Hey. so i just got two new 5 gallon tanks for my male bettas. how to i cycle them?

[Alicia]

i already have two filter cartridges with beneficial bacteria on it. BUT i am now switching over to sponge filters so how would i use that bacteria on the sponge filters? (the filter cartridges are in a container with water) i also bought fritz zyme 7 live bacteria. please help me with suggestions. 😃

[Alicia]

i also do have some of the gravel from there old tanks with the bacteria in it but i was planning to switch over to the eco-complete substrate for plants. but won't be getting that for a while so was planning to cycle it now without any substrate. will that work?

[Schwack]

If it were me, I'd get the new substrate in first. Adding substrate to a tank with fish doesn't sound all that thrilling, especially in such a small area.

I'd get the new tanks setup with substrate etc. Maybe swish your filter carts in them once or twice to get some gunk going. While you wait to move fish, you can run the sponges in your currently cycled tanks, alongside your cart filters, to help them get rolling. Once you're all ready to move the fish, swap em over and bring the sponge and your cartridge filter with them. Run them both in tandem for a few weeks and things should be good to go. You could also get a mesh bag from a big box PetX store to bring your old substrate over. If you get the fine mesh you can just load em with your old substrate, drop the bags in your new tanks and wait a few weeks before removing them. Make sure you bring any plants, floaters too, from your old tanks. I've had good luck cycling tanks with nothing but plants from established tanks.

Good luck!

Edited April 25, 2021 by Schwack

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

You can always just put those cartridges in the tank for a couple days to season the tank. I e done that with coarse sponges and filter floss from another tank. Substrate from another tank is the best as far I’m concerned for cycling a tank quickly- even a cup or 2 makes things go a lot faster. 

[Patrick_G]

I agree, put the cycled cartilages in the tanks along with a cup of the old gravel. You should be able to add fish right away. I’ve had great luck with this method, but I always test daily just to make sure it’s working. 

[Alicia]

Thank you for all the help. see the thing is that i just moved to my new house so i have the old tanks with some gravel at the bottom with water plus two plants that used to be in each tank. so i dont have a established tank to put the new sponge filters in. so from reading everything is this what i should do? put the old gravel and old filter cartridges in a mesh bag and let them sit in the tank for a few days WITH the planted substrate along side a couple of the old plants plus some new ones? lastly where can i buy those mesh bags? at a petco or petsmart?

[Eric R]

Live plants also provide excellent surface area for beneficial bacteria, in case you weren't aware.

[CalmedByFish]

2 hours ago, Alicia said:

Thank you for all the help. see the thing is that i just moved to my new house so i have the old tanks with some gravel at the bottom with water plus two plants that used to be in each tank. so i dont have a established tank to put the new sponge filters in. so from reading everything is this what i should do? put the old gravel and old filter cartridges in a mesh bag and let them sit in the tank for a few days WITH the planted substrate along side a couple of the old plants plus some new ones? lastly where can i buy those mesh bags? at a petco or petsmart?

If I understand you right, then yes. You set up the new tanks as best you can - substrate and plants in, and the filter ready to run. 

When you do that, use water that's been treated so it won't have chlorine or chloramine in it.

Then along with all your new and permanent items, you also add the old bacteria-covered stuff. Then turn your filter on. Some of the bacteria will move off the old stuff onto your permanent items. 

I don't know about where to buy bags, but I do know that the foot of pantyhose works! 

[Patrick_G]

I’ve bought those bags on Amazon, but I don’t think you’ll need them. You can just add some of the old gravel to the new tank and then when you get the Ecocomplete you can just add it over the top of the old gravel. You could also put some of the old gravel in a container that will be removable when you get the new substrate. 

[Schwack]

Petco carries a few types of mesh bags for aquariums. I think they run 3-5 dollars a piece. They come in handy from time to time.

[Alicia]

ok, thanks. i probably won't be getting the eco complete for a while until its back in stock at me pet store, but i will probably add the old gravel in along with some of the old decor and then cover the old gravel later with the eco-complete. as for the old filter cartridge. i will probably let it sit in tank for a few days with the new sponge filter running. i will also add the zyme live bacteria to help boost the process. how many days should it take so i can i add my betta in? also i have a master freshwater test kit with me. so what should all the levels read for it to be ready to go? 

[Patrick_G]

You should be able to add them right away. You should see Nitrates but no Ammonia a few days later. 
 

More experienced fishkeepers: Does this sound right? 

[Alicia]

right away after i setup the tank or right away after i let the old filter cartrige sit for a few days with the old gravel, live bacteria, and old decor?

[Patrick_G]

Right away.  You’ll be testing to see if the bacteria converts the Ammonia in the fish waste to Nitrates. 
 

 

[Alicia]

ok, thank you!!!!

[CalmedByFish]

30 minutes ago, Patrick_G said:

You should be able to add them right away. You should see Nitrates but no Ammonia a few days later. 
 

More experienced fishkeepers: Does this sound right? 

I'd say to hold off on putting fish in until *after* ammonia reads zero. And nitrite is zero, and nitrate is present. While you wait for those 3 numbers to be right, drop a smidge of fish food in every day so the bacteria has something to eat. It has to "eat" for the cycle to happen.

But with using your old bacteria-covered stuff to help this get started, don't worry about it taking forever. You probably won't have to wait long before your numbers are right. 

[Alicia]

ok, so wait for this fish? and wait for nitrite to be zero and nitrate is present. how much should the nitrate read? 

[CalmedByFish]

3 minutes ago, Alicia said:

ok, so wait for this fish? and wait for nitrite to be zero and nitrate is present. how much should the nitrate read? 

Yeah, the only ammonia and nitrite levels that are definitely safe for fish is zero.

Nitrate can be anything from 1-40. That's evidence that bacteria is "eating" nitrite (ie making it go away). But heads-up that nitrate higher than 40 can be dangerous. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[Alicia]

I know i said this earlier but this is what i should do? 

put in old gravel, decor, plants and let the old filter media float in the tank alongside the new sponge filter running. (with the zyme live bacteria) sprinkle in fish food every day and wait until the ammonia and nitrite levels reach zero with nitrate ranging from 1-40 ppm. (not over 40, if so do a water change) 

 

Last questions:

Do i have to do water changes? if so when and how frequent?

What plants do you recommend? for the eco-complete substrate, being with a Betta, 5.5 gallon tank and low maintenance.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Alicia

[Schwack]

Honestly, you dont need eco complete to grow plants. It's totally inert. Some of my best growth comes from plain ol' aquarium gravel. Eco complete is kind of spendy, but if you like the look of it over other gravel, go for it.

If you're dead-set on changing the substrate, I'd keep your fish in their current homes for now. Dealing with substrate and livestock at the same time always ends up being a bit of a mess for me, especially if you don't get the eco complete nice and clean. The one tank I run it in dusted up pretty badly after I got lazy cleaning, but since it was otherwise empty it didn't really cause any issues.

So, here's how I'd handle your swap:

1. Put sponge filters in current tanks alongside your cart filters. Let them run together until your new tanks are ready.
2. Once you've gotten your hands on the substrate you want, fill the new tanks and move everything over you want to keep. Plants, decor, etc. This is when you'd move both the cart filters and the sponge filters. If you're swapping substrate, it may be a good idea to bring over some handfuls of old substrate at this point. I'd suggest a bag, or just a tupperware container, to keep things separated. This is also where I'd add the bottled bacteria if you're going to use it.
3. Move your fish. If you're moving over bunches of items from already cycled tanks, you should be good to go immediately. Feed lightly for a few days just to make sure. Maybe skip every other feeding for a week.

You will likely need to do water changes. However, with a single fish in 5 gallons of water, you'll almost certainly be able to space them out a bit. My bettas in 10 gallons get a water change every so often, and it's probably more than they need. Mostly it's to clean up snail poop.

My bettas seem to enjoy plants they can swim through. Elodea is great, propagates like crazy and can create a neat "kelp forest" effect that one of my bettas spends a lot of time swimming through. Hornwort is similar, but more difficult to keep planted. Crypts work great all over the aquarium, but until they get nice and big your fish is unlikely to interact with them. They can provide nice places for shrimp to hide, however. Java ferns are another nice option with a lot of variety. Really, any plants you like the look of will work for a betta, just make sure you have the lighting and ferts they need.

 

[Alicia]

ok so i wasn't completely set on getting the eco-complete tbh. i will probably just get some other gravel to go on top of the old one. but like i mentioned earlier i just moved to my new house so i have the old things but currently i ave my betta's in smaller containers for the time being.  so i cannot but the new sponge filter in to any established tanks because i don't have any. this is why i was asking these question since i have only had my betta for almost 2 years. so i am still new to this hobby.

[Schwack]

Are they currently in cycled tanks or temporary containers? If they're in cycled tanks, but those tanks are too small to fit a sponge, then I would just make sure to swap the current, cycled filters into their new tanks for a few weeks. Running them alongside one another for a while gives your sponge a chance to grow some gunk to carry the load.

[Alicia]

they are in temporary containers. i just have to old filter media (which is a cartridge) which i am now switching over to sponge filter since the old filters got ruined.

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Alicia

[Schwack]

Have the old filters been running water with fish waste in it or have they been out of use for more than a week or so?

[Alicia]

The filters I don’t have anymore because they got multi surface cleaner split all over. But I do have the filter media that was once inside in a container with the same water it originally was in.