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07-25-2005, 04:46 AM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Medium Fish  Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Posts: 369
|  Dwarf Puffer Tank.... I've been doing some research, and am thinking about starting a dwarf puffer tank. I have a ten gal. tank that is currently housing a Shubunkin goldfish, a betta and two african dwarf frogs... I have the shubunkin going to a neighbor's pond....and the betta and frogs, I still have to find homes for... ANYWAY, I am going to scrub the whole thing down, once everybody else has a home, and I have a question about cycling... I don't want to get a 'cycle fish' to start the process... Do you think that it would work if I used the 'dirty' filter for a while, with the new water, and cleaned gravel to get the cycle 'jump started'....or would I need to add ammonia to the water... (which, I am weary of...) I know that there is bacteria on the filter, and in the gravel, and on the decor, but I just want to clean the gravel, b/c it's been goldfish gravel for a few years....and we know how messy they are.... (same with puffers...i know...) Just want to know, before I make any changes. Thanks!
__________________ Jenn 55g---In Progress, FOWL 55g #2---In Progress..FW Community 25g---1 Socolofi Cichlid, temporarily...this tank is becoming a reef in the next few weeks 15g---nano-reef 10g---brackish disaster...it's empty now... 10g---beerbottle cap storage 1g---betta (RIP) I started off six years ago just wanting a freaking goldfish...  |
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07-25-2005, 10:23 AM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Large Fish  Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Shelby, NC
Posts: 989
| I used that process to cycle my 55 gallon tank. Took out the dirty cartridges of my 2 cycled ten gallons and put them in the 55 gallon filters. Worked like a charm. If you give it a really good gravel vac and suck out about 80 percent of the water, I don't see any reason why not just to fill it up again and add the puffers. Wash out the dirty cartridge in tank water; it will maintain more than enough bacteria. Sounds like a cool tank you're planning. |
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07-25-2005, 12:21 PM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Forum Manager  Join Date: May 2003 Location: Colorado
Posts: 8,281
| How long have the current fish been in the tank? If its been more than a couple of months, I dont see any reason why you couldn't just do a big water change and immediately add the new fish without worrying about a cycle. As for cleaning your gravel...really you can tear the tank apart and wash the gravel pretty good USING DECHLORINATED WATER. As long as you dont wash it with chlorinated water, just tearing the tank down shouldn't hurt anything. Do you have a HOB filter or a UGF on the tank?
__________________ 29, 46 & 55FW 29 SW + dog + horse + catYou can view info & photos of my critters here... |
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07-25-2005, 03:42 PM
| #5 (permalink) | |
| Medium Fish Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Posts: 369
| Quote:
It's a HOB filter too....... I think I will just do a huge water change, and vac the gravel.... i guess I was just worried about 'contamination'...lol....
__________________ Jenn 55g---In Progress, FOWL 55g #2---In Progress..FW Community 25g---1 Socolofi Cichlid, temporarily...this tank is becoming a reef in the next few weeks 15g---nano-reef 10g---brackish disaster...it's empty now... 10g---beerbottle cap storage 1g---betta (RIP) I started off six years ago just wanting a freaking goldfish... | |
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07-25-2005, 03:54 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Forum Manager Join Date: May 2003 Location: Colorado
Posts: 8,281
| Well heck...thats even easier. Just dont do anything with the hob filter, dont change the pads or rinse it off with tap water or anything. Contamination would only come from you putting something else in the tank...fish poo is fish poo  You should be good to go after spending some time taking the tank down and washing it out (dechlored water in case I didn't already mention it 115 times). I also wouldn't wait too long between the time that you find homes for your current fish and adding the puffers in...cuz the bacteria needs something to "eat" and without fish in there they'll start starving after awhile. You should keep the filter running even if there's no fish in it because the bacteria need the water movment (and oxygen)
__________________ 29, 46 & 55FW 29 SW + dog + horse + catYou can view info & photos of my critters here... |
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07-26-2005, 04:32 PM
| #7 (permalink) |
| Medium Fish Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Posts: 369
| Not one store in Lincoln carries puffers!!! I had to special order with a LFS... good thing it is my most trusted, and favorite one.  Now, the waiting begins..
__________________ Jenn 55g---In Progress, FOWL 55g #2---In Progress..FW Community 25g---1 Socolofi Cichlid, temporarily...this tank is becoming a reef in the next few weeks 15g---nano-reef 10g---brackish disaster...it's empty now... 10g---beerbottle cap storage 1g---betta (RIP) I started off six years ago just wanting a freaking goldfish... |
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07-31-2005, 05:58 AM
| #8 (permalink) |
| Medium Fish Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Posts: 369
| Well, I decided to go brackish, and got some Figure Eights. They're little piggies. They always know when it's feeding time, they see me get the jar, eyedropper, and thier frozen food. They get so excited when I steal some of their tankwater to thaw out their food.
__________________ Jenn 55g---In Progress, FOWL 55g #2---In Progress..FW Community 25g---1 Socolofi Cichlid, temporarily...this tank is becoming a reef in the next few weeks 15g---nano-reef 10g---brackish disaster...it's empty now... 10g---beerbottle cap storage 1g---betta (RIP) I started off six years ago just wanting a freaking goldfish... |
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07-31-2005, 07:28 AM
| #9 (permalink) |
| Super Fish  Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Nottingham, UK
Posts: 1,729
| cool, any chance of pics?
__________________ There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. ....  ....Too weird to live, and too rare to die.  |
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