How to cycle a fish tank

stereo_steve

Hi Guys,

My sister doesn't look after her fish (1 goldfish) very well. The bowl it is in is covered in algae at the moment! Although its about 14/15 yrs old now so she must be doing something right!

Anyway I felt sorry for the little guy and bought a bowl for it today in aldi. http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_12521.htm It's not very big but its an improvement for it, for however long it has left.

I'm just wondering how do i prepare the tank? I filled up the tank and I poured in about a cup of water from the old tank? Is that enough, do I just wait for a few days now? Should I leave the pump on for those few days?

Thanks for any help I get. I had a browse on the internet but got very confused with ammonia/air stones etc.

Thanks,
Steve

Dublinstiofán

Leave the new tank full with todays tap water overnight. Then transfer the fish straight in tomorrow.

Job done.

Alkers

If there is no filter in the previous bowl you would probably best off taking all the gravel from it and using it in the new tank, mix in the new gravel too if you want. Then I would use all of the water in the existing bowl and pour it into the new tank, topping up with tap water that has been either left overnight or treated. This allows you to keep as much of what little bacteria you have in the old bowl as you can.
Then you would be looking at changing something like 50% of the water twice a week or more, again only adding tapwater that has been treated or left overnight. Even if you have treated tapwater, you should allow it to reach room temperature before adding it to the new tank. After a month or so the tank will have cycled but you'll want a test kit to check this, then you can normally reduce the quantity/frequency of water changes but to be honest the fish is probably large enough at this stage so less than 50% a week would probably not be too good for it. Goldfish are a messy fish and are not really suited for such a small tank but at least you're giving it a better home than it had before.
Changing all off the water at one time is not good for the fish and if you do this the tank will never cycle, you will be restarting the process each time.
Any more questions fire away!

PaulB91

if this is a cold water fish, you need to fill the new tank with clean tap water and treat it to remove the chlorine, leave it settle until the water is up to room temp - overnight is fine unless you are setting up the pump

Did the old tank have a pump - i'm guessing not because you say it's smaller than the aldi one?

to set the pump up do as above but get filter set up chemicals from the pet shop (unless they are included in the package) follow the instructions and leave for 2 days

FYI we started with one of these, we are now on a 240 litre tank which is about 4ft long and 2ft high and deep! ha

BigDuffman

Attach pedals, wear a helmet and ensure you are wearing Hi-vis at night.

PaulB91

BigDuffman wrote: »

Attach pedals, wear a helmet and ensure you are wearing Hi-vis at night.

you forgot the lights and reflectors front and back for night time

Alkers

PaulB91 wrote: »

if this is a cold water fish, you need to fill the new tank with clean tap water and treat it to remove the chlorine, leave it settle until the water is up to room temp - overnight is fine unless you are setting up the pump

Did the old tank have a pump - i'm guessing not because you say it's smaller than the aldi one?

to set the pump up do as above but get filter set up chemicals from the pet shop (unless they are included in the package) follow the instructions and leave for 2 days

FYI we started with one of these, we are now on a 240 litre tank which is about 4ft long and 2ft high and deep! ha

What chemicals are you talking about here? Also there is no need in leaving for two days, nothing will happen in these two days without any ammonia for the bacteria to feed on.
People normally don't recommend cycling a tank with fish in it but in this case the fish is coming from a bowl with no filter which is smaller than the new tank. Therefore I'd say it would be better for the fish to be in the larger tank asap and the new tank's cycle will soon pass the stage that the old tank was at. Using as much water and gravel from the old tank helps bring as much bacteria from the old bowl as possible, making the cycle easier to start.

PaulB91

Simona1986 wrote: »

What chemicals are you talking about here? Also there is no need in leaving for two days, nothing will happen in these two days without any ammonia for the bacteria to feed on.
People normally don't recommend cycling a tank with fish in it but in this case the fish is coming from a bowl with no filter which is smaller than the new tank. Therefore I'd say it would be better for the fish to be in the larger tank asap and the new tank's cycle will soon pass the stage that the old tank was at. Using as much water and gravel from the old tank helps bring as much bacteria from the old bowl as possible, making the cycle easier to start.

the fish was in the old tank for 16 years, i doubt two days will make much difference and i did say to do that only if you are setting up a filter

chemicals are the ones you buy when setting up a filter, you get them in the pet shop

what's te point bringing the algae from the old tank? start a fresh

Alkers

My point wasn't that the two days would be bad for the fish, just that nothing happens during those two days, they're pointless. The water is just sitting there idle.
I didn't say bring algae from the old tank, I said bacteria. They are not the same thing at all.
Have a read of these:
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
Best of luck.

PaulB91

Simona1986 wrote: »

My point wasn't that the two days would be bad for the fish, just that nothing happens during those two days, they're pointless. The water is just sitting there idle.
I didn't say bring algae from the old tank, I said bacteria. They are not the same thing at all.
Have a read of these:
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
Best of luck.

when setting up a filter for the first time the bacteria you buy from the shop and place in the filter takes a few days to get established, hence leaving it for a few days, and no need to take water with algae and bacteria from the old tank

Alkers

Do you have anything to back this up?
The bacteria that you want in your tank needs ammonia to live on so I don't see what leaving it for a few days would do.
What is your fishkeeping experience if you mind me asking?

PaulB91

Simona1986 wrote: »

Do you have anything to back this up?
The bacteria that you want in your tank needs ammonia to live on so I don't see what leaving it for a few days would do.
What is your fishkeeping experience if you mind me asking?

the back of the packet with the instructions

i have kept fish for the last 6 years - is that ok?

Alkers

I'm just thinking you've bought one of those "quick start" chemicals that claim you don't need to cycle your tank when using them. From what I've read online they're not usually held in high regard.
In any case, we're both describing different methods of cycling the tank, one using chemicals available from a pet store (I'd suggest reading up on these online before using them) and the other using the existing bacteria in the old bowl.
Probably confused the poor OP at this stage!

morganafay

Your sister could have been worse, my friend's college flatmate had a goldfish in a vodka bottle. :eek: My friend stole the fish and brought it home and bought all the equipment and all.

PaulB91

Simona1986 wrote: »

I'm just thinking you've bought one of those "quick start" chemicals that claim you don't need to cycle your tank when using them. From what I've read online they're not usually held in high regard.
In any case, we're both describing different methods of cycling the tank, one using chemicals available from a pet store (I'd suggest reading up on these online before using them) and the other using the existing bacteria in the old bowl.
Probably confused the poor OP at this stage!

i was just thinking that if the original tank hadn't been cleaned in 16 years it may not be best to use the water from it and start a fresh - but i'm guessing you have more fishy experience?

Alkers

Well I doubt it's been sixteen years in the same water or it would be swimming in it's own pure excrement. If you start with new water and the stones and decorations from the old tank it would not be the end of the world either, I presume the OP's sister does 100% water changes at the moment anyway.

PaulB91

Simona1986 wrote: »

I presume the OP's sister does 100% water changes at the moment anyway.

do you know what assumption did

Alkers

PaulB91 wrote: »

do you know what assumption did

Kept the goldfish alive:pac:

PaulB91

nope that was the clean tank and fish food :pac: