New Tank.

[ncguppy830]

 

 


I would get fish right away or the day after if you're going to add mature filter media to your filter. The bacteria in it will need food in form of Ammonia or fish waste otherwise it will die off!

you wouldnt need to, you could just feed the tank fish food to simulate fish

 

That takes a few days to break down into ammonia. I don't understand, what exactly is the purpose of waiting to get fish if you've got mature filter media in the filter? You'd only know if the bacteria survived the transfer if you feed it, to see if it converts ammonia into Nitrite then Nitrate! Leaving it for two days won't tell you anything! 
 


still you cant add all the fish at the same time going at a slower speed with prevent spikes..

 

[BeardyWxm]

So if i put the filter in, run it for a day, and put a couple zebra danio's in the fish should be ok?

 

[ncguppy830]

well danios cant be in that tank size but yes after the filter is running with the new filter than you could add fish, not all at once to the tank.

 

[Meeresstille]

 

 


 


I would get fish right away or the day after if you're going to add mature filter media to your filter. The bacteria in it will need food in form of Ammonia or fish waste otherwise it will die off!

you wouldnt need to, you could just feed the tank fish food to simulate fish

 

That takes a few days to break down into ammonia. I don't understand, what exactly is the purpose of waiting to get fish if you've got mature filter media in the filter? You'd only know if the bacteria survived the transfer if you feed it, to see if it converts ammonia into Nitrite then Nitrate! Leaving it for two days won't tell you anything! 
 


still you cant add all the fish at the same time going at a slower speed with prevent spikes..
 


Sorry, I really did not mean to come across that way! I was genuinely curious!

 

[ncguppy830]

oh its ok its hard not getting worked up when it comes to fishkeeping.

 

[BeardyWxm]

well danios cant be in that tank size but yes after the filter is running with the new filter than you could add fish, not all at once to the tank.

Ah ok, i was just told by a friend to use danio's, didnt reliase my tank was too small for them, any community fish you can recommend? And how many fish my tank could hold?

 

[ncguppy830]

hmm well what fish are you interested in?

 

[Meeresstille]

I wasn't being feisty!  
My point was to find out the reason behind the suggestion. Since it did not make sense to me. My point was to ensure the OP did not lose the cycle in the media! I've never heard before that it is best to wait  2 days, so I was curious if there was a good reason that I should know about! Always learning!

 

[ncguppy830]

I wasn't being feisty!

My point was to find out the reason behind the suggestion. Since it did not make sense to me. My point was to ensure the OP did not lose the cycle in the media! I've never heard before that it is best to wait  2 days, so I was curious if there was a good reason that I should know about! Always learning!

i changed my post, i didnt mean to say you were feisty sorry.And as for the two days i was agreeing with the OP and saying that you could keep it alive if you wanted to with fish food.

 

[BeardyWxm]

hmm well what fish are you interested in?

i just want some active colorful fish, that wont fight with each other

 

[ncguppy830]

hmm many rasboras can go in smaller tanks and are very colorfull.

 

[BeardyWxm]

and how many fish do you think i could eventually keep in my tank, obviously adding 1 or two at a time.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

In terms of adding the mature media, you can only safely take upto 1/3 mature media from your friends tank without your friends tank experiencing a spike.
Depending on the size of your filter compared to his, you may not be able to fill your filter completely up with his media, which is needed for an instant cycle.
If you can't fill your filter up with his media then ire oils be best for you to get a bottle of pure ammonia (shake it-if it doesn't foam at the top it's safe) and add 3ppm. You will need to have a liquid rest kit that can measure ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (pH also helps). Once you see how quickly the ammonia and nitrite is being produced, we can go from there on when it will be safe to add fish

Welcome to the forum BTW

 

[BeardyWxm]

Have spoke to my mate and he is now reluctant to let me have some of his mature media, so i guess im down the fishless option of cycling unless i can find somewhere to get some mature media , iv got the ammonia, and test kit, but as a complete novice im not confident at all, would of preferred to get some mature media from my mate, ah well ill crack on and let you know how im getting on.

 

[Meeresstille]

Would he be willing to give you some tank water in which he rinsed his filters in? Especially the sponge filters need to be rinsed now and then, and that stuff would be gold for your filters right now! He would not be missing anything from his filter that could cause a problem with his cycle, it is something he needs to do as part of the maintenance anyways, and it would help you out at the same time!