setting up a qt with out a cycle

[peckhead]

i set up the qt tank yehsterday, and im going to put in a couple sponges that have been in my sump of my dt for at least 2 week building up bacteria. will a couple sponges be enough or should i put in a couple peices of lr too? and how soon should i put in a fish?
im pretty sure the sponges i have will be enough to not make it cycle but i just want to make sure.
its a 20g long tank.

 

[peckhead]

anyone?

 

[kilhullen]

Originally Posted by peckhead
i set up the qt tank yehsterday, and im going to put in a couple sponges that have been in my sump of my dt for at least 2 week building up bacteria. will a couple sponges be enough or should i put in a couple peices of lr too? and how soon should i put in a fish?
im pretty sure the sponges i have will be enough to not make it cycle but i just want to make sure.
its a 20g long tank.
I don't know for sure, but probably need to still check parameters for the cycle.

 

[codylowe]

What are you going to be using the quarantine for?
- Treating fish?
- Or Qt'n em before putting in your tank?

 

[al mc]

Unless you are putting in a heavy bioload ( more than 2-3 fish ) you should Not need any LR. I leave my QT fishless, if possible, for 2-3 days and check water parameters. If Ok (it should be) then just add the fish. I always have
water ready for a quick change if I get too much of an ammonia surge just after adding fish.

 

[codylowe]

Originally Posted by Al Mc
Unless you are putting in a heavy bioload ( more than 2-3 fish ) you should Not need any LR. I leave my QT fishless, if possible, for 2-3 days and check water parameters. If Ok (it should be) then just add the fish. I always have
water ready for a quick change if I get too much of an ammonia surge just after adding fish.

I don't understand how you can keep fish in a QT for any period of time w/o heavy water changes while not having any LR. I have a couple of QT's setup right now -
one with LR and LS holding my Goby, which has been fine from day one (been up for a month now)
and another one with nothing in it except a blue hippo and i have to do water changes every few days to keep the ammonia down.

 

[peckhead]

for the tank with the hippo in it, do u have any media like a sponge or anythign that has bacteria from an esstablished tank like your dt?

 

[codylowe]

No i didn't... I am using it to treat ich on him right now.
I did have a 10 gallon QT before and tried running the filter on the DT for a couple of weeks then on the QT.... didn't notice anything - still had ammonia spikes.

 

[codylowe]

I don't really see how it is possible to harbor the bacteria w/o LR or LS.
I would suggest taking a little of both out of your main tank and adding it to the QT (as long as it is not being used to treat) and you should be fine.

 

[peckhead]

im pretty sure people set up qt tanks if there is an emergency for hypo or something and dont have a cycle. correct me if im wrong someone...

 

[codylowe]

That's what i did with the Hippo one i have setup now. I just deal with the daily water changes to keep the ammonia down. That's why i was asking what you are going to use it for?

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by codylowe
I don't really see how it is possible to harbor the bacteria w/o LR or LS.
By doing what aquarists did long before LR and LS were a part of the hobby. All you need is some sort of bio-media to house a bacteria colony. This can be sponges, bioballs, biowheels, whatever. The bacteria don't care where they live.

 

[peckhead]

well i have had a long sponge inbetween 2 baffles for 2 weeks and a filter sock on my dt for about 1 week. today i put them both in the hob filter on my qt that i set up. im hoping this will work and wont cycle.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by peckhead
im pretty sure people set up qt tanks if there is an emergency for hypo or something and dont have a cycle. correct me if im wrong someone...
You're not supposed to, but I've done it. I had to set it up in an emergency, so I used Amquel+ to take care of ammonia and did 20 percent water changes every day until I was satisfied that the tank had been up and running long enough to support bacteria. Everything seemed to work out fine, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[kilhullen]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
By doing what aquarists did long before LR and LS were a part of the hobby. All you need is some sort of bio-media to house a bacteria colony. This can be sponges, bioballs, biowheels, whatever. The bacteria don't care where they live.
I think is it funny how with technology people foget the old school ways.
I have the same problem when I loose my keys. I always want to hit start - search.

 

[weberian]

When the tank has no fish, you have to ghost feed. You put the same food amount as you would if there were a fish in there. The food will quickly turn into dissolved waste which will keep a healthy population of bacteria alive. Of course, your nitrate level will increase over time and require water changes.

 

[peckhead]

but will i have a cycle with amm and trite? or its not definite

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by peckhead
but will i have a cycle with amm and trite? or its not definite
There's only one way to find out. None of us can know if your sponges have enough bacteria, so you're just going to have to go for it.