Setting up a new tank

[Craig1967]

I've had this tank sitting in the garage for awhile and have finally got around to setting it up. I bought a new pine stand and gave it a coat of stain. The rocks came from FatSalvator. I bought the Sand and a filter from AoA who really looked after me.

I just started cycling it, I swapped some foam and BIOMAX from another filter so I assume I can start adding fish soon. I have never heard of the cycling process in the past, I pretty much used to fill up the tank and add fish a few at a time. This time around I will test the water daily for awhile and see what results I get before adding fish. Just a thought, as I have added media from another filter I should already have some good bacteria in the system, if there is no ammonia going into the system will the good bacteria dye off?

The tank size is 4 x 18 x 15. I want to add 5 x Electric Yellow, 5 x Demasoni and a couple of Bristle nose catfish (if they can handle the high PH), is this to many fish for this size tank and rocks.

I am happy to hear any advice people may have.

[Stevie wonder]

Looks good, I like the white rock with the blue background good combo! Just keep doing what your doing, Should be sweet in a few days:)

[PETFISH]

LOOKS REAL NICE ,i would put a small group (4-5)cuckoo cats in rather than b/nose though,make sure you put up a pic or two when you have fish in there.

[Jakethemuscle]

looks good mate

[Mealsy19]

Looking good mate. I just set my 6ft up for the first time. I had some seeded media that was given to me by a member on here. I added seachem Stabilty every day for 7 days and had some gold fish in there as well to help with the cycle. then had my water tested and it came back perfect conditions after a week if cycling. So I have been adding fish slowly. Plenty if help on here mate so you've come to the right place.

[FishHeadSoup]

Hi Craig,

You are correct in assuming without an ammonia source your bacteria will die off. It takes about two weeks for the first group of bacteria (nitrosomonas) to become mature enough to convert all the ammonia in your tank to nitrite. During this period, your ammonia levels will steadily increase, potentially reaching very toxic levels. Following the establishment of nitrosomonas bacteria, it takes the next group of bacteria (nitrospira) about 14 days to mature to a level that they can convert all of your tank's nitrite into nitrate.

Once your tank has an established colony of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, your ammonia and nitrite levels should be zero, or very close to it. Your nitrate levels, on the other hand, will continue to increase over time; that is, unless you have a means of removing it. While nitrate is much more safe than its predecessors, it can become toxic if you let it build up ad finitum. The two most common methods for removing nitrate are either through the use of aquarium plants (who need it to grow) or through regular water changes. Note that a single water change will not permanently solve your problem; it will just alleviate the problem for a week or two. For this reason, regular 30% water changes are strongly recommended.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Scotty

[Craig1967]

So what is the best way to get some ammonia started in the tank, add some hardy fish.

I have been adding some food each day on the assumption that it would decompose and turn into ammonia.

It has only been 2 days since filling the tank, yes I am impatient, the test results so far for both days are Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0.25 Nitrate = 5. The only change has been the PH has gone from 7.2 to 8 which I contribute to the Coral Sand and Holey rock.

That's a good simple explanation Scotty.

I don't understand why I have 0 Ammonia and some Nitrite. I would've expected to see some Ammonia first, then some Nitrite. About a third of the filter media in the new tank is from a filter where the tank tests 0 for both Ammonia and Nitrite so I thought the new tank would test 0 for both as well. Other then a pinch of food I have added each day the is nothing to add Ammonia so I don't get where the Nitrite has come from.

My guess is that I've skipped a step in the cycle by using the seeded media, the nitrites will drop down in time and all will be good.

[FishHeadSoup]

Hi Craig,

I would suggest adding one or two hardy fish to provide you with an ammonia source as it is far too hard to find pure ammonia in Australia to start a fishless cycle.

The majority of ammonia is excreted directly from the fish, not just from uneaten food and fecal matter. The ammonia is excreted passively via the gills. Nevertheless, you want to be careful not to overfeed fish as their feces will contribute to higher ammonia levels. If the ammonia gets high too quickly they will probably die before your tank is done cycling. It is very important that you not put more than one or two fish in your tank to cycle it.

It is critical that your nitrite levels stabilize at zero before you introduce more fish into the tank. This may take more than a couple of weeks, so monitor your nitrite levels every other day during the cycling period. You don't need to bother monitoring the ammonia since it will peak before the nitrite. Nitrite will be the critical factor in determining if your tank has completed its cycling period.

Cheers,

Scotty

Edited December 22, 2012 by webmaster
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