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Cycling question

3K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  whitedevil 
#1 ·
Ok the bestest wife in the whole world went out and got me a new 75g tank combo today including emporer 400 and UGF. I know its 48" wide, so I am assuming I gotta get a 48" bulb or bulbs?


Also well the point really, I have a 26/28BF set up now that currently is planted and is well established, can I add some of this water to the new 75g tank and top off with RO water and be cycled quicker? I dont have the space for two tanks of this size in the room they are in, I am leaving the BF set up till the 75 is cycled completely, I do not have my cycling fish anymore due to attitude issues. I used serpaes for my cycling in 3 set ups. Fishless cycling is not an option, Id rather do it naturally then chemically and have only done it naturally.


What substrate can I use to put UNDER the sand I am going to floor it with? How do I layer it just layer or is there a science involved. The tank I have no is low tech low light, 2wpg w/ DIY co2
 
#2 ·
On the light, get a fixture that will fit the tank. The number of fluorescent tubes depends--the familiar standard tubes will be 40w in 48 inch length, and two of them over a 75g tank will be adequate for most plants without a CO2 system. If you intend to have CO2, double the light. If you get a fixture with the newer compact type tubes, they are more intense with less energy and you will require the appropriate number to provide the same strength of light as mentioned. Low-tech (no CO2 addition) 1-2 watts per gallon, with CO2 3-4 watts per gallon.

You can buy enriched substrate material for plants that will go under the sand layer. If no CO2, I wouldn't bother with it. But if you have CO2 an enriched substrate will help (or so other say, never bothered myself).

If you are going "low-tech' you won't have any added CO2. With 1-2 watts of light that will be fine.

There is no value in adding water from an existing tank to a new tank. The bacteria reside on surfaces like plants, substrate, filter media, tank walls--not in the water. There are also other issues with transferring water that I won't go into. My advice is don't do it.

Cycling a tank with a couple of suitable fish is fine; dose the tank with "Cycle" or a similar biological product when the first fish is added to jump-start the bacteria and reduce fish stress. As you know, it takes 2-8 weeks to cycle a new tank. While adding "Cycle" or existing bacteria cultures (such as filter media from an established tank) will start the nitrogen cycling immediately, from then on it is a gradual process. You can't increase the ammonia quickly because the nitrosomonas bacteria can only multiply so fast, and ammonia must be added gradually (a new fish every few days for example) to allow the bacteria time to multiply accordingly.
 
#3 ·
I got two hifin platys and 8 guppies, 4 of em for sure are pregnant, are they ok to start with I mean as species not the number?

I wont attempt to add my angels till a little later on. Doesnt adding bacteria from existing decor or filter pads cut the cycle time in half? I need to get these fish switched over quick, I dont have outlet space for 2 tanks to run for 1-2 months. Ive heard it does and its almost fish safe as soon as those are added, Im not saying I am going that route its jsut what ive heard from a few different tank starting FAQ's ive read over the past few days.
 
#4 ·
I'm not positive, but I'm fairly sure that Guppies are horrible fish to cycle a tank with, you would be much better off with a fish like a zebra danio....plus i"m not sure how pregnant fish would do during a cycle seeing as it may give birth before you cycle is finished and the babies would most likely not make it through a cycle.

As Byron said above, it will take 2 to eight weeks for your fish tank to fully cycle. If you are running the same kind of filters on both of you tanks, you can easily move over the filter media to your new tank, then add fish almost immediately. This is what I did for the switch to my 55G, so far I have no lost any fish. (I took the biowheel from a Penguin 200 and put it in the holder for the Penguin 350)

If you are not running the same kind of filters, you can add some gravel from your other tank in a mesh bag and that will help to jump start the cycle process, however it will not have the same affect as moving a established filter over.

Adding water is recommend, but not necessary, as almost all of the beneficial bacteria lay in the filter media.

I'm sure others will be along to add some advice
 
#5 ·
Were it me,(and it ain't) I would use some of the filter material from your bowfront tank and place it in the filter of the 75 gal. You are aware that youll need a larger filter for the 75 gal? I would also take approx, two cups of gravel from the bowfront and place it in a section of nylon stocking and either place it on substrate in 75 gal ,or hang it with a clothespin or binder clip in front of outflow on the 75 gal ,or place it too ,,in the filter compartment of the filter for the 75 gal. As Byron has noted, There is little in the way of bacteria in the water so I would not use any from the bowfront.
Eight guppies,pregnant or otherwise, in my view, would represent a small bioload on a 75 gal which is good. I would not add any more than the eight guppies until the tank has matured (cycled) . The time will be significantly less with the use of the materials from your bowfront but I would feed the guppies one feeding,,every other day while monitoring the water parameters.
As for sand over top of another substrate,, I would realize that there is a very good chance that the sand will eventually find it's way down through the substrate below it. I would either use sand alone,,or plant substrate alone. Hope some of this helps.
 
#6 ·
the 55 was complete( its not a 75 wife doesnt have an eye for size or shape.)


It has a aqua tech 30-60 filter and a 20-30 kicker filter 300w heater trichromatic 6500K bulb.

I put a freshly used cartridge from my bowfront and put it in the 20-30 filter, it was nice and dirty too, put about a dozen bigger bacteria loaded rocks in as well.

I have the flourite down about 2-3" and about 2" of sand on top, firmly packed flurite and firmly packed sand, I am not worried about it mixing I just have cories and kuhlis that need the sand not the flourite.

The Platy;s I got are Hi0Fins and took me about 3 months to find just 2 in my area, I am going to my LFS today for some starter fish, they trade em back for store credit when cycle is over, Im not a danio fan at all, are there any others that will survive the cycle and live in my 55 peacefully?
 
#7 ·
the 55 was complete( its not a 75 wife doesnt have an eye for size or shape.)


It has a aqua tech 30-60 filter and a 20-30 kicker filter 300w heater trichromatic 6500K bulb.

I put a freshly used cartridge from my bowfront and put it in the 20-30 filter, it was nice and dirty too, put about a dozen bigger bacteria loaded rocks in as well.

I have the flourite down about 2-3" and about 2" of sand on top, firmly packed flurite and firmly packed sand, I am not worried about it mixing I just have cories and kuhlis that need the sand not the flourite.

The Platy;s I got are Hi0Fins and took me about 3 months to find just 2 in my area, I am going to my LFS today for some starter fish, they trade em back for store credit when cycle is over, Im not a danio fan at all, are there any others that will survive the cycle and live in my 55 peacefully?
I would not recommend buying fish you don't really want just to start the tank cycle. You just might add disease and have more problems for weeks. Also, moving fish from tank to tank is stressful at the best of times, why hurt them even more unnecessarily? And, when you remove them, the bacteria will die off because the source of ammonia is gone. Not worth it.

Your two platys will cycle the tank fine, then add the guppies as 1077 said they are a small bioload. Then after a few days (once the tank is cycled and ammonia and nitrite read "0" consistently for several days) add a couple new fish that you want, and so forth, waiting a few days between new fish.
 
#9 ·
Don't misunderstand me, I have no idea if guppies are or aren't good cycling fish. But since whitedevil already has them and wants to move them sooner rather than later, it is better to use them than buying unwanted fish. That's all.
 
#11 ·
Hmm sounds like you're already rolling along, but if it were me, I would have just moved the filter from the old tank to the new one. Fill it up, and bam, you've got a cycled tank. The filter from the old tank will be able to handle the bioload of the fish from the old tank. Over time you can increase the number of fish and the bacteria will multiply and colonize the new filter to take on any additional bioload. Some would say "then you can remove the old filter after the new one is thoroughly seeded" but I say "why not just leave it there?" The more filtration the merrier.

Are you planning on keeping angelfish in this tank? Platies might work, but guppies seem like delicious, delicious angelfish snacks to me.
 
#12 ·
I would agree with batman if getting rid of the other tank isyour aim. Personally,, I would use the smaller tank as quarantine tank for any new fish you might be considering for the new tank. This would mean both tanks will need biological filter. This would also decrease the chance of introducing disease to the new tank from new fish. Others might recommend a small rubbermaid tub or ten gal tank for quarantine tank but you already have one up and running albeit larger. Always quarantine new fish. I can think of little more frustrating than to wait patiently for tank to mature ,,only to have disease or parasite present itself with addition on new fish.:-(
 
#13 ·
I did set it up like that, instead of one filter I used 4 used pads I had here and all the rocks with their yummy bacteria all over em. the ONLY thing I didnt trasnfer over was the mopani wood cause of the tannins.

I have a 10g QT tank in my utility room already.
 
#14 ·
I did set it up like that, instead of one filter I used 4 used pads I had here and all the rocks with their yummy bacteria all over em. the ONLY thing I didnt trasnfer over was the mopani wood cause of the tannins.

I have a 10g QT tank in my utility room already.
Ahhh this is good!;-)
 
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