Jump to content

Cycling my tank


Bruce

Recommended Posts

Hi, I have a 6x2x2.5, I am filling it with water this Thursday night. I need it to be ready for fish (tangs) in about two weeks. Is this possible to do in a safe way? I have the following products to assist me; Prime, Cycle and Stresszyme. I am planning to use Tanganyikan Seachem buffer aswell. I also have a test kit with pH, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites arriving in a couple of days. Can someone give me a runthrough of what I should be doing? My filter is a 4ft sump with around 1000 bioballs and I also have an FBF, should I add this to my multi tank to build some bio up?

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 115
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Hey Bruce,

I recently set up an 8x3x2 about 5 months ago. In your case it should be fine to get fish in there within 2 weeks.

I put in a bottle of cycle for my tank, and about 5 days after i added the cycle, i added 2 large hardy fish, a 10 inch cigar shark, and a 9 inch tinfoil barb, just to help get the bacteria going. I eased up on the feeding during that time, but in 2 weeks i had all my fish from my 4ft in there, which included a 18ich silver aro, a 10 inch chocolate cichlid, 3 clown loaches, a sorubim lima shovelnose cat, a pink tail chalceus, and a 13inch gibbiceps..

They were fine, and i don't see why your're tank will not be able to take fish in 2 weeks.

Hope this helps

Regards

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

couple of questions....

1) What are the tangs: species, size, numbers

2) how do you plan to cycle? eg: fishless or with hardy fish?

If with hardy fish, you'd have to get something that can cop the hardness of the tank, I don't know how goldies would do in a tang perameter tank for instance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I put in a bottle of cycle for my tank, and about 5 days after i added the cycle

I believe he meant that he put in two large hardy fish five days after adding the cycle.

Bruce, you could seed your fbf with a tiny amount of gravel from your multie tank. Or just not bother. You have more than enough biological filtration for the small bioload you will have in that large vloume of water. It will seed itself eventually. Maybe you could put your multie colony, or part of in there for two weeks? You arent having any large fish in there so spikes should not be a big issue for you. Just test regularly for the first few weeks. With such a small fish load, you can keep on top on any problems with water changes...

A fishless cyvle as as mentioned would be quite ok imho.... No risk of introducing disease that way...

Cheers,

Jason

thumbup.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fish going in are 5 Cyp. "Utinta" just for the beginning. I plan to do it fishlessly. So I should add the Prime then the cycle?

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Bruce,

Sorry mate, i intended to say a 'i added a bottle of cycle' and then i added a couple of fish.. sorry mate lol

Yeah, apart from that little blemish, all is correct...

my sump has exacly 1000 bioballs, and it is smaller than yours...

You should be fine to add fish after 2 weeks..

Again, sorry for the mistake.

Regards

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

feed it more ammonia - though only 5 fish is sfa bioload for that tank size.

what are you feeding the bacteria with in that two week period?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get tank water parameters stable (Seachem salts will go a long way towards that), including temperature. Make sure all systems are operating, add Aquasonic's Nitrosomona and Nitrobactor, as you put the fish in. Cycle time = immediate.

Nitrosomona and Nitobactor are no longer credited as the bacteria that break down the fish wastes, but never the less, this is still what the product is called. What ever is in the bottle is the actual bacteria that do our cycling. It is a different product than the product Cycle, as it IS the bacteria itself. Cycle is not. Cycle has ammonia in it, Nitrosomona and Nitrobactor require the fish to feed them – hense the addition of product and fish at the same time.

Get an ammonia alert as well (put it in first to make sure your tank isn’t already cycling i.e. has ammonia in it), you can monitor what is going on with just a glace.

I started my big tank with this stuff, and put fish (foai for example) in at the same time. I am still waiting for an ammonia spike (nearly 12 months).

I have used this product with Tropheus as well, with no issues.

Craig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Absolutely not!

The product Aquasonic sell, in fact needs to be kept refrigerated to hold its shelf life. When they send it out the send it with a cold brick, and if you purchase it, you should transport it in cold conditions (esky/cold brick). The aquarium needs to also keep it in a fridge (not freezer). This is the actual bacteria in “suspended animation”, and will be “activated” once put (warmed) in your tank.

The other way you can get instant cycling is to obtain enough activated (used) biological media from an existing set up. Simply put it in the new tank and away you go.

Craig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

get a squeezing out of someone's filter sponge in a similarly stocked tank, squeeze it straight onto your new filter media when setting her up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

get a squeezing out of someone's filter sponge in a similarly stocked tank, squeeze it straight onto your new filter media when setting her up.

All this is likely to do is put a lot of crap from one tank to another wink2.gif . It will “seed” the new tank/filter, but will do little more than adding a handful of gravel to the tank from an existing tank does.

Look at it this way; bacteria HANG ON, if they didn’t they wouldn’t be able to survive in a FBF blink.gif . Your squeezing a sponge filter out will do little. Put the whole sponge filter in the new tank (of similar stocking density – which is more relevant than tank size), and you have a new tank instantly cycled.

Craig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My friend 2 doors down is keeping mainganos and E. yellows in a 4fter, the filtration is a Via Aqua 6500. It holds 6.5 litres, would this be big enough to start the bio? Should I put a handful of my multies sand in there? I have already added the Prime, should I tip the whole bottle of cycle in?

For those of you who read my help... topic you may be pleased to know that the tank is running now bigsmile.gif

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those of you who read my help... topic you may be pleased to know that the tank is running now :lol1:

woot.gif Oh yeah!

My friend 2 doors down is keeping mainganos and E. yellows in a 4fter, the filtration is a Via Aqua 6500.  It holds 6.5 litres, would this be big enough to start the bio?  Should I put a handful of my multies sand in there?  I have already added the Prime, should I tip the whole bottle of cycle in?

If your friend can spare a sponge or some bio-media out of the filter, put it into your sump directly. (as per Craig's advice) Actually when are you adding fish? don't put your buddy's filter media into your filter until the day before or earlier on the day you stock the tank. Throw some of your multi sand into your tank if you like, every little bit helps (even if only by placebo).

How big of a bottle of cycle is it? When setting up tanks or after medicating I dump whole 125ml bottles into my 4x2s so if you have a 250ml one dump her in (the tank is a 6x2x2.5 isn't it?), 500ml dump in 1/2 now & 1/2 a few days later (eg: when you add fish).

If you can get that stuff Craig was talking about, add it when you add fish as well.

For all of the bacteria in a bottle products, tip them down your weirs or near to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope to add fish in two weeks, I got the 250ml bottle of cycle so I'll tip it all in. I also have some stresszyme which is bacteria in a bottle so I'll tip the whole thing in aswell. When is it safe to add some multies?

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as soon as you tip in the bottles.

can you leave some multis in there permanently? cause you may have a hell of a time getting them out!

might be a way of having two colonies if there isn't going to be something that'll eat them in there, imagine them with all that space!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think if they go into their shells it should be easy to get them out. I got two minor filter problems that need fixing angry.gif One of the pipes from the bulkhead has a minor leak and bubbles are entering from the other bulkhead causing water to flow over the side of the sump angry.gif I will trying a small stand pipe and maybe this will fix it.

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know, but further my way laugh.gif My parents won't drive me somewhere for a couple of bioballs.

Edit: I tipped in the bottle of cycle into my sump and I also added some seachem buffer, the current parameters are;

pH:8.5

Ammonia: 0.5

Nitrite: 0.5

Nitrate: 5.0

I plan to add my multies this weekend.

Edit 2: There is also a handful of multi sand in a stocking in there now aswell. I also added more Prime.

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Bruce.

Just a question, have you added any fish yet? If not your efforts of adding the cycle are being wasted as there is nothing providing a source of ammonia.

Mitch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...