New to the forums, need help with my tank!

[trekenk]

I should also add you want to get the used filter media from a FW tank.

[melbell86]

yeah i changed out the water completely, which removed a lot of the cloudiness, rinsed the sand more and and put some marine salt in ( its at 1.004). is this ok? i can take out more water and lower it if you think i should.

[jmiller]

I would start it out in fresh water and then raise it according to the article.

[melbell86]

alright thanks guys. Im doing a 75% water change now, then heading to LFS to get biospira. Im also going to put my sponge from my healthy cycled FW tank in the filter to get the cycle started.

[jmiller]

Do not remove all of your media (sponge, ceramic) from your AC20 filter and put in the new tank or it may cause the 10 gallon to crash. Take about 1/3 of it to "seed" the new filter and clean out the rest in the new tank water. Be prepared to do a lot of 50% water changes until it cycles. The last time it happened to me it was almost two weeks until it caught up.

[melbell86]

ok i just did a 50% water change, SG is at about 1.002. I took the sponge out of my old tank. I am going to cut it in half. I change the sponge every 3 months, im due for a new one soon. Im leaving in the white ceramic in the bag (not sure what its called) in my old 10gal. Going to LFS now

[melbell86]

ok, tank is seeded with part of my sponge from my established 10 gal tank. Im hoping this sponge is alright since im planning on keeping the SG at 1.002 to start out and increase over time as my puffer gets older. George ate lots of blood worms this morning, and i gave him a baby snail from my freshwater tank and he picked at it. Im heading to LFS to pick up either BioSpira or tims. Now if i read correctly, if i add this to my tank, i need to change the water every other day, rather than every day? I use prime with every water change, so that should help with the nitrate levels.

[jmiller]

Sounds good.
For future reference DO NOT replace those sponges. Every time you do you risk having a mini-cycle. I gently swish mine around in the siphon bucket each week during the water change to knock loose the large particles and about once a month I give it a good squeeze. It will turn a nasty looking dark brown over time but that's what you want. Those sponges should last years.

[jmiller]

Do you have a liquid test kit? If not, and you're financially able, get one.They run about $25.

During the cycle you mostly concerned with Ammonia & Nitrite. The mature media (sponge from AC20) is already established with the beneficial bacteria but probably not enough yet. The water changes are to bring those levels down to a safe range while the filter catches up. If you get a liquid test kit it will help determine how much water you need to be changing. When mine happened I was changing 75% in the beginning, then 50, then 25 until it finally cycled.

[Brandon8521]

These are the options I would go with.

1: use the media from your FW established tank and undergo a mini cycle with the GSP in its 28gal tank. Make sure to keep the tank FW untill its fully cycled then goahead and start to raise the SG according the instructions on the link posted earlier.

2: Biospira is for SW so if your going that route then I wouldnt let the SG drop below 1.018ppm (make sure your acclimateing your puffer when your dropping and raiseing the sg.) If you add the biospira to a freshwater tank its going to do nothing but raise the ammonia since all the bacteria will die.

3: you can use the tetra safestart which is like biospira but for freshwater. You can do this along with option 2 to make the mini cycle smaller.

Just make sure you dont add biospira to a FW system.

Edit- if your going to use a instant cycle like tims, biospira, or safestart then dont change the water at all. Let bacteria move from the water to the filter, decor, and substrate. This could take a couple of days so changeing water would make it take longer to establish and your getting rid of good bacteria thats still drifting in the water.

[melbell86]

just got back from LFS. I will keep that in mind, i was told to always change my sponge every 3 months : / Well i wont be doing that anymore! I have half a sponge in there now, and the other half is in my new tank. I got the biospira and added it to the tank. I was recommended to get test kits at the store, and i purchsed nitrate and ammonia test kits (liquid kind). I will update with results as soon as i can.

[melbell86]

okay! just read what you posted. Returning biospira before i put into my tank, THANKFULLY and will get what you recommended for my FW tank. My sg levels are at 1.002 atm, but i eventually want to raise them a bit as he gets older. Ah this little guy was much more work than i thought, but its all gonna be worth it in the end, i love him! Will post pics soon.

[xrayjeeper83]

you also might want to pick up nitrite, and possible PH

[Brandon8521]

+1 to the above

You dont have to spend 25 bucks for safestart if your useing established filter media from another tank. Its just a precaution to make sure you dont get spikes but if your willing to do water changes in case you get ammonia spikes then that would work untill its established. How long has that sponge been in the tank before it was cut in half?

[melbell86]

would micro-lift special blend work in a freshwater aquarium to boost cycling?