What to Expect with a Used Filter

[CJhilljack]

I recently purchased a 20 gallon tank from an LFS closing it's brick & mortar store. It was one of the tanks from their fish room & came with the sponge filter (heater, gravel & decor too) all bagged up in water from the tank. I won't be setting up that 20 gallon just yet, but I put the filter in a bucket & then used it a few days later to set up the 14 (or is it 15) gal cube I had already been working on. 

My question is, what should I expect in terms of cycling and how do I know when it's ready for stocking? It's only been a week and I was roughly estimating it might be ready for fish in April, so I'm not asking in order to rush the process, I just don't know what I'm looking for in this situation. 

So far, the parameters have consistently tested at 0 for both ammonia & nitrite. Nitrate started a 10 for the first couple days & then rose to 40, where it has stayed. I'm not worried about it sitting at that level since there are only plants in the tank so far. But what should I expect to see in order to know when it's ready? Will it eventually show results on other parameters? Or am I just watching for Nitrate to reach zero?  I've seen some videos & read some things lately - even on the AC blog that gave me the impression we don't actually want Nitrates to be at zero - for the health of the plants. 

I have added fish food, but ammonia & nitrite have remained zero. Do I even need to do that? 

I've had some melt on the plants, as expected, & have trimmed, replanted, etc., so it's not looking as nice as it did last week, but I'm attaching a photo anyway.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Any idea how long the filter wasn’t running? Did the LFS take the filter off and immediately bag it, and then you immediately picked it up and used it?

What I’m getting at is, if the bacteria didn’t die you shouldn’t ever see ammonia or nitrite as it’s already seasoned media. 
 

I’d keep a source of ammonia going and continue to watch parameters. If ammonia and nitrite stay at 0, and nitrates continue to climb you would have already cycled/seasoned media and could add fish whenever you want to. 

[CJhilljack]

I'm pretty sure they drained the tank & bagged the filter just a couple hours before I picked it up & I put it in a bucket as soon as I got home & hooked it up to a pump I had here, I even added some frogbit the next day, just because I had too much in my little water gardens & wanted it for the cube. It was set up in the tank with plants on day 5. Just finished testing tonight & I do see ammonia at .25, nitrites still 0, nitrate is at 80. More melting plants, so I did more trimming & cleanup. 

Thank you so much for the quick response & advice, I appreciate it so much!

[nabokovfan87]

I would check these out before feeling overwhelmed by the process.  I don't think you have much concern if the things in the tank were kept wet. 

The real question for me is that it was in a rack with a circulating group of fish and likely had a lot of things introduced to that system.  Just keep an eye out for issues and be sure to QT this tank properly to avoid contamination.

[CJhilljack]

I'm not using the tank, gravel, etc. yet. The used filter went into a brand new tank. Just clarifying. So I'm cycling with a used filter, first time and I'm already very new to the hobby, so far having only cycled tiny 1 & 2 gallon water gardens.

Thanks for the video links, I'll check them out.

Edited March 3, 2023 by CJhilljack
accidentally reposted same reply

[CJhilljack]

This tank continues to test at zero for ammonia & nitrite, and anywhere from 40-80 for Nitrate. The last time ammonia tested at anything other than zeros was on 3/2. I ended up with 1 Blue Ramshorn snail in there, by accident when I added some more frogbit and there are the usual pond snails/bladder snails that seem to hitch a ride on everything, but everyone is doing well. 

Some of the plants are doing great, especially the Crypts, Java Ferns & Dwarf Lily. The hydrocotyle tripartita Japan has just about disappeared 😞 but there's still a stem or two. I did start some pothos in the tank 1 of 3 stems is doing great, the other 2 didn't make it. 

I do have a question at this point - it's looking like fish will be a go in early April, as I had hoped. Do I need to do a water change prior to getting the fish & bring that Nitrate level down? I feel like I've seen a lot of conflicting views on this topic. 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/23/2023 at 8:06 PM, CJhilljack said:

I do have a question at this point - it's looking like fish will be a go in early April, as I had hoped. Do I need to do a water change prior to getting the fish & bring that Nitrate level down? I feel like I've seen a lot of conflicting views on this topic. 

There's no reason to be afraid of changing water. Yes, you can do the water change even when a tank is new if you need to.

[Lennie]

On 3/24/2023 at 6:06 AM, CJhilljack said:

The hydrocotyle tripartita Japan has just about disappeared 😞

It died on me too. Meanwhile, the vietnam one is thriving. 

If you ever can find it, I would give it a chance. They look quite similar.

Plants are weird 🙂

[CJhilljack]

On 3/23/2023 at 9:42 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

There's no reason to be afraid of changing water.

Thank you Nabokovfan87, that's reassuring. I've been leaving it for now since I knew it would be appreciated by the plants.

 

 

On 3/24/2023 at 2:33 AM, Lennie said:

It died on me too. Meanwhile, the vietnam one is thriving. 

If you ever can find it, I would give it a chance. They look quite similar.

Good to know, Lennie, I'll keep an eye out for it!