Biowheel Question?

[Bettarat0r]

I'm going to do fishless cycling. Does the bio-wheel contain the bacteria or how does the bacteria get there if it doesn't?

I'm going to go buy ammonia from wal-mart later. I'm thinking of getting stress zyme... or this other stuff that comes in a red or was it yellow [there were two, one for fresh water and one for salt water] little plastic cylinder that says it has bacteria?

I have an acrylic tank... so I'm afraid of it getting messed up by the ammonia? Will it?

 

[dizzied]

Bio-wheel doesn't contain anything, it's just a place for the bacteria to gather and grow.

 

[k.o.d]

The bacteria is all around, there will be small amounts everywhere, what happens is the food is the limiting factor, so when you give the bacteria ideal living conditions and an excess off food they will do what comes naturally and breed.
So when they split the process is initially slow but rapidly speeds up as the division progresses.
The bacteria live in the sponges, they also colonise the gravel/sand the bogwood and the sides of the tank, but inside the biowheel they have access to a constant supply of oxygenated water that brings them the fuel they need to live and grow that is what filters are designed for

 

[Bettarat0r]

Ahh, I see!

I'm starting off fresh.

My Betta was in this tank and it had ich... so I'm going to like sterilize the acrylic tank with some very hot water later and scrub it real well (will it work or or is it even needed? Will a good scrub down get rid of any of thise guys or what?). What else should I do with the tank to clean it thoroughly?

So any bacteria in the tank will be dead for sure. Does the bacteria just magically appear ?

How much ammonia would you say starts bringing up the ppm of ammonia? Like a couple drops with an eyedropper or like a cap full etc.

 

[k.o.d]

How long has the tank been empty?
is there still grafvel etc in it, is there any residual tank water

The bacteria in the filter die off quickly when their food source and oxygen stop getting to them.

Bacteria cannot magically appear, but the amount in the water will be small, but given the right conditions they double the colony number in 12 hours, so thats how they grow.

How much ammonia is dependent on the volume of your tank, the best way to add ammonia is to use a test kit to ensure accurate dosing

 

[Bettarat0r]

The tank isn't empty right now. It has my sick Betta [has ich] in it; but I'm getting a 2.5 gallon tank later to house my betta while I get this 5 gallon tank underway.

It's acrylic... how can I sterilize it without ruining the acrylic?

 

[xoedusk]

The tank isn't empty right now. It has my sick Betta [has ich] in it; but I'm getting a 2.5 gallon tank later to house my betta while I get this 5 gallon tank underway.

It's acrylic... how can I sterilize it without ruining the acrylic?

I would say empty it and use hot hot water from the tap. Scrub it gently with a non-abrasive sponge, as acrylic scratches easily. You might be able to use very-diluted chlorine-water (Bleach), but not sure if this would affect the tank walls.

After all that, let it dry completely. This way if there are any nasty bacteria/viruses that live in water, they'll shrivel up and die.