?'s with QT, Ammonia and Cuparamine

[sfboarders]

w_r I have my other tank cycling with a shrimp. It's at 2PPM ammonia. I have 3 filter pads in there that I can use as a medium. Should I let the shrimp rot more and bring it up to 6PPM + for more of a "robust" cycle? I'm not in any rush so I can keep it in there longer if necessary.

 

[wooden_reefer]

w_r I have my other tank cycling with a shrimp. It's at 2PPM ammonia. I have 3 filter pads in there that I can use as a medium. Should I let the shrimp rot more and bring it up to 6PPM + for more of a "robust" cycle? I'm not in any rush so I can keep it in there longer if necessary.

It is best for the decay to be as quick as possible, within a couple of days. You emusify the shrimp and decay is as quick as possible. Or at least finely chop it. I generally allow the medium to process several ppm of ammonia several times. 5 ppm three times is generally good enough. more if you use very little water to cycle. In general, 3-5 shrimps for the whole cycle for most setups.

When you transfer the cycled medium to the tank, you can even rinse it with the tank water. Any high levels of nitrate and PO4 in the cycling water will be rinsed away. You take care that water parameters, salinity and ph, are close.

 

[sfboarders]

It is best for the decay to be as quick as possible, within a couple of days. You emusify the shrimp and decay is as quick as possible. Or at least finely chop it. I generally allow the medium to process several ppm of ammonia several times. 5 ppm three times is generally good enough. more if you use very little water to cycle. In general, 3-5 shrimps for the whole cycle for most setups.

When you transfer the cycled medium to the tank, you can even rinse it with the tank water. Any high levels of nitrate and PO4 in the cycling water will be rinsed away. You take care that water parameters, salinity and ph, are close.

The tank is a 20 gallon QT. Do I need to add more shrimp? I was just going to do a 100% water change and leave the cycled medium in there.

 

[wooden_reefer]

The tank is a 20 gallon QT. Do I need to add more shrimp? I was just going to do a 100% water change and leave the cycled medium in there.

Do you think the medium has been cycled enough?

If you have added shrimp to 3-5 parts ppm several times and now the cycle is done, you should have enough nitrification bacteria. I am assuming that these is enough medium. You can check by adding a one pulse of 3 ppm ammonia and see how fast it disappears.

I generally cycle in a separate container. So when I transfer the medium I effectively do a 100% water change. Nitrate and PO4 in the cycling water will not be included in the QT water.

 

[g8gxp]

i guess i don't quite understand how nitrifying bacteria can survive in a qt tank. Because a qt tank should essentially have no rock, no sand, just barebottom. And from what i understand it needs more than just the glass to adhere to. how does the bacteria survive for the full 8 weeks?

I took a piece of LR from the display and put it into my QT, and dumped a couple pieces of shrimp to boost the ammonia. is this enough to get a fast cycle going? i plan to leave it for 2 days, take it out and begin cupramine for the fish. Is this sufficient? Sorry to jack the thread...

 

[wooden_reefer]

i guess i don't quite understand how nitrifying bacteria can survive in a qt tank. Because a qt tank should essentially have no rock, no sand, just barebottom. And from what i understand it needs more than just the glass to adhere to. how does the bacteria survive for the full 8 weeks?

Nitrification bacteria live in similar way in a QT as in a DT. They live on substrate or medium. The medium can be artificial sponges or polyester floss. I like crushed coral wrapped with tightly stretched out nylon panty hose, to the size of large oranges. 10-12 such orange sized ball will handle a lot of bioload intended for most cases. I think this is most durable and efficient. You can use a simpler medium and less of it for the first time just to get the experience of it. Choose a simple medium for the first experience.

I hope you know that nearly all the nitrification bacteria are bonded onto the substrate, so you can cycle a medium in a separate container and then transfer the cycled medium to the QT. You need to make sure that salinity and ph are close.

You put the cycled medium in a filter in QT. It can be a simple HOT power filter box, or a power canister filter, or a simple wet-dry setup using just a pump.

You may also use the same power filter in a separate container (just large enough will do) while you cycle, as is usually the case. In such as case, I would take the filter medium out and briefly drain the filter after the cycle before putting in the QT. This is because the water you cycle the medium with may be too laden with nitrate , PO4, or other undesirable by-products associated with cycling.

The wet-dry is the most efficient setup, but top efficiency may not be needed. Wet-dry is also very easy to set up DIY, so I prefer wet-dry most of the time when I have a few fish to QT. You don't have to. You can use HOT power box or canister filter.

The only time that you need to worry about the nitrification bacteria is when you use a drug that can harm them; copper is not such a drug, antibiotics frequently are to various degrees.

 

[sfboarders]

I just got a bigger QT (55 gallon). My filter media is still going through the nitrogen cycle in my 20 gallon. w_r I informed you of the parameters already (8ppm ammonia and 5 ppm nitrite) in another post where you said I probably didn't have to add another pulse of ammonia. It's still in the nitrite stage right now and hasn't dropped.

Assuming that media has good nitrification bacteria and has gone through a robust cycle would it be ok to add 4 fish to my QT before they go in the DT?

 

[Chris27]

Just don't EVER mix Prime or Amquel with Cupramine.

Why do you say this?