New Tank, plants?

Went out to a tiny creek today and caught 2 very small green sunfish on hook and line, also got a used filter cart out of my buddies tank, approximately 4 hours and they're eating bits of worm, hopefully I get my bacteria build up this way.

What? You didn't cycle your tank before adding fish? *headdesk* Those poor sunfish are going to have to swim around with ammonia in the water. It causes permanent damage to their gills, you know.
Please read this article: http://www.fishkeepi...ing-article.htm
It tells you about how you can build up your beneficial bacteria to the levels you need to support fish simply by adding fish flakes every day as if you were feeding fish (but there aren't any in the tank yet). No fish have to suffer for your nitrosomonas and nitrospira bacteria colonies to grow, and you won't get stuck with any fish that you didn't really care about but survived the process of cycling your tank. Everyone benefits. And if you start out with a little starter colony of the bacteria from someone else's tank, it doesn't take long at all.

Since you have fish in your uncycled aquarium, it is your fault that they will suffer from ammonia poisoning. Buy test kits so you can know the concentration of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and monitor the levels over time and do partial water changes so that your cycling fish victims don't suffer too much. And next time do a fishless cycle.

Edited by Okiimiru, 23 July 2010 - 08:10 AM.

What? You didn't cycle your tank before adding fish? *headdesk* Those poor sunfish are going to have to swim around with ammonia in the water. It causes permanent damage to their gills, you know.
Please read this article: http://www.fishkeepi...ing-article.htm
It tells you about how you can build up your beneficial bacteria to the levels you need to support fish simply by adding fish flakes every day as if you were feeding fish (but there aren't any in the tank yet). No fish have to suffer for your nitrosomonas and nitrospira bacteria colonies to grow, and you won't get stuck with any fish that you didn't really care about but survived the process of cycling your tank. Everyone benefits. And if you start out with a little starter colony of the bacteria from someone else's tank, it doesn't take long at all.

Since you have fish in your uncycled aquarium, it is your fault that they will suffer from ammonia poisoning. Buy test kits so you can know the concentration of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and monitor the levels over time and do partial water changes so that your cycling fish victims don't suffer too much. And next time do a fishless cycle.

I was under the impression that if I had an established filter cart, and I didn't feed them like the dickens it'd work out alright. I've planned for ammonia checks and water changes along the way, they'll be alright?

I was under the impression that if I had an established filter cart, and I didn't feed them like the dickens it'd work out alright.

You have an established filter? Has the filter pad had continuous water flow through it with water from an inhabited tank? If so, then that's all you need to have in order to have a cycled tank. A lot of people misguidedly believe that the glass walls, gravel, and plant decorations can harbor a significant population of beneficial bacteria. In reality, the surface area of substrate, walls, etc is far too low to provide any real contribution to cycling the tank. The number of bacteria who can live somewhere is directly related to the surface area. The filter pad and especially those nice high surface area bio-pad or bio-ball inserts are where the majority of the beneficial bacteria live in a cycled tank. But if the filter pad ever dries out, even for a few minutes, then the bacteria dies and you have to start over. So keep your filter pad wet during transfer, and never rinse it with chlorinated water.

When a friend of mine sets up their first fish tank or when I start a new one, I give them some of my filter media. It works great; the tank is fully cycled when it starts and the fish never have to swim in ammonia-rich water. And if you ever find your fish tank having a hard time keeping up with your fish waste, add an air pump with a large sea sponge on the end of it. (Don't get a cleaning sponge, they've got chemicals in them) The sea sponge has a lot of surface area, and the bubbles rising through it will make water flow around the sponge walls. The stronger the current, the more beneficial bacteria can live in the sponge.

Monitor your ammonia levels. The test kit should tell you what concentration is too high. In general, anything 1 ppm or greater is toxic. Basically, ammonia is toxic. Anyway, you'll know whether or not the transfer of your filter media was successful because if your tank is cycled, the ammonia will stay at 0 ppm.

Whenever I use soil in a tank, it is instantly cycled. Unless it is sterilized, soil comes full of good bacteria.

Even if you didn't use soil, just check the ammonia and do frequent water changes. Read up on cycling of new tanks, and your fish should be just fine.

Yep a friend of mine had a 20 for quite a while, atleast a year i think, then he got a 75 and placed one of those filter carts in it, and when I went and caught my sunfish, I stopped at his house and got that same filter. Put it in a plastic bag with tank water, and took it home and placed it in my filter, then floated the fish. So hopefully i'm good, i'm going to get an ammonia tester asap.

I have jungle vals and lots of other assorted plants, and I only use pea gravel. The only thing i need to do to them is use root tablets once a month or so, and trim/ weed out the over growth. The only other factor to consider is what lighting you have. the standard aquarium bulb is just ok, but you may want to upgrade to a broad spectrum bulb or a "grow" bulb. You can find them at most home centers. Also a great place to buy plants is www.bobstropicalplants.com He has a really nice selection and really healthy stuff ( I in no way work for him). The site owner is a moderator on a tropical forum I frequent.

Also I agree to avoid an under gravel filter, it will actually work against your plants getting the nutrients they need from the substrate. I run a simple AquaClear filter and it seems to do a great job with filtering and for ease of maintenance.

Edited by CaptainCaveman, 17 December 2010 - 04:25 AM.