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Cycling my tank..a necessity in my case?

Markw

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I have 2 freshwater tanks already set up. A 37gal community tank and a 45gal cicklid tank. I will be making a 20gal long for my baby axies and I will be doind a water change soon. I was wondering ifI could just pull some water out of either or both of these tanks, check the water parameters, and if theyre alright, I wont have to cycle the tank? Correct me if Im wrong, but both of these tanks have been cycled and have been up and running for almost 2 years for the cichlid and about 6 years for the community. Correct me if Im wrong and thanks in advance. If I cant do this, could I fill the 20gal long tank up and swish around the filter pad from one of my established tanks to get some bacteria going and start its won cycle? I would love to just do a water change and already have a cycled tank, though. So this would be amazing. Thanks again.

Mark
 

Markw

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Nevermind, covered. But be sure to comment if you still would like to.

Mark
 

SludgeMunkey

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Your plan is solid, however the new tank and filter system will still need at least two weeks or more to cycle properly. I use methods similar to yours for setting up new tanks, but ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite testing still shows that 2-3 weeks are still needed to stabilize the nitrogen cycle.

Excellent information can be found here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml
 

Markw

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I must be missing how it would still need to cycle? But if I put it in there and the ammonia spikes, I will cycle as need be. Thanks.

Mark
 

SludgeMunkey

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The nitrifying bacteria need the time to establish themselves in the filter and the substrate. At 70F this takes about three weeks.
 

Markw

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What if I use an established filter? Would it still take as long? I have two filters on my 45gal and I could transfer one to my 20gal long if need be. It has a light flow and is made for a 15-30gal tank. There is more than adequate filtration on my 45gal and it wont miss this.

Mark
 

ianclick

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Hi Mark,

The best thing for tank cycling is patience and time.

There are many quick fixes and time savers but none are as good as abit of waiting. Everything that has been expressed will work. Three weeks for a tank to cycle is good it can take upto 10.

Good Luck
 

Markw

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Im fine with waiting for it to cycle, but I was planning on using established tank water and filter anyway to kick-start the process and introduce some good bacteria into the tank. I will put everything on the tank and keep doing tests until everything reads clear.

Mark
 

doktordoris

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Does one have to use a flilter and take part in all this cycling business?

If the tank is smallish and the Axie is also small is it not okay to just remove 70 or 80% of the water and replace it every day or two?

Or is that bad for some reason?

Thanks chaps
 

Jacquie

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Does one have to use a flilter and take part in all this cycling business?

If the tank is smallish and the Axie is also small is it not okay to just remove 70 or 80% of the water and replace it every day or two?

Or is that bad for some reason?

Thanks chaps

No, it isn't bad. It can be just very inconvenient.

Having an un-cycled tank tends to tie the keeper down, as the water must be changed out every day, or every two days (depending upon the size of the tank and how many animals are present). If a water change is skipped or forgotten (the keeper is on holidays, the house sitter forgets), this could prove disasterous to the animals living in this water.

A cycled aquarium has many advantages, one of which is partial water changes need only be conducted once a week (or fortnight depending), using much less water.

A filter aids the cycling process by providing a large surface areas (the sponges, clay balls) for the beneficial bacteria to colonise.

For further information on the benefits of filters (mechanical, chemical and biological filtration), I recommend this article.

The 'Caudata Culture' section of the forum has many helpful articles, well worth a look through.
 

doktordoris

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Thanks for your reply mate.

That's what I wanted to know, apart from the hassle there is no problem.

It's only a temporary measure 'till I get my monster tank sorted. And spending 30 mins or so every day on a living thing is no problem to me. With my 2 budgies, 2 parrotlets, 1 hahns macaw, 1 chihuahua, 1 tank full of angel fish, one tank full of guppies, one mixed tropical tank, oh yes and one pigeon I rescued from a cat a month ago who seems to have forgotten how to fly and is now content to live in the run I built for him and eat his head off I have a lot of patience for living things! Oh did I mention my pond ful of koi and the wildlife pond I built at my grandparents to house the 150 frogs that I took from the koi pond as spawn and then cared for them until the were big enough to live in a wildlife pond that I dug just for them! (it's the tadpoles that made me love amphibians and get the axie)

In case you hadn't guessed I love animals! (in fact my refusal to get a dog put down led to my divorce, but that is another story)
 
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