Hospital tank cycle

barjam · 11/03/2006, 09:18 AM

I needed to setup a hospital tank Sunday and I was in a hurry (sick fish) so I took an old whisper 330 power filter with bio wheels and soaked the wheels for 24 hours in tank water (Saturday night) and put them on a brand new 29 gallon tank. I put an airstone behind the filters figuring that nitrifying bacteria love oxygen and even if it didn't help it couldn't hurt. I put all of my fish in the 29 (Yellow Tang, Juv clown x 2, neon goby, molly) and didn't feed them for two days.

I test for ammonia twice a day and I have one of those seachem ammonia alert badges in the tank so far I have yet to see any ammonia or nitrites. I have ~ 20 gallons of fresh saltwater mixed at hypo levels ready to go but my question is that is it possible that the 24 hours soak and light feeding/bio load was sufficient to "cycle" the tank? I would have expected to see *some* ammonia after nearly a week.

Thanks

sharky_steve · 11/03/2006, 10:06 AM

Most people don't cycle their QT tanks because they will be adding medications that will destroy nitrifying bacteria, making cycling a waste of time. If you moniter NH3 closely and do frequent water changes (daily if necessary) you will be fine.

11/03/2006, 09:18 AM	#1
barjam Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,695	Hospital tank cycle I needed to setup a hospital tank Sunday and I was in a hurry (sick fish) so I took an old whisper 330 power filter with bio wheels and soaked the wheels for 24 hours in tank water (Saturday night) and put them on a brand new 29 gallon tank. I put an airstone behind the filters figuring that nitrifying bacteria love oxygen and even if it didn't help it couldn't hurt. I put all of my fish in the 29 (Yellow Tang, Juv clown x 2, neon goby, molly) and didn't feed them for two days. I test for ammonia twice a day and I have one of those seachem ammonia alert badges in the tank so far I have yet to see any ammonia or nitrites. I have ~ 20 gallons of fresh saltwater mixed at hypo levels ready to go but my question is that is it possible that the 24 hours soak and light feeding/bio load was sufficient to "cycle" the tank? I would have expected to see some ammonia after nearly a week. Thanks

11/03/2006, 10:06 AM	#2
sharky_steve Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 129	Most people don't cycle their QT tanks because they will be adding medications that will destroy nitrifying bacteria, making cycling a waste of time. If you moniter NH3 closely and do frequent water changes (daily if necessary) you will be fine.