Problems cycling QT

[CodeBlueMedic]

Hey Everyone,

DT is doing great..CUC has been added and aside from some green hair algae looking stuff growing on two of the rocks and some substrate, it seems to be doing really well.

I would like to start quarantining my first fish, but I cant seem to get the QT to cycle! It's bare bottom with nothing but saltwater (1.025). HOB Filter with biowheel running. I've had a shrimp in there for approximately 2 weeks and my ammonia is holding steady at 2ppm. I even went to the LFS 48 hours ago and purchased some top fin nitrifying bacteria to help move things along. Still no signs of trite or trate and the ammonia is still at 2 ppm.

So, have I just not given it enough time or what? Should I just do a water change, forget trying to cycle it and go ahead and quarantine my first fish and just keep tabs on the ammonia levels?

 

[JMorris271]

I would go with Prime for the QT until I could get a cycle established.in your filter from another source like your DT.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Cycling for QT is extremely easy.

I often do it in a 5-gal bucket half-filled and with medium filling the bottom two inches and a powerhead circulating the water.

A HOT power box works well as well.

Just be sure to have enough medium, bacterial seed, and food for the bacteria.

Other things obvious are proper circulation, aeration, warmth, and absence of drug or poison.

 

[wooden_reefer]

The advantages of having enough well-cycled medium for QT are obvious.

It will likely allow long duration of thorough QT with little effort on the aquarist.

 

[wooden_reefer]

As far as QT of fish is concerned, the idea of cycling the medium for a QT setup is better than that of "cycling the QT".

"Cycling the QT" makes matters more complicated than it is.

It is best to not integrate the concepts of cycling a reef DT and that of cycling medium for QT.

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

Well, I'm wanting to run my QT all the time, so I actually have a 10 gallon aquarium setup with LED, HOB filter, heater, etc...So, you are suggesting to buy some kind of medium and put it across the bottom like I would substrate? If so, what medium are you recommending specifically?

 

[Pigpen17]

What are you running in your filter? I have an Aquaclear, but I stuffed a media bag with Fluval bio rings and used a small bottle of bio spira. Worked great. Had no issues during QT.

I had a sponge right before the rings though to catch food before the media bag. Not sure that's possible with your filter.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Well, I'm wanting to run my QT all the time, so I actually have a 10 gallon aquarium setup with LED, HOB filter, heater, etc...So, you are suggesting to buy some kind of medium and put it across the bottom like I would substrate? If so, what medium are you recommending specifically?

It is better that the filter medium in a QT can be removed easily. If a drug that harms nitrification bacteria will have to be reluctantly used, the cycled medium can be removed first.

The bottom of the QT tank should be obaque in color. I seldom put cycled medium as substrate in a QT tank.

LR is not a good medium for QT because of its bulk and cost (denitrification/nitrate is not a concern in QT)

If you want to avoid calcerous material in QT, you can use sponges as the medium.

I use a nylon panty hose, very well stretched to the max, to bag the medium, which often is crushed coral, either before or after cycling. Fold the panty hose to form two or three layers, stretched out.

A HOT power box with bagged medium is often good.

I have also attached a short pipe capped at one end with holes drilled, the other end attached to a powerhead, and then put the bagged medium on top of the pipe. Many simple DIY ideas to save money.

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

What are you running in your filter? I have an Aquaclear, but I stuffed a media bag with Fluval bio rings and used a small bottle of bio spira. Worked great. Had no issues during QT.

I had a sponge right before the rings though to catch food before the media bag. Not sure that's possible with your filter.

hmm that is probably something I should have done...It's a penguin 100 with the stock blue floss/carbon filter. I could easily put a media bag in there also (there is room)....Sounds like a plan!

 

[wooden_reefer]

I suggest not getting the mini type HOT box filter intended for freshwater 10 gal tanks.

Get at least the next size up, intended for 20-30 gal freshwater setup.

 

[Pigpen17]

I suggest not getting the mini type HOT box filter intended for freshwater 10 gal tanks.

Get at least the next size up, intended for 20-30 gal freshwater setup.

Yeah. I bought the Aquaclear 30 (10-30g). I wish I had gone bigger. Maybe one size bigger. It's just enough room for the sponge and my oversized bio rings. When I had a bacteria bloom I had to throw my media bag in the tank for a few days to run carbon.

Just one more note on the QT. If you plan on it being permanent there is a clock on how long your bacteria will live without fish in there. I was told it's somewhere around three weeks. I was also told you can keep it cycled by ghost feeding a little food once in a while.

 

[oshanickreef]

go online and buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's bottle of bacteria. dump it in. then go buy 2-3 fish. and dump them in. shrimp is nasty and smells is nasty and it smells and it takes a long time for the bacteria to break it down since it is so large.

and its nasty and smells

 

[oshanickreef]

the dr tims bacteria eats ammonia so you might be good to wait a day or two and then put a fish in. but remove that shrimp!

 

[Pigpen17]

go online and buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's bottle of bacteria. dump it in. then go buy 2-3 fish. and dump them in. shrimp is nasty and smells is nasty and it smells and it takes a long time for the bacteria to break it down since it is so large.

and its nasty and smells

the dr tims bacteria eats ammonia so you might be good to wait a day or two and then put a fish in. but remove that shrimp!

Yeah. That's what I did, but with a small bottle of Biospira. Set up the tank and let it run for a few days. Made sure temp and salinity was on target. Added the Biospira and had a fish in tank a week later. No problems with ammonia at all during the 4 week QT. My only problem was after I added my fish to the DT, the tank sat empty for over a month and I didn't ghost feed. I had to start over when I had fish inbound again. Still, no problems with the second round of fish either.

 

[oshanickreef]

did you cycle the DT?

 

[Pigpen17]

Here's a little video of my QT.

My first set up:
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid17.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb71%2Fpigpen_%2FQT1.mp4&title=">

and my fixes:
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid17.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb71%2Fpigpen_%2FQT2.mp4&title=">

 

[Pigpen17]

did you cycle the DT?

Who?

 

[Dr. Reef]

hmm that is probably something I should have done...It's a penguin 100 with the stock blue floss/carbon filter. I could easily put a media bag in there also (there is room)....Sounds like a plan!

more than likely you do not have enough surface area for bacteria to reside in which will stall the cycle as they need space to grow and unless they grow to a size that can convert ammonia to nitrites you will sit at same spot. i would add some ceramic media to the HOB.

 

[wooden_reefer]

I must say I find the idea of packaged bacteria, instead of patient cycling, ludicrous.

First, I don’t like spending money when I don’t have to.

Second, I will always wisely doubt the effectiveness, at least quantitatively; that is will it actually handle my bioload?

Third, I will always have to test it out with a pulse of ammonia. I do so in every situation when there is doubt (when a pulse of ammonia has not been recently processed).

Cycling is just so basic and easy that there is no enhancement needed.

Cycling allows extremely high capacity to process ammonia if ever needed. I hate to accept any margin when unnecessary.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Many drugs used will decrease but not destroy completely the nitrification capacity of a biological filter.

When there is vast overcapacity in bacteria population to start, the use of some drugs will still allow significant nitrification, less WC.