The Puffer Forum

okay so i set up my new 75 gallon 2 days ago and started a fishless cycle i seeded the tank with filter media from the 20 gallon my puffers are in now water parameters on day 1 were.
Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Water parameters today are
Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Im not gonna attempt to put them in the 75 gallon yet because it seems to good to be true. i just want to know what u guys think i should do and if u also think the 75 gallon is cycled.

Cheeto wrote:okay so i set up my new 75 gallon 2 days ago and started a fishless cycle i seeded the tank with filter media from the 20 gallon my puffers are in now water parameters on day 1 were.
Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Water parameters today are
Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Im not gonna attempt to put them in the 75 gallon yet because it seems to good to be true. i just want to know what u guys think i should do and if u also think the 75 gallon is cycled.

I don't think it's considered cycled until your ammonia is at 0 and your nitrites are at 0. First your ammonia will go down, then your nitrites will go up. Then eventually, your nitrites will go back to 0 and then your tank is considered cycled. This is what I saw while cycling my 10 gallon. Might want to wait for others to chime in though.

**I have also found that adding cycled tank water helps as well. I took water out of my 20g during a water change, and put it in the 10 gallon. My nitrites were still very high, but a few days later, the nitrites dropped back to 0.

+1 to goldie.

Your tank may not be cycled yet. The process would be ammonia>no2>no3. If u are reading ammonia now, the process probably has just started.. Seeding the media from your 20g to 75g is a good idea but wouldnt cycle it that fast. There will not be sufficent nitrifying bacterial now and u might see a spike in the readings after putting the 2 ceylons in there..

I could be wrong but wouldn't it work to leave the new filter running and just move over the filter from the 20g along with the fish to the 75g? You should get the same filtering from the 20g filter that you are getting now but with the added growing new filter and a larger water column to keep your params in check.


Have you been feeding or adding ammonia to the new tank? If so you'd have to stop that and do a large water change before adding the 20g filter and fish to get the ammonia down. What is the ammonia level in the 20g tank?

You will also go through a nitrate spike at the end of your cycle, which will have to be removed with a 80-90% WC. Then, your tank is cycled. Are you still getting your ammonia to 4ppm daily?

JRC3 wrote:I could be wrong but wouldn't it work to leave the new filter running and just move over the filter from the 20g along with the fish to the 75g? You should get the same filtering from the 20g filter that you are getting now but with the added growing new filter and a larger water column to keep your params in check.


Have you been feeding or adding ammonia to the new tank? If so you'd have to stop that and do a large water change before adding the 20g filter and fish to get the ammonia down. What is the ammonia level in the 20g tank?

I have been adding ammonia to the 75 gallon and there is no way for me to add the 2 hang on filters to the 75 without cutting into the lid and the 20 gallon is fully cycled ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10.

How are you getting a reading of 0.6? That's just seems like a strange figure as they are usually whole numbers. But, 0 should be your number, above 0.5 is no bueno.
Have you compared it to a water source test that you know is 0?

At what ppm are you bringing the ammonia to? If you can't add the HOB filter, then add a canister.

the nutrafin test kit 0.3 and 0.6 look the same on the chart so i was assumeing it was on the high side i dosed my 75 gallon with 20 drops of ammonia and thats what im at.
Numbers on the chart are 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.4, 3.7, 6.1.

You are looking for 4 ppm ammonia daily. When at the end of the day it is at 0 & then the nitrite should spike, add 1/2 the amount of ammonia, until the nitrate remains 0 by the end of the day. Then you should see a nitrate spike & remove 80-90%
5 of the water & you're good to go.

okay so last night i dosed the tank to 4-5 ppm and right now it is Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20 im thinking because i seeded the tank i may have skipped the nitrite spike all together after the first day i was seeing nitrate and the entire time i have been testing i have not seen a single indication of nitrite.

Cheeto wrote:okay so last night i dosed the tank to 4-5 ppm and right now it is Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20 im thinking because i seeded the tank i may have skipped the nitrite spike all together after the first day i was seeing nitrate and the entire time i have been testing i have not seen a single indication of nitrite.

I personally would test for a 1-2 weeks to make sure that I got constant results before I put any fish in. Although wait until someone else chimes in, as I am in no way an expert. Definitely keep a close eye on it though, and make sure to "feed" the bacteria by putting some ammonia in it. Again, wait until someone else chimes in LoL.

Yeah im not gona move my puffers till i know for sure its cycled but seems to be looking good. i dosed it with 20 drops of ammonia again and will test tomorow if it reads 0 ammonia and still no nitrites and only nitrates im pretty sure its good to go.

Why not just move everything from the 20, this is includes, filter, decor, substrate, heater and so on? The bioload in the 75g will be the same since you're not adding any extra fish (beyond your two ceylons) so everything from the 20g would be enough. You need to do a water change first though, cause the nitrates would be too high as it is right now.

75 is fully cycled now added ammonia to 4ppm and it was at 0 within 12 hours no nitrite and only nitrate. im keeping my 20 up and running as a hospital tank if i need to medicate one of them. thats why i didnt want to just move everything over.