Keeping good bacteria in filters

[aussiejas]

Hi ppl, well after a two year break from discus IM BACK!!! Setting up a new tank ATM, only a small one to ease myself into it of 200ltrs. Im going bare bottom this time because the last tank i had (1000 ltrs) was a fully planted community tank and after a few problems i worked out Adelaide water + planted communtiy tank and discus dont mix too well!

Well ive had it going for 2 weeks now cycling it with a blue gourami and tap water, ive decided to do something different as far as water goes this time by using all pura water.

So now my question is this: Would draining of the tap water and filling it with pura water kill off any good bacteria? Would it be any different than rinsing the media in pura water and what happens to filter media when ppl do 100% wc or even 50% wc?

[jimg]

It's best to do small water changes and no wipedowns or filter cleanings on tanks starting to cycle. Just vacuum all debris every day and feed lightly. there are beneficial bacterial in the water column. If you plan on doing 100% water changes every day then it's a little different.
If you mean purified water then stick with tap just dechlorinate it.
When a filter is established water changes will have very little impact on the bacteria. when it's new it's best not to touch it until you get nitrate readings, you can rinse the sponges lightly in same temp water as tank if needed, but don't touch the bio media.

[Altum Nut]

I would suspect the pura water should not harm your bio load as many use UV lamps with their set-ups without any issues.
Others who have gone this route may chime in just to make sure.

...Ralph

[aussiejas]

Cheers for the replys guys, I spoke to a local discus breeder who I plan to get my fish from and got him to give me a quick run down on his water routine so I get things right from the get go. The water we have here in South Australia is quite bad at the best of times so keeping discus is a fun game for us down here.
He told me he uses Pura water which is a simple two membrane system we have attached to the kitchen tap it takes alot of the bad stuff out but not as much as an R/O. And he only changes 20% a week (I think i will do 30%) . Ill keep cycling my water for another two weeks before I take the plunge and Introduce some discus and see how I go,,,,,,, fingers crossed.

[Sean Buehrle]

Cheers for the replys guys, I spoke to a local discus breeder who I plan to get my fish from and got him to give me a quick run down on his water routine so I get things right from the get go. The water we have here in South Australia is quite bad at the best of times so keeping discus is a fun game for us down here.
He told me he uses Pura water which is a simple two membrane system we have attached to the kitchen tap it takes alot of the bad stuff out but not as much as an R/O. And he only changes 20% a week (I think i will do 30%) . Ill keep cycling my water for another two weeks before I take the plunge and Introduce some discus and see how I go,,,,,,, fingers crossed.

Talk to your breeder and ask for a cycled sponge filter, youll be ready to run. Thats if your in a hurry of course.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[aussiejas]

Talk to your breeder and ask for a cycled sponge filter, youll be ready to run. Thats if your in a hurry of course.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Im running an Aqua one 2250 Uvc canister and although from reasearch ive read they're not the best, combining it with a sponge filter might be the go. So ill be taking your advise and with a bit of luck I can buy a pre cycled sponge from the breeder.

[mmorris]

I spoke to a local discus breeder who I plan to get my fish from he only changes 20% a week (I think i will do 30%) .

A breeder who changes 20% a week...warning bells going off here. Did he actually breed the fry or is he importing? For growing juvies over two inches I do 50% and more a DAY. I highly recommend you check out Rod, a sponsor here on the forum. Good luck!

[aussiejas]

A breeder who changes 20% a week...warning bells going off here. Did he actually breed the fry or is he importing? For growing juvies over two inches I do 50% and more a DAY. I highly recommend you check out Rod, a sponsor here on the forum. Good luck!

i KNOW IT SOUNDS CRAZY RIGHT? I spoke to him on the phone yesterday and he says he breeds them but i wont know for sure untill I go to his place tommorrow. Ive always done 50% a week with the discus I had so at the time I spoke to him I just put it down to good filtration and the pura water being used. Is Rod from Adelaide? Im going to check him out right now.

[seanyuki]

Rod is from Brisbane....he's a sponsor here and a great person to deal with.....he has some great fish in his June shipment.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?88702-June-2011-FTZ-shipment


i KNOW IT SOUNDS CRAZY RIGHT? I spoke to him on the phone yesterday and he says he breeds them but i wont know for sure untill I go to his place tommorrow. Ive always done 50% a week with the discus I had so at the time I spoke to him I just put it down to good filtration and the pura water being used. Is Rod from Adelaide? Im going to check him out right now.

[aussiejas]

Quick question,,, If over feeding (slightly) produces an ammonia spike could this be used to fast track a filter to cycling if there is only one fish in there to help? I know it sounds stupid but ive had a few brews and was just thinking about it.

[discolicious]

yes, but it may kill the gourami in the process of waiting for the bacteria to catch up. The bacteria grows exponentially (doubling) as long as there is ammonia there to feed it. At the point that the bacteria colony catches up with the ammonia being produced, a balanced state, the colony maintains it size (bacteria die off as others are "born"). You will essentially grow a colony capable of handling the ammonia from one fish (and some decay due to overfeeding). If you want a colony that can handle 6 fish immediately, you would need to add that colony, by adding fully cycled sponges to your tank when the fish are added. Doing so before hand would only cause the colony to die down, as there would not be enough ammonia to support the whole colony, unless you add the ammonia yourself. You would be better to take the blue gourami out at this point, since bacteria growth is already beginning, and add ammonia to grow the colony beyond what one fish in your tank can accomplish. Another route is to request cycled sponges with your order (as others have suggested), and put them in with your new fish. There might be a slight ammonia spike initially (if some of the bacteria have died in transit), but that can be easily controlled by adding any of the products that convert ammonia to ammonium (Amquel, Prime, etc). Ammonium is still used by the bacterial colony, but does not hurt the fish. Another way to accomplish this is to lower your pH to 5.5 - 6. Ammonia is naturally converted to ammonium at this level and the fish are not affected. I have done this many times, but I don't recommend it unless your water is naturally acidic as altering the pH with chemicals usually ends up in sudden changes or accidents. Keep in mind that the reverse is true... any ammonia in your tank becomes even more toxic at higher pH levels. What would not kill your fish at a pH of 7, could very likely kill them at a pH of 8.4 if you do not use a product to "neutralize" it.

[aussiejas]

yes, but it may kill the gourami in the process of waiting for the bacteria to catch up. The bacteria grows exponentially (doubling) as long as there is ammonia there to feed it. At the point that the bacteria colony catches up with the ammonia being produced, a balanced state, the colony maintains it size (bacteria die off as others are "born"). You will essentially grow a colony capable of handling the ammonia from one fish (and some decay due to overfeeding). If you want a colony that can handle 6 fish immediately, you would need to add that colony, by adding fully cycled sponges to your tank when the fish are added. Doing so before hand would only cause the colony to die down, as there would not be enough ammonia to support the whole colony, unless you add the ammonia yourself. You would be better to take the blue gourami out at this point, since bacteria growth is already beginning, and add ammonia to grow the colony beyond what one fish in your tank can accomplish. Another route is to request cycled sponges with your order (as others have suggested), and put them in with your new fish. There might be a slight ammonia spike initially (if some of the bacteria have died in transit), but that can be easily controlled by adding any of the products that convert ammonia to ammonium (Amquel, Prime, etc). Ammonium is still used by the bacterial colony, but does not hurt the fish. Another way to accomplish this is to lower your pH to 5.5 - 6. Ammonia is naturally converted to ammonium at this level and the fish are not affected. I have done this many times, but I don't recommend it unless your water is naturally acidic as altering the pH with chemicals usually ends up in sudden changes or accidents. Keep in mind that the reverse is true... any ammonia in your tank becomes even more toxic at higher pH levels. What would not kill your fish at a pH of 7, could very likely kill them at a pH of 8.4 if you do not use a product to "neutralize" it.

AWESOME response! Cheers for that.