Trying To Put Things Right

[Squigs]

sorry bit confused your situation.Are you doing a fish in cycle using a filter from another tank that's only been going for 3 weeks?
If so, keep testing, keep doing daily water changes.Any time Ammonia or nitrite is above 0 do a water change big enough to get it back down.
The plastic bit that is broke is a brace (did you use it as a handle?) I believe they're there to stop the tank bowing, though i stand to be corrected.If they're not needed then why would there be one?
with the bogwood falling apart, if it's only small bits coming off. i wouldn't worry (you have just poured boiling water on it).If big chunks are coming away & it's distintegrating, i personally would leave it out.

Sorry about the confusion, I should have explained better! My old tank has been running for about 5 months but I'd been following manufacturer's advice and changing cartridges every 3 weeks. I then found this forum and stopped replacing cartridges. Last cartridge was changed about 2.5 weeks ago.

My new tank has an internal filter - I'll add full details to the first post on this thread soon - but as it hasn't been running, it won't have any bacteria in it. I was thinking of moving the media from the 21L to the new filter as an extra if I can fit it in - the models are incompatible so I can't simply replace the new media with the old one, the old media would have to fit within the new filter compartment. If I can't fit it in, I was planning on moving the whole old filter (as opposed to just the media) into the new tank whilst running the new filter. I assumed that although not fully cycled whatever bacteria may be present in the old filter, it could help the new tank cycling? I hope that makes sense. I don't intend to move the old filter and run it without the new filter as the old one wouldn't be powerful enough to treat the new tank, it'd be there just as an aid until the new tank is fully cycled.

Unfortunately my test kit hasn't arrived yet so I'll just have to keep doing daily water changes.

As for the brace (thank you for naming it for me!), yes I stupidly used it as a handle. I'd thought maybe it was there to support the filter and light that go on top? the joys of a silly beginner... I guess I'll have to replace it if possible then

I'll check the bogwood again.

Thank you for all the advice

 

[stu40]

As for the brace (thank you for naming it for me!), yes I stupidly used it as a handle. I'd thought maybe it was there to support the filter and light that go on top? the joys of a silly beginner... I guess I'll have to replace it if possible then

Don't worry, you're not the first...or the last.
what are the 2 filters (names) that you mentioned?
definitely keep those water changes going till your kit arrives.You'll be ok as long as you keep on top of them.

edit:just seen your op edit.what did the original filter use sponges? you can cut these to fit in the new Aquaone

 

[Squigs]

As for the brace (thank you for naming it for me!), yes I stupidly used it as a handle. I'd thought maybe it was there to support the filter and light that go on top? the joys of a silly beginner... I guess I'll have to replace it if possible then

Don't worry, you're not the first...or the last.
what are the 2 filters (names) that you mentioned?
definitely keep those water changes going till your kit arrives.You'll be ok as long as you keep on top of them.

edit:just seen your op edit.what did the original filter use sponges? you can cut these to fit in the new Aquaone

No, the original uses cartridges, like this: http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=marina+cartridges&um=1&hl=en&biw=1920&bih=850&tbm=isch&tbnid=GUSRPr0idRhBQM:&imgrefurl=http/www.petsuppliesnow.com/categories/Fish/Filter-Media/&docid=NDq8a73dvjuKtM&w=120&h=120&ei=F8J1TtujDrO10QWz4tmXCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=852&page=1&tbnh=96&tbnw=96&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:36,s:0&tx=28&ty=48

As I have 3 layers on the new one, noodles, sponge and a pad so I was thinking of just placing the old cartridge between the layers if it fits.

 

[fluttermoth]

That cartridge looks pretty easy to rip apart; you'll get it in that way

 

[Squigs]

That cartridge looks pretty easy to rip apart; you'll get it in that way

Thanks for the suggestion Fluttermoth but I managed to fit the whole thing between the sponge and the pad! I'll check later to make sure things are still ok, if not, I'll try to rip it apart like you said

Everything has been moved from the old tank to the new one now including the fish. It was cool to watch them 'moving in' and how their personalities showed, they're congregating on one corner and have been swimming around there for a bit now. But the most adventurous goes away for a bit to explore and then comes back, another one was at the back of the tank to start with but soon joined the others in the corner. And the third one is somewhere in between the other two in terms of personality, he's just hanging around 'their corner', he might swim away but doesn't go very far and rejoins the group. So far, all looking good

 

[Squigs]

Ok, so I got my test kit yesterday and started testing last night. I was expecting to have to change the water most days but it's been two days now and there's been no need at all even though I have 3 goldies there. Is this normal? How long does it take (approx.) for stage one to end in a fish-in cycle?

(I have moved the filter, plants and gravel from the old tank but, to be honest, I didn't expect these to make too much of a difference...)

 

[Squigs]

My fish have now been in their new tank for over a week and they don't seem as active as they used to be in the smaller tank. Also, they used to be extremely greedy foodwise before and they don't seem as bothered with food as they used to be (apart from one of them) even though I feed them sparingly and only once every other day!

I don't have a thermometer but it feels that the water is fairly cold. Could this be an issue at all? I know they're cold water fish but how cold can it get before it affects them? And what is the best temperature for them?

Any opinions on this are welcome! Thanks.

 

[Tizer]

water stats?

 

[Squigs]

Water stats today - Day 10 (26/09/11) - AM - Amm 0, Nitrites <0.3, ph 8 (history is on the first post).

No nitrites whatsoever so far so I'm still on phase 1. Ammonia levels have been monitored and kept low through testing and 50%WC when needed.

 

[Squigs]

Bump! Anyone any ideas/suggestions/comments, pleeease?

 

[Squigs]

Fish seem fine now, maybe they were just getting used to their new home.

Does anyone know how long it takes to start getting nitrite spikes? I've not had any so far...

 

[philrag11]

Fish seem fine now, maybe they were just getting used to their new home.

Does anyone know how long it takes to start getting nitrite spikes? I've not had any so far...

Not an expert and sorry if I've misunderstood but thought I'd just put some ideas forward....

If you've transferred the filter media including bacteria across from your original tank setup then I would have thought that you aren't likely to get a large nitrite spike as the concentration of ammonia in the tank is less (ppm) than in the smaller tank so the bacteria should be able to cope and convert it?

How often does the ammonia go above 0ppm? Again if your ammonia levels are kept low then your nitrite levels will also be low as there isn't any ammonia to create the nitrite spike.

Also on a similar note if you haven't got a thermometer then this could impede the growth of bacteria if indeed your bacteria did die out when you transferred the media across...not sure what kind of temperature they need but I would imagine that they would still be ok at lower temperatures just maybe not multiply as rapidly.

Regards

Phil

 

[Squigs]

Fish seem fine now, maybe they were just getting used to their new home.

Does anyone know how long it takes to start getting nitrite spikes? I've not had any so far...

Not an expert and sorry if I've misunderstood but thought I'd just put some ideas forward....

If you've transferred the filter media including bacteria across from your original tank setup then I would have thought that you aren't likely to get a large nitrite spike as the concentration of ammonia in the tank is less (ppm) than in the smaller tank so the bacteria should be able to cope and convert it?

How often does the ammonia go above 0ppm? Again if your ammonia levels are kept low then your nitrite levels will also be low as there isn't any ammonia to create the nitrite spike.

Also on a similar note if you haven't got a thermometer then this could impede the growth of bacteria if indeed your bacteria did die out when you transferred the media across...not sure what kind of temperature they need but I would imagine that they would still be ok at lower temperatures just maybe not multiply as rapidly.

Regards

Phil

Thanks for the input. I'm no expert either so I appreciate your ideas!

I didn't think that the media from the old tank would be able to cope with the new tank straight away because it never really matured. I was changing the cartridge every 3/4 weeks and obviously stopped replacing it when I found out I wasn't meant to! But the cartridge transferred was only 3 weeks old, I think, so it was still cycling. Or not??? I'm confused as I'd still thought I'd get nitrite spikes but I can see your point...

As for the ammonia, that's a good question, I'd say it goes up every 3 or 4 days but, to be honest, I must be colour blind or something as sometimes I think it's yellow (0) but when I compare it to the card, I think it's somewhere between 0 and 0.25. I can't seem to make my mind up even though I use natural light and a white background!! Madness... and if I'm not sure of the result, I do a WC anyway just in case it is 0.25.

I got a thermometer a couple of days ago, temperature at the moment is fairly warm for the goldies due to the recent good weather, between 20-21C (been like that for the past couple of days).

Do you think I could potentially be further down the cycle than I think??

 

[HayzH]

Water stats today - Day 10 (26/09/11) - AM - Amm 0, Nitrites <0.3, ph 8 (history is on the first post).

No nitrites whatsoever so far so I'm still on phase 1. Ammonia levels have been monitored and kept low through testing and 50%WC when needed.

which is which?
This is why its good to keep a log.
what are ALL your stats
Amm
NitrIte
NitrAte
Ph etc
I'm no expert with Fish-in cycles sorry, does it not have the information you want to know in the beginners section?
if its your nitrItes climing then you are probably on stage 1 yes. this takes twice as long as the ammonia stage. keep up those w/c's

 

[cynic]

Don't know if this will help coming from a fellow newbie to the water tests but. When i worked in a chemical factory (thats now houses ) Whenever we checked colour we always used a control of the same type.

To that end while i'm getting used to the testing i have done 2 ammonia tests, one on tank water, the other on tap water. Granted it doesent rule out ammonia being present in the tap water but it does make the comparison easier between the two samples and if it all tallies with the card you can be certain of your numbers.