cycling/seeding issues??

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#1
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#1
wow, it's been a while since i've posted anything in the noob section! :eek:

and i feel silly that i'm even having this problem... but i'm trying to set up my 3 gallon eclipse, and i had it running for about two days BEFORE i added a stocking fully of cycled gravel. i put a BIG handful of gravel in the pantyhose, carried it across my room *in* a cup of tank water, and tied it right to the filter intake.

from what i've read, this is all i should need to do to create a near-instant cycle. but now, 2 days later...
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
it looks like my cycle hasn't even STARTED?! i had a similar problem when i set up a 10 gallon tank in my youngest sister's room, but when i carried the biological filter media across the house that time, i just carried it in my hand - so it was out of water (still, only for a little under a minute)... i thought that might've been why the tank was still very slow to cycle. but this time, i was very careful not to let the established gravel hit the air at all!

i didn't add any pure ammonia to the tank, but i was under the impression i shouldn't have to, because i should've had everything i needed in the gravel. should i have added the ammonia? what am i missing?

jessey

(great, now i'm gonna turn all the new kids off to cycling *crazysmil it's worth it, really, i promise!!)
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#2
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#2
ok, i have another question, and i feel like it's a gross one, but i think it's actually a reasonable thought... i hope.

one of my dear little harlequin rasboras is going to kick the bucket any moment now. he's upside down on the bottom, still breathing otherwise i would think he was dead. :eek:

assuming he doesn't make it, should i put him in the new tank? to help it cycle? or am i risking introducing disease to the tank, since i don't really know what happened to him.

sorry for the mental image... hope no one's eating lunch. :eek:
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#5
So the tank is empty now, right?
When I first got Jericho way back when, I put him in an uncycled 3 gal. Eclipse tank. He seemed to handle it just fine---crays are typically quite hardy, so if I were you I'd just put the cray in there.

BV
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#9
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#9
Okay, that should be fine then...hopefully it's 'hard' water too.
I've never tested my tapwater for hardness before, but it's easy enough to guesstimate using a few methods. For one, the 'slimyness' (sp?) of the water during showers. If the soap lathers really quickly and takes forever to rinse off and your skin feels 'slimy,' you've got soft water. :eek: If this doesn't happen and you tend to get hard water deposits (calcium buildup, etc.) on/around fixtures, then chances are you've got hard water. Also, if you have any tanks with any appreciable amount of driftwood in them, you can get an idea for how hard or soft your water is depending on how the pH responds (mine's hard, which explains why all the driftwood in my tanks has no effect on my pH). If the driftwood causes significant pH swing (drop), then chances are you've got softer water.

Anyway, I didn't mean to babble on there...just some things to keep in mind. Typically higher pH and harder water go hand-in-hand, but there are exceptions, so I just figured I'd elaborate a bit.

Good luck with the cray shopping! *thumbsups

BV
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#11
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#11
oh yeah, our water is definitely known to be hard - which is a pain in the you-know-what in most instances, so like memnochskat said, i'm glad to hear it's good for crays!

our water's hard enough that every 6 or so months, we realize we have almost zero water pressure in the shower... it's 'cause of nasty hard water build up in the shower head!!
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#12
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#12
jessey said:
our water's hard enough that every 6 or so months, we realize we have almost zero water pressure in the shower... it's 'cause of nasty hard water build up in the shower head!!
Click to expand...
That's what I like to hear! (for the cray's sake, of course ;) )

BV
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#13
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#13
lol, nice! ;)

i'm about to leave for the lfs. what's the best to acclimate my little guy (/gal) when i get home? i read on one page that i should hold him upside down under the water for a moment... to get air out of his carapace, or something? but i didn't know if that was a bunch of bologna!
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#14
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#14
Just gradually let him drop below the water's surface.
He'll then drift down to the bottom, and you are likely to see some bubbles escape from his carapace. The main idea is not to have your cray suddenly go from being out of water and then plunged into deep water. You can turn him upside down if you wish, but it's not entirely necessary, IMO.

BV
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#16
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#16
omg he is SUCH a cutie pie!! :D and i think it's a "he" from attempting to examine his underside, though i'm probably wrong, lol.

i put him in carefully just like you said, and he's aleady tentatively exploring.

i'm going to HAVE to snap up some pictures, even though i'm just about the LEAST talented photographer, ever!!
 

lauraj

lauraj

Large Fish
#18
Jan 7, 2007
435
1
0
#18
All right, Jessey! Another cray keeper! BV, you really gave us all the bug :) Would love to see pics, but I know what you mean about being a poor photographer....I've got the same issue. Plus my camera sucks for close ups. Good luck!!
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#19
Aug 10, 2006
2,237
5
0
Michigan
#19
For any future references...my recipe for doing a successful established media cycle is to place the new filter material in the a cycled tank for at least a week before setting up the new tank. Take a handful of gravel and just mix it in with your new gravel (more cycled gravel for bigger tanks) if it's the same color, if not, do the pantyhose method where you put the pantyhose in the gravel itself, I find burying it partly works the best as it allows the gravel to partially mix together. Put in filter media from cycled tank and add fish immediately so bacteria don't start to die off. Voila, instant cycle!
 

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