Second Stage Cycle Started Today Help

[lana]

Brilliant, i'm really pleased for you, be even happier when it's done and you've gone some fishies in there and happy though

you and me both , i have been looking at angels there is one lfs that has some but they look bad to me so i will be driving to montreal to get them when tank is ready

it is 2 hour drive and lfs told me yesterday that they would be fine til i got home so long as i came right home with them

any one know if this is true "will fish be ok in bags for 2.5 hours?"

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well when they get shipped over from the far east they often spend 2/3 days bagged up..... so yeah i reckon 2.5 hrs is fine

best tip is to keep them at the right temp, either by a cool box or wrapping them up in blankets or similar. pack them in tightly so the bag isn't sliding all over the place while you drive and keep them in the dark as this reduces stress for the journey.

 

[lana]

well when they get shipped over from the far east they often spend 2/3 days bagged up..... so yeah i reckon 2.5 hrs is fine

best tip is to keep them at the right temp, either by a cool box or wrapping them up in blankets or similar. pack them in tightly so the bag isn't sliding all over the place while you drive and keep them in the dark as this reduces stress for the journey.

yup heard that got a cooler that sits behind mt seat with heating pad ready to go to keep em warm and happy

 

[rabbut]

The best tip is the inform the LFS at the time of sale about the journey time. Normal bagging with air in a tall bag is fine for about 3-4 hours. If you are going longer than that, you need to pack with oxygen. This is how some fish survive transit as long as MW states. Normal air will not allow that kind of survival time

Polly box them, but I would not try to temperature regulate... Heat packs and in-car heating can overheat the livestock, so they are best left "too cold" this time of year during a long journey. When you get home, take about 10mins over actually un-packing them. Suddenly introducing them to light will potentialy photo-shock them and possibly give them temerary blindness

When you get home, dim the lighting in the room. Switch off the tank lights. Open the box, and leave the lid ajar, such that it is not all the way off. Leave them thus for 5mins before fully removing the lid. Again, leave 5 mins and then lift SLOWLY from the box. Now float them With this length of time, pH will have dipped slightly due to the presance of CO2, and ammonia in the bag will be raised. The low pH will keep the ammonia as mainly ammonium, so do not airate the bag, or you will make the water more toxic, just float them in the SEALED bag for 20mins You are traveling a fair didtance, so water conditions will be different. As a result, you either need to add a cup of water every 10 mins untill the bag is full, or drip aclimate with an airline and bucket to avoid any sudden changes to the water conditions, that could shock the fish or even kill them

All the best
Rabbut

 

[lana]

5 30 pm readings 11 hours after adding ammonia to 4 ppm

ammonia 0
nitrites 0 to 0.25
nitrates 40 to 80
ph 7.4
kh 3 drops
tamp 30C

 

[waterdrop]

5 30 pm readings 11 hours after adding ammonia to 4 ppm

ammonia 0
nitrites 0 to 0.25
nitrates 40 to 80
ph 7.4
kh 3 drops
tamp 30C

shows you the nitrites are just barely finishing up at the 12 hour mark I guess

nice detailed transit guide from rabbut there, wouldn't want to get in his way when he's bringing home fish!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[rabbut]

5 30 pm readings 11 hours after adding ammonia to 4 ppm

ammonia 0
nitrites 0 to 0.25
nitrates 40 to 80
ph 7.4
kh 3 drops
tamp 30C

shows you the nitrites are just barely finishing up at the 12 hour mark I guess

nice detailed transit guide from rabbut there, wouldn't want to get in his way when he's bringing home fish!

~~waterdrop~~

It's worse for customers at work... The only time I've ever had a complaint about customer service is when I was unpacking an 8 box fish delivery that had arried late (1 hour before closing, instead of the usual 5), on a day when I was running the fish room alone, while the shop was packed with customers Typical realy... Family usualy appreciate whats going on, and try to help in many cases, which is greatly appreciated if I ever mail order anything... My folks kept fish themselves when my age, and were the ones that got me into the hobby

All the best
Rabbut

 

[lana]

ok yesterday i only tested tank in morning and only for nitrites they were 0, was busy busy with office x-mas party


this morning same nitrites 0

will test at 10 hour mark and 12 hour mark and see where it is today

 

[waterdrop]

Hang in there Lana!

 

[lana]

day 31 fishless day 69 all together

6:30 am readings 24 hours after 12ml ammonia added to 3ppm to 4 ppm

ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 40+
ph 7.4
kh 3 drops
temp 30C

also been testing nitrites only and ph at 6 30 pm

i am still sitting at almost 0 for nitrites in 12 hours

 

[rabbut]

Ah, the infamous nitrite "hang". It will go in 12 hours completely soon, don't worry

 

[waterdrop]

aaah, there you are Lana, I was just reading another thread and thinking where the heck is she, but I was just missing seeing your thread up there...

I had a horrible "final hang" where nitrite would process in ALMOST 12 hours but not quite. It drove me crazy. Its infamous, as rabbut says!

I even have a little unsubstantiated theory.... that the larger the media volume, the nastier the "final hang".... and I assume you have a pretty big media volume, still having those 3 filters on your tank, right? I just have this weird feeling that -big- overall filtration somehow is a little slower to cycle, but once it finally crosses over it is more robust in the long run and is less likely to mini-cycle on you.

(well, of course, it does make quantitative sense that more media volume will support the filtration of a larger amount of waste, but there's nothing theoretical that I can think of that would say it should have a slower "final hang" during cycling...)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lana]

thanks for missing me WD

as for tonights readings

6 30 pm 12 hours after add ammonia to 4 ppm

ammonia 0
nirtites 0.50 to 1 maybe less
nitrates 40 +
ph 7.4
kh 3 drops
temp 30 C

 

[waterdrop]

I think a nice psychological thing to do when waiting out the "final hang" of nitrite is to think how nice it is that ammonia keeps dropping to zero (giving you that nice clear yellow on the API test) showing you that one of your colonies got nice and large and strong. The N-Bac population is slower but it too will get nice and large and eventually it will begin dropping to zero in 12 hours (nice clear blue API result) and it will "never look back."

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lana]

I think a nice psychological thing to do when waiting out the "final hang" of nitrite is to think how nice it is that ammonia keeps dropping to zero (giving you that nice clear yellow on the API test) showing you that one of your colonies got nice and large and strong. The N-Bac population is slower but it too will get nice and large and eventually it will begin dropping to zero in 12 hours (nice clear blue API result) and it will "never look back."

~~waterdrop~~

from you lips to my tank water ....lol