cycling not happening

Renee2 · 04/27/2006, 07:56 AM

My brother decided to turn a 30 gallon we had into a tank for a lion fish. He got new substrate, and a new filter but used some water from my established tank. He has a damsel in there right now to cycle it. The weird thing is: its been a month and the ammonia level has not gone up yet. Is this because of the water I gave him? Is it safe for him to put his lionfish in yet? All other water tests have been normal (ph, nitrite, nitrate)
Thanks

Randall_James · 04/27/2006, 08:32 AM

The water from the established tank "could" help but with only a single little feeder fish (the lion will eat the damsel in pretty short order) I doubt you would see much of anything in a 30G tank. (albeit a bit close quarters for a lion fish).
If he puts the larger (messy eating) fish in that tank it will in fact cycle again due to the bio-load and the bacteria that are going to be required to convert the ammonia. I would have substantial water ready (50 to 100% a day for up to a week) on the addition of the lion fish to be on the safe side. (you will have to monitor the tank closely to know when the second cycle is done). Alternately you could overfeed the damsel fish a lot and induce the same cycle (uneaten food will decompose and cause the ammonia spike) and the damsel is going to suffer a bit

shoddyk · 04/27/2006, 09:13 AM

Your tank might not get the amonia spike just from adding new substrate with already cycled water.

Randall_James · 04/27/2006, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shoddyk
Your tank might not get the amonia spike just from adding new substrate with already cycled water.

The bacteria are not free floating for the most part, they live on/in the substrate, glass and other surface areas.

At best you might introduce good seed bacteria but IME never enough to get around the "cycle" issue.

Live rock on the other hand could and does affect the cycle pretty dramatically. I have had good rock eliminate almost completely any cycle of a tank.

Bluemorningwind · 04/27/2006, 12:00 PM

Why would the ammonia level rise? There simply isn't anything to cause a large ammonia level rise.

The cycle you are expecting is due to die off on large amounts of LR that has been shipped just prior to being added to a tank, I imagine.

There's no reason for you to see a large spike. The nitro-bacs are present in the water column, but I agree with Randall_James, you will find larger densities on surfaces, but you introduced enough to seed your system and the demand for nitrification is very low.

This cycle you expect is not a given and is, in fact, a result of LR in a poor condition being added to a body of water.

I don't think you will see much of a rise in ammonia after introducing a small lion fish. Certainly no cause for a cycle, providing you introduce a reasonably sized (small) specimen and don't feed for a couple of days. You will be fine.

The "cycle" isn't an issue, it's the result of decomposing organisms. You don't have any decomposing organisms in your tank. You work it out from here, alright.

04/27/2006, 07:56 AM	#1
Renee2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sudbury Posts: 19	cycling not happening My brother decided to turn a 30 gallon we had into a tank for a lion fish. He got new substrate, and a new filter but used some water from my established tank. He has a damsel in there right now to cycle it. The weird thing is: its been a month and the ammonia level has not gone up yet. Is this because of the water I gave him? Is it safe for him to put his lionfish in yet? All other water tests have been normal (ph, nitrite, nitrate) Thanks __________________ Renee

04/27/2006, 08:32 AM	#2
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	The water from the established tank "could" help but with only a single little feeder fish (the lion will eat the damsel in pretty short order) I doubt you would see much of anything in a 30G tank. (albeit a bit close quarters for a lion fish). If he puts the larger (messy eating) fish in that tank it will in fact cycle again due to the bio-load and the bacteria that are going to be required to convert the ammonia. I would have substantial water ready (50 to 100% a day for up to a week) on the addition of the lion fish to be on the safe side. (you will have to monitor the tank closely to know when the second cycle is done). Alternately you could overfeed the damsel fish a lot and induce the same cycle (uneaten food will decompose and cause the ammonia spike) and the damsel is going to suffer a bit __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

04/27/2006, 09:13 AM	#3
shoddyk Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Yuma, Az Posts: 568	Your tank might not get the amonia spike just from adding new substrate with already cycled water.

04/27/2006, 12:00 PM	#5
Bluemorningwind Moved On Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tokyo Posts: 441	Why would the ammonia level rise? There simply isn't anything to cause a large ammonia level rise. The cycle you are expecting is due to die off on large amounts of LR that has been shipped just prior to being added to a tank, I imagine. There's no reason for you to see a large spike. The nitro-bacs are present in the water column, but I agree with Randall_James, you will find larger densities on surfaces, but you introduced enough to seed your system and the demand for nitrification is very low. This cycle you expect is not a given and is, in fact, a result of LR in a poor condition being added to a body of water. I don't think you will see much of a rise in ammonia after introducing a small lion fish. Certainly no cause for a cycle, providing you introduce a reasonably sized (small) specimen and don't feed for a couple of days. You will be fine. The "cycle" isn't an issue, it's the result of decomposing organisms. You don't have any decomposing organisms in your tank. You work it out from here, alright.