# Cycling my 55 gallon piranha tank!



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

Okay, so I added some bacteria solution, about 1 gallon of already cycled water, and some filter media and plants from a cycled tank. In my tank, I also have 20 rosies to help it go along faster.

About How long will it take for this to cycle by doing 15% water changes every week?


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

varies from tank to tank just have to wait and see and test the water. what do you plan to keep in the tank?


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

A few red bellies.


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

do you plan to start with small reds because those rosys arent that much of a bioload


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

Yeh, Im getting 4 reds that are around 1-2 inches.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

if you have established media, go ahead and get the natts and throw em in there now... shouldn't need to wait at all.


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

Well I only have like 1 gallon of water, a 5 gallon filtration system that was in my established tank, and a few 5 inch fake plants. Also I added some stress zyme and stress coat. So I dunno if I should put them in there yet.


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

Is that okay?


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

on the bigger tank you have a larger filter then the 5gal one right? like the 5 gal filter was a old filter and you bought a new one right?


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

Yeah, I have a bgger filter, but I also added the filter from my 5 gallon tank that was cycled so that the bacteria would get in my new tank.


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

Is it okay to put little 1 inch red bellies in after about a week?


----------



## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

as long as you have a ammonia source the tank will continue to cycle which you do from the rosies you added to the tank. it is best to add the media from the 5 gal filter in directly with the media from the larger filter you have on the tank. there isnt really any bacteria in the water its all on the filter media so they need the space to colonize that is on the new filter thats why you place it in with the larger filter. water test are the only way to know if the tank is ready for reds.


----------



## Young Piranha (Feb 1, 2010)

How much do good water test kits go for?


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Here's a link to the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit... I plugged in the discount code to save you ten bucks and they are located in Wisconsin, so it should be fast shipping for you....

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/prod...1&catid=113


----------

