POLL, read post before submittin your poll answer.

Ok, I purchased a 100gal tank from CL... the tank had gorgeous healthy fish in it..... I emptied the tank, sold the fish, stripped the substrate.... Added some NEW sand substrate, put corals from my existing tanks in there, used a Sump that came with the tank, but did wash it, did not wash the filter pads inside.... The overflow had two sponges, after filling the tank back up with fresh water, I then rung out the sponges in the water... and put them back in the overflow. I added a HOB from an existing tank with 2 month old media.

So, after doin all this I waited 2 hours then did a test with a test strip.... came back PERFECT! PH 8.6, Very hard water, 0 Clhorine, 0ppm nitrite, 5ppm nitrate, and 0 ammonia. I couldnt ask for anything better!

Now, I did something similiar to this a few months back.... except put in new filter media, and did not change the substrate.... test came back great after 24 hours, but then ammonia spike killed all my fish (expensive RARE fish) 48 hours later. the water was not good until 1 full week. I assumed it was because of the NEW filter media. So I did not make this mistake this time, but still worried.... So what do ya'll think???

If it were my tank, and I had used all of that well established biomedia, I would go ahead and add a few "test" fish right away. What worries me about waiting is how long does it take for the biomedia to start dieing off without a food source? Are you planning to feed the beneficial bacteria with ammonia or some other source if you wait?

The only viable bacteria were in the HOB filter. How many survived depends on:
1. how much time HOB was without power
2. available food(NH3) in the tank(old dirty media)
3.did you use dechlorinated water(small quantity of chlorine can kill bacteria and it may not show on the test after 2 hr because surface agitation neutralizes chlorine).
You only tested the quality of your tap water. Testing the water after only 2hr is not relevant for nitrogen cycle.
I agree with Betty,if you add fish, add a few hardy and inexpensive fish and monitor first ammonia and then nitrite levels. IMO strip tests are not a good choice.

Betty is right, just add a few (hardy) fish and spend the time to fully cycle your tank. If your levels are all at zero after a week or two then add a couple more fish. Also you might want to pick up an API master kit. They are so much better than test strips.

Got a ammonia droppper test thingy, ph dropper test thing and a nitrate one too.... I dont have one for Nitrite though, so i use the test strips for GH, KH, and nitrite.

betty - I use water from my existing tanks... all the gunk from a good vacumming.... add it every other day, and take out a bucket of water from the new tank

So, Day 2, I chickened out... did not add fish..... I did another test and all levels are still awesome except Nitrate.... it actually dropped a lil'..... I hate that, I really like my nitrate about 10ppm, anything less makes me nervous.... now this could be the lack of waste in the tank cause its so big (100gal), and I know my 80gal took forever to get up to 10ppm and I never even lost one fish...

I have a rena xp2 filter i was going to put the filter media from in my hob, or toss it in the sump.... Just to get more good stuff in there? but i dont know?

(I did add my fish the next morning in the 80gal after the 100% water change and and used the HOB and rena xp2 that were workin on the other tank.) This had no problem, I did not loose one fish! So, adding fish the next morning worked for me last time, Im just nervous about this one cause these fish are SUPER PRICEY!

DAMN THE TORPEDOES! ADD THE FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys, let's be realistic. The amount of BB (beneficial bacteria) that is housed in tank water is almost nil. It all sticks inside the sponges, filter media, and other devices (like scrubbies and bio balls) that we place there for that specific purpose. There's a little bit that builds up on your rocks/plants and some in your substrate, but very little.

Next, doing a reading on your "new" tank is useless. You won't have any ammonia because there is no source for it. If you've used existing materials (water, substrate, filters, rocks, etc) you might have some nitrite that hadn't been converted yet, but very little. And if you do, without BB it will remain. And finally, you won't have nitrate unless you moved it in with dirty water.

And the worst thing is, none of these things mean that your tank is cycled!!

Cycling is the process of building up a bed of BB that is big enough to sustain the amount of waste (ammonia) that will be produced in the tank. You can cycle by putting in fish - although they are likely to die in the process - to produce ammonia, or you can cycle by putting in ammonia directly. Either way, you'll need time for the BB to convert this to nitrites and then to nitrates. And you'll need time to build up enough BB to handle the amount of waste your fish are likely to produce. Therefore, the amount of time required for a cycle is dependent upon a number of criteria, including the amount of ammonia you need to handle, the amount of BB that you transferred from your old tank, and your ability to provide the level of ammonia that your fish will on a reliable basis.

That said, yes, I've been known to start a new tank and put my prize fish in it right away. What do I do to make that (semi-) reliable? I'm prepared to do up to a 70% water change *each and every day* while my fish live through the cycle. Not recommended, but possible, if you're willing to monitor 1-2 times per day and change water every day (you'll be doing 30% min. every day or your fish will likely die).

Sorry, but it is what it is.

Hey Sand, give me a call if you want.

Larry... I am addin ammonia by addin buckets of waste water from my other active tanks.... all the fish poop from other tanks gets dumped in this one.... so there is ammonia in there..... thought I said that?

The filter pads, bio balls, all the good stuff is still in the tank... unwashed, and was in water and active up to to minute I switched it to this tank..... So the cycle should be done.... any waste in the tank will be filtered threw already cycled media. This is the theory, and did work for me last time I did it to my 80gal tall tank.....

Now, the lack of Nitrate in the water is makin me nervous though..... and I am thinkin this has to do with the chlorine removal stuff I dumped in the tank.... wich would start the cycle all over again ......

Anyway, I added fish.... there are now Three full grown tropheus swimming in the tank.... they look happy and healthy so far, the big test is after tonight... then I will be over the 48 hr mark, and if there will be a ammonia spike it shouldve happened by then.

Sandman, pretend these fish cost a million dollars. What would you do then?

same thing I am doin now iceburg

Nah, you said you filled the tank with fresh water.

Seriously though, I don't think you'll get enough ammonia out of water from other tanks because you won't be getting the whole load, and the BB in those tanks will take most of the ammonia before you can get it in your bucket.

So, given that you've got show fish in there already, a few other things I'd recommend.

- Do 50% (+/- 20%) water changes every day for the next 2 weeks. This will help take ammonia and nitrites out of the tank in case the BB isn't up to the load yet.

- Remember that you'll have 2 spikes; ammonia first, and then nitrites. The ammonia one is bad for the fish but it goes by fast. The nitrite one always seems worse to me.

- Watch for fish gasping or hanging near the surface. If you see that do an IMMEDIATE water change.

- Watch for gill irritation. If you see that do an IMMEDIATE water change.

- Keep the surface tension broken - if you have a spray bar or a powerhead you can spare put it on this tank, at least for the next 2 weeks. Upping the oxygen levels will help keep the fish healthy since the first reaction they have to ammonia & nitrite is gill irritation.

I know you love those troph's so I'm sure you'll be cautious and prevail. Like I said, I just stood up my new 125 much the same way you did, but I've followed every guideline I just gave you. BTW, I never reuse tank water, just not enough value. Wasn't it you that suggesting peeing into a tank to get the cycle going? Crude, but it would work. LMAO!!

Lol... that was lilydog that said the whole peein in the tank thing...lol I did like the idea and was gonna try it but, I really thought pullin the poop from the other tanks would do something, but I guess your right the bb would kinda kill the ammonia unless I got some really fresh poop! LOL

Thanks allot for the lil rules.... 50% water changes on a 100gal is gonna kill the water bill this month , oh well, if you say it worked for you, might as well!! thanks again for the tips! Will keep everyone updated day by day. Especially lars, she is the one gettin the ikola if they survive... lmao.... sorry lars, using the fish I was givin you for the test ..... have faith, I havent lost a fish since the lufubu tragedy, and set up about 20 tanks since then

I went through the same type of predicament a while back when we were seting up the old 30 gal. When you add WATER from an existing tank, essentually all your doing is adding dirty water, doesnt do much. But I do agree with Larry, 50% water change will make sure all the fish are safe. Did it to the 46 with buckets for 3 weeks with GOLDFISH in it, ammonia was almost black.

But good luck, AN DONT KILL THA FISHIES

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR VOTING!!!! really, I honest am going to go by the majority vote.... tonight at like 2am marks the 48hr mark.... so I will be doin a test then.... if the results are good, I am going for it tomorrow!!!

Will keep everyone updated if I have any problems.

Well to be fair Sandman, half the people voted to wait for a week or more.

sandnuka wrote:
Anyway, I added fish.... there are now Three full grown tropheus swimming in the tank.... they look happy and healthy so far, the big test is after tonight... then I will be over the 48 hr mark, and if there will be a ammonia spike it shouldve happened by then.

A bigger test will be when you add the rest of the fish. I don't think 3 fish would be much of a problem in 100 gallons of water (in just 48 hrs). Good luck! Keep up the testing and water changes and I'm sure you'll be okay.

Just curious -- what dechlorinator do you use? I think Prime will give you false readings on ammonia.

Betty - I use a water conditioner called Tank Prep.... I recently ran out and been using prime though .... but another bottle is on its way, the only place I can find it is online where I buy my fish food in bulk... here is a link if you want to know more info [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Iceburg - its 10 - 8 if you are adding up waiting a week or more, or puttin in fish now - 48 hours... lol, so its still a loss.

So, Great news! I checked at 2am my water perameters, my nitrate finally went up to where I am comfortable! around 5 - 10ppm..... Still have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite! I really think the sump that was in this tank when I gotten it was never, ever cleaned.... so there is sooooo much good bb in it, I am safe ..... I got up this morning to see the three Tropheus happily swimmin around.... so started addin some of my other fish! Everyone is in and happy so far.... well keep everyone updated!

sandnuka wrote:So, Great news! I checked at 2am my water perameters, my nitrate finally went up to where I am comfortable! around 5 - 10ppm..... Still have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite!

Great news indeed! You obviously have enough BB left in that sump to handle your current bio-load, so the only thing I would suggest is, if possible, add the other fish in groups of 2-3 per day. I don't recall if these were trophs - and I don't know trophs very well anyway - I know with mbuna this wouldn't work, but if you can, I would suggest it just to keep the bio-load in a linear growth path rather than an exponential one.

Is your additive basically the same as prime? You can also use that to bond and neutralize the nitrites if they do happen to get out of check on you as you add fish.

Congrats!

sandnuka wrote:Iceburg - its 10 - 8 if you are adding up waiting a week or more, or puttin in fish now - 48 hours... lol, so its still a loss.

The people that voted "Yes, Add fish tomorrow morning" don't count and you know it. They are the impatient people that cut you off on the freeway. The score right now is 9 to 8 wait a week or more.

ADD FISHUSES NAO!!!

Lol.... iceburg - I was gonna vote for the add fish tomorrow morning dude..... I did it in my 80gal tall and didnt loose one fish.... when you have an established filter in a tank... and established decor, and use some established water, you can pretty much add fish the next day..... well itleast I did. So they definetly do count ......

And it actually doesnt matter anymore.... I wasnt even patient enough to add them 3 at a time like larry suggested... LMAO.... I thru them all in today! everyone is happy, healthy.... i even had some spawnin goin on this afternoon!!! WAS AWESOME! Anyway, thanks allot again everyone for your suggestions.... I will keep an eye everyday on water perameters, and If anyfish Die, I will update this thread. I think everything is good though.