Plan "B"

[karajay]

Here's where I stand. New tank is about 2 1/2 wks into cycle, 2 weeks to go before I need to tear down my other tank. Got some cured LR from my LFS, threw it in there. Amm. that was at 0 is now back up to .5. Trites are still topping the charts. Will I make it in time? I'm thinking not . So what's plan B? I got a spare 10g. tank. If I add as much as stuff as possible from the old tank substrate, decorations)during the switch, will my 2 percs be OK? Anybody got ideas? How does anybody set up a Q tank without leaving it set up and cycled?

 

[beth]

Where are your fish now? I'm obviously missing part of the story here.

 

[karajay]

Sorry to be confusing. I've got my two percs in a 55. I recently moved and don't have room for it in the new place, so I'm cycling a 20 to be their new home. The 55 is still going with the fish at the old place, and I'm going back and forth to care for it, but I need to get it out by Oct 1st.

 

[lobstergrabber]

Just prep a bunch of new water so you can do small water changes while your tank finishes its cycle. The percs should be hardy enough to handle a small ammon and nitrite spike as long as it is held under control. Just keep an eye on your level and change out some water as needed. Hope everything goes well.
Rich

 

[bdhough]

Buy some saltwater biozyme. It's beneficial bacteria for a tank and may help to clear up your problem in time. Once you get past the ammonia phase you just need nitrifying bacteria i believe which is what the biozyme is.

 

[squidd]

Here's my take on the scenerio from the limited information given... ...You started your "new" 20 in the new house...and your two and a half weeks into a new cycle??
Hopefully you kick started/fed the cycyle with a dead shrimp or something?? I'm probably reading a lot into this but...You saw an ammonia spike then 0 and then a nitrIte rise?? Then you added this "cured" LR and the ammonia is going up again??
If any/all of this is true then I'd say your probably on track for the next two weeks...
Whatever cycle started over the last two weeks was probably coming into balance with it's current bioload...adding the "cured' LR added to the load and additional bacteria need to grow to balance this level..
As long as the LR was basicly cured and is only adding a small amount of organic waste (even good LR will have some dieoff from transport) the secondary growth spurt of bacteria will be quicker then when you started with a fresh tank...
This is because the nitrosomas (ammonia to nitrIte) and the nitrobacter (nitrIte to nitrAte) bacteria multiply expotentialy ie:1-2-4-16 and already being present and starting with a fair number from the first "mini" cycle will now multiply at a quicker rate to "catch up" with the new bioload.
The other suggestions of prepared water for small WC during finish of cycle and possiable addition of a bacteria "seed" will also be helpfull...as you may still be in the finishing stages of a cycle two weeks from now when you add the fish.
Don't forget that the nitrifing bacteria are also oxygen consumers so you want to make sure your tank has aeration/circulation and possiably an airstone for the next week or so to "help" the bacteria grow...
And keep testing your water parameters because as you probably know a smaller tank is more tempramental/less forgiving than a larger tank as far as PH and SG as well as the nitrogen processing goes.
Good Luck,
(and let me know if I'm even close)