[che_rog]

Hello All,

I read your messages and have learnt alot about setups I think. Although here in Aus we use metric not imperial but anyway any thoughts on the setup I have here would be appreciated as would advise on cycling:

Firstly the setup

1. Tank 4 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot (about 350 liters 90 Gallons?? after gravel)

2. Filtration. Internal powerhead driven filter canister 1200 l / hr with large sponge filter

3. External Canister Fluval 405 (2 layers of carbon and 2 of stone thingys, I was thinking of Peat in one?)

4. Heating 2 x 200W Fluval Heaters

5. Lighting flourescents 1 is for plant (Power Glo) 1 is for fish (Aqual Glo) 40 W each

That is just about it for the hardware, I have only just put in the water and chlorine treatment (Flex Geoliquid) and the tank is just now 36 hours later starting to clear.

Any thoughs on what is missing above?? I was thinking about a UV steraliser (maybe 9W) but that is about it.

Secondly the cycling and chemicals

I bought a bulk test kit which has the following
- Ammonia (NH3/NH4)
- PH
- Nitrate
- Nitrite
- GH & KH Test
- Thermometer etc

When do I use half of this and when would be a good time to start adding fish and plants. The water in Mebourne is very good quality but has chlorine and Flourine which the geo liquid is supposed to remove.

I want to start the cycle and are looking at a commuinty tank (neons, guppys, things of the sort) what should I put in and how many to get the cycle going and when can I add more etc.

Any suggestions or FAQ's would be appreciated. My ultimate goal is to have discuss fish and the tank is in my living room so it's cleanliness is important.

Best regards
Che

 

[FDStation152]

Well one thing I'd point out is that if you are using live plants you'll have to be sure to pick ones that don't require much light as you're lighting is considered to be inadequate for most. I actually manage with even less than that but its just a matter of choosing the right plants. Also be sure to keep the tank out of direct sunlight or you'll have a lot of problems with algae and possibly keeping the temperature steady. Good to hear that you aren't gonna be tossing discus in there right away...a lot of people tend to just jump into keeping them without realizing the extra work that is involved in keeping them.

 

[Sleepy]

Hello All,

I want to start the cycle and are looking at a commuinty tank (neons, guppys, things of the sort) what should I put in and how many to get the cycle going and when can I add more etc.

The cycle will start from itself. You can feed the empty tank daily with some dryfood to get the bacterias starting.
There´s no fish necessary to start the cycle.
The cycle may take 2-6 weeks.

After that, depending on the water conditions (GH, pH, KH), you should think about the right fish for your water conditions or adjust the conditions for the desired fish (discus).

 

[musho3210]

Hello All,

I want to start the cycle and are looking at a commuinty tank (neons, guppys, things of the sort) what should I put in and how many to get the cycle going and when can I add more etc.

The cycle will start from itself. You can feed the empty tank daily with some dryfood to get the bacterias starting.
There´s no fish necessary to start the cycle.
The cycle may take 2-6 weeks.

After that, depending on the water conditions (GH, pH, KH), you should think about the right fish for your water conditions or adjust the conditions for the desired fish (discus).

that is one way to do it but not many people like it since you are cycling the tank with no fish, it is safer and considered less expensive but if you want the fish badly you can go get some HARDY fish. Good starter fish for a tropical community are platies, good starters for a semi-agressive are zebra danios or tiger barbs, and good starters for a coldwater tank are white clouds.

There are other fish you can use but the ones i just told you are some of the hardiest

here is what fish_4_all says about cycling methods

http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3738

 

[Sleepy]

that is one way to do it but not many people like it since you are cycling the tank with no fish, it is safer

The cylce will still be the same without a fish.
After the cycle it is still the same: you can´t stock the tank with too much fish at the same time.

Why is it safer ?

I don´t see any differences in that except to surrender a healthy fish for no reason.

I think people should never be advised to start with a hardy fish to get the cycle starting. Considered the fish does not die and "hardy" fish usually survive the cycle, it has still a time of suffer behind it and it could still be affected afterwards.

I love fish so why should I do this to one of them ?
Lack of patience is no excuse - not for me.

 

[musho3210]

well for me, i used zebra danios and they brought my nitrite levels to 2. They survived, every single one of them, one of them is sick with an internal paracite but its been an entire month before it cycled. And it is not condeming a fish to death. But the choice of fish or fishless cycle is completely up to the person, just as long as he is ready to do large water changes (50%) almost even daily if the levels get too high.

I also meant safer by the fishless being safer as no fish will die.

 

[Sleepy]

well for me, i used zebra danios and they brought my nitrite levels to 2. They survived, every single one of them, one of them is sick with an internal paracite but its been an entire month before it cycled. And it is not condeming a fish to death. But the choice of fish or fishless cycle is completely up to the person, just as long as he is ready to do large water changes (50%) almost even daily if the levels get too high.

I also meant safer by the fishless being safer as no fish will die.

I still don´t understand.
Water changes while the tank is in the cycle with or without fish ?

I´ve never heard of that and seriously, I´ve keeping tanks my whole life.
I´ve seen fish die in high and low nitrite levels and I really think it´s some kind of cruelty as every fish will suffer. That´s not a question of surviving or not.

Those high levels weaken the immune system and the fish suffers with oxygen deficiency.

However, I think I just have another opinion of the cycle and it´s necessities.

 

[magic_marty]

you might check in to getting some bio-spira from marineland its supposed to cycle very quickly without any harm to fish.we are going to upgrade to a 55 soon and i am going to use it to cycle.Just remember it needs to be kept refrigerated cause its actual live nitrifying bacteria.



Good luck...

 

[che_rog]

Thankyou all I will keep you posted on my efforts.

Tanks clear now 48 hours after and I will run all the tests soon.

I think I will grab some fish and throw them in maybe the zebras.

Cheers
Che

 

[che_rog]

Update on tank progress

OK ,

for those interested I believe I want to add a few fish and a plant as the tank is now clear and I have added a couple of airstones. Its time to get it cycling I hope.

My readings are :

Temp stabe 25 Deg C (sorry no good at imperial cobversions)

Nitrate - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
GH - 35 ppm
KH - 53 ppm
Amonia - 0 ppm
PH 7.2

I have added a little PH down to try to get PH 7 and will check tommorrow.

Does anythink here preclude me adding maybe 5 guppies and a small catfish to the tank I described above.

All assistance appreciated. I'll post a phot of the tank later.

Regards

 

[Lupin]

Hi Che.:wave:

Pls avoid the use of pH adjusting chemicals. There's no need to fiddle with it unless necessary. pH adjusting chemicals are quite harmful and once the effects are gone, the pH has a tendency to swing back to its usual level. 7.2 is not going to harm any of your fish at all. Neither is it too high even for guppies and most catfish.

Have you added any established gravel, filter media or decors? If not, you have to do it to allow the bacteria to start the cycling of the tank.

 

[che_rog]

Blue,

I appreciate your feedback and not your comments on the PH. I am new to this hobby and are treading carfully.

Last thing I want is my young son's first fish to die and being 4 he is impatient.

Unfortunately everything I have put in the tank is new including gravel.

All I have done was as suggested was add a little fish food to the tank which I have only done once soon after the tank had cleared.

Maybe I should see if the shop can give me some established media, wouldn't the plant so this though in a small way.

Is the suggestion to wait on the fish??

Thanks

 

[che_rog]

Blue,

PLease understand

"I appreciate your feedback and not your comments on the PH"

was to read

"I appreciate your feedback and note your comments on the PH"

Che

 

[Lupin]

:quiet: :quiet:
We should have done it in pm.:mrgreen: That's ok.

Seems you're doing well with everything. Try to ask your lfs' established filter media. It will certainly speed up the cycling process. Make sure when adding your fish that the ammonia and nitrites are zero.

Good luck.:wave:

 

[che_rog]

Thanks Mate,

I am in Melbourne Aus so here it is 10pm in the evening, I am trying to get some late night work done.. I assume you are in the a states by the time.

I want to get there over one day but not for the moment.

Keep you posted on progress.

Cheers