In a pickle

Question
Hey Bob...For Christmas my girlfriend went out and bought me a Snowflake eel.  It was a really sweet gesture, only problem is I only own a 14 gallon Bio cube tank witch is already over crowded.. So the next day I went out and bought a 100 gallon tank and Started up the cycle..Problem is my 14 gallon spiked and I have been doing water changes daily to keep it under control..I really need to speed up the cycle process or I am going to lose some fish..Money was tight and all I have is about 20 pounds of live rock..Semi cured and live sand...I have been putting small amounts of water from my little tank to help...Is there anything i can do to get the eel in the big tank in a week?...I now its crazy but I don't have any other options?...

Answer
Hey Andrew,     (my name is Bill)

There are products out ther are supposed to accelerate the cycle process, but i have zero experinece with them...

The goal here is pretty much what you already know, and that is to control the ammonia...

If you cycle the new tank for as long as possible, and then transfer the eel, you will have little problem as long as you monitor the ammonia and nitrite.

When you see them rise, then do what you are doing now, and that is water changes to dilute the ammonia so that does not poison the eel.

I would suggest you really think about keep the eel thoug, or at least do some research on it... I would hate for you to be successful in keeping it alive, only for it to suffer/starve and die off later on...

then you would have a lot of equipment and expense for a gift that was just a sweet gesture to begin with.

Is there a chance you can exchange the eel for something else???  If so, i would suggest that...

But, if i understand your message, you have already bought more equipment...

So, really, not sure what i would do at this point and therefore can not give a real good suggestion to you, other then to answer your question about speeding up the cycle

Anywyas, please log onto my new forum at www.thelittleocean.com  and maybe try discussing this there, and getting others commetns, and maybe finding someone nearby your home who might be able to help with live rock/sand or water...


good luck and hope to hear good things from you soon


bill