ctenopsis I was given.
I have no idea what the post count will do.
The main point of the post was that if you are careful to avoid pH and temp. shock and willing to put in lots of man hours doing water changes, you can avoid ammonia/nitrite/nitrate poisoning while cycling an unprepared tank.
It is however, not something I actually recommend.
 
impluse buy huh?? o and do you know what the blue one is in the first pic? i think its a hap not a peacock, im having trouble telling them apart... any tips?? i will get better pix of the blue one and ask ya again

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i'm starting a 75 gallon peacock show tank but these guys were on sale and i couldnt help it... my show tank will have females... i never knew a show tank was just guys... but mines gonna be special haha... i dont even have the stand yet cause its on order and then once i get the stand i need to cycle it so its gonna be like a month before i get it all up and ready... so i will let these guys grow in the 30 gallon for now there are close to 50 peacocks and maybe a few that arent but i couldnt tell in the tank i know its over crowded... but they are happy no one picks on each other cause at the pet shop they were all in a 15 gallon tank so they are all buddies but i got most the supplies for the tank already a power compact 4x65 orbit light, 80lbs of reef sand, the tank, and i'm having trouble finding rocks here... other then that i'll be done with the set up in about a month and will have pix up!!
 
I am lousy at African cichlids but if you post the pics in the cichlid section I bet someone like Ash can help.
 
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