Fish In Cycle

[HM Dragon Devil]

Todays results:

Recap. It is now day 28 since starting my fish-in cycle with TSS and there's been no nitrite whatsoever, scientifically it makes no sense.

No3 is the end product of nitrification, bacteria converts the ammo > no2 > no3, so without nitrItes there
should be no nitrAtes (other than what is from the tap).

I'm still changing 20l of water every 2-3 days to avoid ammonia & nitrate overload. After using TSS I honestly believe "instant cycling" products can cause some very odd occurrences which are beyond rational understanding.

The cycle continues.

Dean.

 

[OldMan47]

I am afraid that TTA is completely correct. I have yet to find a situation where adding anything to drop pH is a good idea. Anything that you add to drop pH is most likely an acid of one type or another. Since all fish that we associate with a low pH are really fish that prefer a low mineral content in their water, adding an acid does exactly the opposite and raises the total mineral content of your water. The acids sold to reduce pH are really designed to combine with the bases in your water and thus promote something closer to a neutral pH. Instead I find it far better to dilute the minerals in my water by using RO water. Even when I do it that way the fish respond better. My pH does not change much but the fish always look better after the water change.

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

I am afraid that TTA is completely correct. I have yet to find a situation where adding anything to drop pH is a good idea. Anything that you add to drop pH is most likely an acid of one type or another. Since all fish that we associate with a low pH are really fish that prefer a low mineral content in their water, adding an acid does exactly the opposite and raises the total mineral content of your water. The acids sold to reduce pH are really designed to combine with the bases in your water and thus promote something closer to a neutral pH. Instead I find it far better to dilute the minerals in my water by using RO water. Even when I do it that way the fish respond better. My pH does not change much but the fish always look better after the water change.

Hey, OldMan47. Yeah it was very irresponsible of me, i should have done more research first, needless to say i will not be adding anymore additives.

Anyway on with the post. Aqua Tom sent me some mature filter media, 1 pot of ceramic and 1 pot of filter floss. He posted it Saturday, but i only just received it today (thanks Royal Mail, NOT!), so anyways it's been in transit for pretty much 4 days, but it's still wet. What's the chances of survival for the autotrophs and heterotrophic bacterias?

And.. what's the worse case scenario if i were to add some of the media if it was dead, maybe i should just expose of it, what do you think guys?

Todays results:

Cheers, Dean.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

The risk is that the heterotrophic bacteria start to produce sulphur compounds if the oxygen level dropped enough and they will kill both fish and bacteria.

At the very least give the media a good rinse before you use it, if you decide to chance it. If it smells even slightly sulphury I would ditch it.

 

[OldMan47]

Chances are good that the needed bacteria have survived as long as there was some air in the shipping bags. Put that stuff right into your filter, preferably in the early part of the flow path and cross your fingers. If all goes as it should, you may well find your filter cycled in a week or less.

 

[Tolak]

I've shipped media numerous times, as OM47 stated, a few days in transit is no big deal.

 

[tmiller]

I've shipped media numerous times, as OM47 stated, a few days in transit is no big deal.

I can confirm that, I received a sponge in the mail on the 16th, it had been in transit for 2 days.
Put it into a brand new filter on a tank I had picked up cheep from craigslist.
As of today I am seeing 0 Ammonia and only trace amounts of Nitrite After dosing around 1.5-2ppm ammonia 11hrs ago.
Nitrates are off the chart since I haven't changed any water in quite some time..
The bacteria really is quite resilient it would seem.

For comparison I started another filter (without any of the donated media) at the exact same time on another tank (yeah I'm out of hand already)
I got Ammonia results in around 4 days But have yet to see Nitrites drop at all yet..

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

I've shipped media numerous times, as OM47 stated, a few days in transit is no big deal.

I can confirm that, I received a sponge in the mail on the 16th, it had been in transit for 2 days.
Put it into a brand new filter on a tank I had picked up cheep from craigslist.
As of today I am seeing 0 Ammonia and only trace amounts of Nitrite After dosing around 1.5-2ppm ammonia 11hrs ago.
Nitrates are off the chart since I haven't changed any water in quite some time..
The bacteria really is quite resilient it would seem.

For comparison I started another filter (without any of the donated media) at the exact same time on another tank (yeah I'm out of hand already)
I got Ammonia results in around 4 days But have yet to see Nitrites drop at all yet..

Hi, tmiller. I'm impressed and envious!

Well anyhow I really appreciate Aqua Toms efforts, but after reading Prime Ordeal's comments (which were a bit concerning for a newbie like myself) i decided not to take any chances and not use. The packaging was damaged and partly open, some of the top media was dried out due to water leakage from the pots. The ceramic rings had no smell at all, and the floss smelled so bad i'm still having phantom smells even though there's no longer any physical stimulus haha!

I am very dissapointed, if i knew Royal Mail was going to fudge it up i would have been willing to pay for overnight delivery.

No tests results today as i changed 20l of water. Thanks for your advice guys.
Dean.

 

[Aqua Tom]

I would just like to add that I have posted media numerous times with very good results & no ill effects. This is the first time I have had problems with delivery, usualy the Royal Mail is very good. Maybe the postie was having a bad day.

Dean, good luck with your tank whatever direction you choose to go in.

Tom

 

[Prime Ordeal]

I've shipped media numerous times, as OM47 stated, a few days in transit is no big deal.

It's no big deal if there's sufficient oxygen for the trip, it's very much a big deal if there isn't for reasons I've already stated.

It's the same reason why if you have a faulty filter and can't replace it rapidly you should always remove the filter media into the main tank or a bucket etc., where it can get sufficient oxygen.

The ceramic rings had no smell at all, and the floss smelled so bad i'm still having phantom smells even though there's no longer any physical stimulus haha!

Intensely bad smelling floss is never a good sign and I think you did the right thing. The ceramic rings should be ok though, did you use those?

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

I've shipped media numerous times, as OM47 stated, a few days in transit is no big deal.

It's no big deal if there's sufficient oxygen for the trip, it's very much a big deal if there isn't for reasons I've already stated.

It's the same reason why if you have a faulty filter and can't replace it rapidly you should always remove the filter media into the main tank or a bucket etc., where it can get sufficient oxygen.

The ceramic rings had no smell at all, and the floss smelled so bad i'm still having phantom smells even though there's no longer any physical stimulus haha!

Intensely bad smelling floss is never a good sign and I think you did the right thing. The ceramic rings should be ok though, did you use those?

Prime Ordeal no i didn't use them

Todays tests:

Dean.

 

[Tolak]

I've shipped media numerous times, as OM47 stated, a few days in transit is no big deal.

It's no big deal if there's sufficient oxygen for the trip, it's very much a big deal if there isn't for reasons I've already stated.

It's the same reason why if you have a faulty filter and can't replace it rapidly you should always remove the filter media into the main tank or a bucket etc., where it can get sufficient oxygen.

The ceramic rings had no smell at all, and the floss smelled so bad i'm still having phantom smells even though there's no longer any physical stimulus haha!

Intensely bad smelling floss is never a good sign and I think you did the right thing. The ceramic rings should be ok though, did you use those?

Sorry, never experienced that. I've run various filters to the point of freezing up, eating impellers & so on, to test their capabilities or lack thereof. Numerous times filters have sat, impellers frozen, testing the motor. I'm talking a few weeks or more, pull them apart to determine the weak link, clean, repair or replace components as needed, and continue. Not once have I experienced an issue caused by sulphur compounds.

I have a hot magnum, set up in the usual fishroom manner loaded with floss, for water polishing on tanks when needed. It might sit for a few days, or a few weeks between uses, the floss gets rinsed or replaced when the flow diminishes. If sulphur compounds were an issue I would have seen this years ago. As stated, no big deal.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

If sulphur compounds were an issue I would have seen this years ago. As stated, no big deal.

More accurately...no big deal for you personally.

I can tell you from personal experience and from many posts on forums like this that filters left to sit without oxygen can and do "go off", producing lethal sulphur compounds which then get shot into the tank at start up killing fish.

That you haven't had those problems is lucky for you but don't claim it is no big deal when in fact it is.

 

[Tizer]

never known of that to happen, doesn't sound like anything i'd ever worry about. no big deal.

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

Todays tests:

Temp 26.5
pH 8.2
Ammo traces above 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 30-40 ppm

I changed 20l of water after completing tests.

Hey, N0body Of The Goat take a look at the ammonia comparison pic, see the difference?

Dean.