Sponge filter for quarantine not cycled?

[Phoenix1391]

Just got some new fish in, put a sponge filter from one of my other tanks into a 10 gallon. Drip acclimated the fish, filled the 10 with some fresh water and added the fish. The next day the tank is as really cloudy so I tested the water. 2ppm ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate. So I’m guessing the sponge filter hardly collected any beneficial bacteria while in the other tank. Maybe the canister filter handles all the bio load so the sponge didn’t have any? Anyways, should I fully cycle and just do water changes every day and then medicate? If I have to do a full cycle in the 10 gallon I’m guessing their all going to spend awhile in that quarantine tank?

[lefty o]

how long was the sponge in the other tank?

[HH Morant]

I would go ahead and treat the fish and do a water change every day. With a 10 gallon tank a water change is not such a chore, and you will get the fish into your established tank sooner. You could also try to move some additional beneficial bacteria from your established tank to the quarantine tank.

[Phoenix1391]

On 7/10/2021 at 10:39 AM, lefty o said:

how long was the sponge in the other tank?

At least a few months

[Phoenix1391]

On 7/10/2021 at 10:39 AM, HH Morant said:

I would go ahead and treat the fish and do a water change every day. With a 10 gallon tank a water change is not such a chore, and you will get the fish into your established tank sooner. You could also try to move some additional beneficial bacteria from your established tank to the quarantine tank.

Wouldn’t I need to re dose the meds each water change? Should I just do 50 % changes and do half packets of meds?

[lefty o]

On 7/10/2021 at 10:54 AM, Adam scharberg said:

At least a few months

lack of bacteria is not your issue then. i tend to agree with HH Morant, do some water changes. 2-3 gallons a day or every other day. i would be willing to bet that the cloudiness will clear up in a few day, as the bacteria colony grows.

[HH Morant]

Yes, you have to replace the meds you remove with water changes. Limiting or eliminating feeding for a few days will help, and may allow you to skip some water changes. You will need to test each day to see if a water change is needed.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/10/2021 at 11:56 AM, Adam scharberg said:

Wouldn’t I need to re dose the meds each water change? Should I just do 50 % changes and do half packets of meds?

I’ve done it this way in emergency. I redoes by how much water I remove. Seemed to work fine but I tested 3 x a day and most times did 2-3 pwc each day because meds and whatever may be ailing them was already taking its toll I didn’t want to add am or nitrite stress to it. 

[ARMYVET]

Is anybody else puzzled by the fact that a sponge filter in a cycled aquarium for a few months comes out to go into a qt tank and there is no bacteria on it? 

 

Only thing I can think of is that the water you filled the qt tank had something that killed off the bacteria that was on the sponge. 

[Odd Duck]

On 7/10/2021 at 11:30 AM, ARMYVET said:

Is anybody else puzzled by the fact that a sponge filter in a cycled aquarium for a few months comes out to go into a qt tank and there is no bacteria on it? 

 

Only thing I can think of is that the water you filled the qt tank had something that killed off the bacteria that was on the sponge. 

Yep, should have had plenty of bacteria on it.  I do this all the time, keeping a extra sponge filled HOB or an air driven sponge running all the time.

That being said, the only way it won’t have plenty of bacteria is if the bioload on the tank it was in was so low it didn’t support much growth. I just had that with a filter on a shrimp tank that hasn’t really prospered so I didn’t have many shrimp in that one (why can’t I keep oranges?) and have plenty of plants.

Moved that filter to a new start up with only plants (just some extra Echinodorus vesuveus) and 6 or so red ramshorns, but it’s dirt bottom (baked heavy clay dirt with Osmocote granules mixed in) capped with sand.  Popped a couple young, gold mysteries in it last night and they didn’t want to come out.  Huh?

Checked and my nitrites are very high!!!!!  Sorry, snails!  Quick 60% water change.  Still high this AM but all snails seem happy.  Repeated same water change this AM.  Snails are TOUGH!  I’m sure it was from fresh Osmocote granules. 

I *was* going to use this tank to quarantine some fish that should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.  We’ll see what my params are on arrival.  I have another seasoned tank I can use, this one would have just been the easiest for catching out of after quarantine.  I usually check params more often if I’m deliberately aiming to put fish in eventually, but it was only planned for plants, then shrimp in a couple more weeks once fully settled.  Got a wild hair and ordered the fish.  🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[Torrey]

@Odd Duck I tend to wait a couple of weeks, even for snails, in new dirted set ups.

 

I go ahead and feed the tank, starting low and increasing the food amount each day to grow the bb culture. I just don't add fauna until I see flora growth,  if that makes sense?

[Nice to see someone else who uses osmocote! I thought I was a holdover from the dinosaurs or something, based on a response I got in a livestream, lol]

[HH Morant]

I was also puzzled about the sponge filter seasoned for a few months, but with no beneficial bacteria. If the filter was cleaned thoroughly when it was transferred I suppose it is possible that the beneficial bacteria may have been washed away.

A gunky biological filter is a good biological filter, and thoroughly cleaning it can do damage.

[Odd Duck]

On 7/12/2021 at 1:26 PM, Torrey said:

@Odd Duck I tend to wait a couple of weeks, even for snails, in new dirted set ups.

 

I go ahead and feed the tank, starting low and increasing the food amount each day to grow the bb culture. I just don't add fauna until I see flora growth,  if that makes sense?

[Nice to see someone else who uses osmocote! I thought I was a holdover from the dinosaurs or something, based on a response I got in a livestream, lol]

I normally do, too, but I’ve had other tanks I set up the same way and not had any significant nitrite spike.  Not when I transferred a well-aged filter.

I think I underestimated the bioload on the other tank so the BB hadn’t developed as much as I expected. It’s also probable that I got carried away with the Osmocote.

Snails are all doing fine, eating, etc.  I was just surprised by how much of a spike I got. It’s already settling down.