Cycling a barebottom large aquarium

[ganesan]

I am going to have a 5x2x2 new barebottom discus fish aquarium setup. My query is if I fill it with tap water which has tds about 250 with some chlorine smell. Should I aerate the aquarium for a couple of days before adding in plants like vallisneria, amazon sword in a claypot with substrate and sponge filters from an already cycled aquarium as well as a canister filter from an already cycled aquarium or can I directly add the cycled sponge filters and canister filters. Will the chlorine kill the beneficial bacteria in canister media and sponge filters.

[bluelagoon]

IMO, you should air off the chlorine first for about a day. Do you plan to age and aerate your water or will you be using a dechlor./conditioner? Filter and sponges from an already established tank will give you an instant cycle. The the fish and plants should also be put in just after the filters go in. If you wait too long the BB will die off. Chlorine will kill bacteria if that is what you ask.

[jwcarlson]

I had a pretty rough time with my discus because our water utility apparently switches from chlorine to chloramine sometime in the spring/early summer. I age my water 24 hours and do really close to a 100% WC every evening. Forgot the Prime (which has happened before) and they were in VERY rough shape about an hour later when I just happened to take a peak before going to bed. So now I use Prime every time and will continue to do so even if the utility goes back to chlorine at some point. It's not worth the risk.

I'd get the tank water more-or-less to the final temperature and dechlorinate and let it set for about a day before I put anything living in. Plants or fish. And if you move over your existing filtration it should be ready to go.

[bluelagoon]

Yes, ammonia will not air off if you're using chloramine. That's why you don't want to put conditioner in your aging barrel and let it age like that. The chlorine part of chloramine will be gone but the ammonia part will be there. The bond doesn't last after about 24 hours.

[ganesan]

Yes will mild chlorine kill bb in sponge filters and canister filter media

[ganesan]

Good idea I think I will first fill the aquarium then strongly aerate the aquarium for 24 hours minimum and then bring in the already matured sponge filters and matured canister filter and start them. Then add plants pushed into a substrate in a claypot

[GeauxDiscus]

Yes, ammonia will not air off if you're using chloramine. That's why you don't want to put conditioner in your aging barrel and let it age like that. The chlorine part of chloramine will be gone but the ammonia part will be there. The bond doesn't last after about 24 hours.

My understanding is that once you treat with Prime, it breaks the Chloramine bond and then ALSO immediately detoxifies the ammonia byproduct that's left over. I don't think the ammonia portion ever becomes toxic again, and it should be removed by your biological filter anyway. From the Seachem Prime website FAQ page:

Prime® works by removing chlorine from the water and then binds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filtration (chloramine minus chlorine = ammonia). The bond is not reversible and ammonia is still available for your bacteria to consume. Prime® will not halt your cycling process.

By the way, I agree with not adding Prime to the staging container, but that's just so nothing can grow/live in the staging container so you don't have to clean it so often.

[pastry]

I might be overconfident, and stupidly unafraid, but I would say add a ton of any common and highly rated bio quick start. Then add a few "yellow canaries". If they don't die within 48 hours, thumbs up!

Stop before going fwd with my advice, filter on all threads I've ever done... just to get a pulse on how many hard Lessons Learned I like to contribute

[bluelagoon]

This is in FAQ on web site.: A: Prime® will bind up those compounds for up to 48 hours. If they are still present after that time frame, they are released back into the water, unless Prime® is re-dosed accordingly. Also, if your ammonia or nitrite levels are increasing within a 24-hour period, Prime® can be re-dosed every 48 hours.... yes, the BB in the filter will remove the ammonia part of chloramine.

[GeauxDiscus]

Interesting... I stand corrected. That's good to know.