20gallon Journal - Updated Daily - Indir

[indir-emir]

Hmm so i should wait another week before any fish are added?

From what i understood i thought the qualifying week was to make sure it would stay at 0 and give time to get fish.

Regards,
Indir

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yup thats right, make sure that your stats stay at 0. this is the first day you've got the 0,0 at 12 hrs right?

unfortunately sometimes in the few days after this you'll see a little blip, better to wait just 1 more week and make sure you're done rather than un-do all your hard work by rushing at this stage.

don't spoil the road for a ha'peth worth of tar as my mum always say's!

 

[indir-emir]

Ahh damnit, got so excited. More waiting on the way i guess :\ lol. But hey if i go the whole week wouldnt the bacteria start to die off?

Also how big a syphon would i need for my gravel? Most are around 1cm big and only a few mm thick

Regards,
Indir

 

[waterdrop]

During the qualifying week you still have to feed the bacteria as you've been doing. There's really no distinction from normal fishless cycling except that of course you should be seeing 0,0 the whole week. As like all the other times, this too will be hard to do/interpret in your case because of the fishfood method being used. But, in a way, the qualifying week would seem to be even more important in this case because the fishfood method is less sure and not as easy to interpret.

With gravel cleaning products you just have to see what's available to buy and use common sense I believe. Hopefully if you see a number of choices it will become obvious which are meant for great big tanks vs. small ones and so forth. The clear cylindrical tubes in particular can be bought in sizes that would be just way too big and not comfortable for a 10 or 20 gallon tank, so look for a smaller one for those sizes.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[indir-emir]

Okay thanks for the advice on the gravel syphon.

So i still gotta wait a week before i add any fish? Argh damnit lol. Got all excited when i saw a 0 for nitrite too

So i keep doing what ive been doing, but keep testing every 12 hours now? Ensuring it stays at 0. In a weeks time i add fish and monitor for a week to ensure its done?

Just out of curiousity what would happen if i added the fish now? I dont understand how it would throw out the cycle thats all

Regards,
Indir

 

[rabbut]

The mistery item mentioned is a little air driven box filter. Just skimmed the thread, so someone else may have answered this by now, but basically it's packed woth floss and carbon to provide basic mechanical and chemical filtration. Personally, I'd ditch the carbon (in the bottom half) and fit sponge in it's place to give some bio-media

You feed the air-line into the smaller of the two holes on top (there should be two) and then pump air down said airline, and it draws water though the filter. It should be Ok for a 5g with modifications

All the best
Rabbut

 

[indir-emir]

Oh i see. Thanks for that rabbut. Ill see i if i can work it out and give it to my girlfriend for her 5 gallon betta tank she will be getting soon

Anyone know what adding fish to the cycle at this point would do, i dont understand how it would or why it would throw out the cycle?

Regards,
Indir

 

[rabbut]

Your right, adding fish wouldn't throw out the cycle, but it will put them at immediate risk of death, disease and shortend lifespans.

Poor water quality is one of the major caurses of stress in fish, and raised Ammonia and Nitrite would constitute a water quality issue if fish are in the tank. Stress leads to lowered immune systems, and hence increased disease suseptability. Couple this with the fact that both Ammonia and Nitrite are toxic, even in small ammounts, and you see where the death comes in... Ammonia (and prolonged exposure to Nitrite) will caurse permanant damage to the gills and other organs that the fish has, and this leads to a shortened life span.

The long story short is that while you could add fish now, and the situation would be marginally better than throwing them into a new tank, since the cycle is still underway, the fishes wellbeing would still be a major caurse for concern. Wait for Ammonia and Nitrite to be at zero for a full week without waterchanges, while still adding food, before you add fish. This will ensure water quality in the tank once they are in is as good as possible, and hence reduce the risk of problems

All the best
Rabbut

 

[indir-emir]

I see, i understand now. Thanks rabbut. Ill post water update in about an hour or two and let you know if its still at 0.

Any suggestions on a colourful center fish? Dwarf Gourami worried me

Regards,
Indir

 

[indir-emir]

Here is an update, 12 hours after the previous update:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 40

Ahh ever since ive seen 0 nitrites ive wanted to add fish haha

Still trying to find a decent center fish. Atm im planning to get 8 leopard danios (i like the leopard ones a little more, my cousin has a few and they look great), 2 Bristlenose catfish (found 2 small ones at a few LFS for around 10 AUD a piece, i am still unsure of my centerpiece fish :\ Any suggestions? I cant find any lol

Regards,
Indir

P.S I have changed this thread into my journal for my tank. I will continue to update and also post all my questions here to prevent many threads around the forum lol.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah basically at this point you just about have enough bacteria to manage.

remember that each generation for bacteria lasts for a few hours, maybe a day. try to think of your bacteria colony like a pioneer settlement, when you first hit 0,0 that's the first time you would class your little settlement as a village. so you can imagine in those early days of the village any small thing, a disease or a winter that's too cold could easily wipe out the village or make a dent in it. it's only a few generations down the line where the settlement is robust enough that it can cope with little things going wrong.

likewise for your bacteria, at this moment in time it's there, but it's vulnerable, there's lots of little things which could dent the population and cause a mini cycle. It's fairly often to see this in the first week after you get your 0,0 readings.

But a week is a long time for a bacteria colony so just keeping going for 1 week and then the colony will be much more robust and it's therefore much safer to add fish at this point.

 

[indir-emir]

Okay thats a shame, was excited thinking i could get some fish lol. Guess ill stick it out, and go on the weekend and find the fishies im after lol.

Any ideas on how to tell the difference between a male and female danio? As far as i can tell from my cousins leopard danio is that some have bigger bellies while some are slim

Are there any cichlids that wouldnt kill all my other fish? Ive seen many good looking ones but im pretty sure they are all agressive lol.

Regards,
Indir

 

[indir-emir]

Okay back for an update everyone and another question. First, here are the water test updates. 12 hours after previous test:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 40
PH = 7.4

Also got a question. When i bought my tank (off ebay remember ) i got a piece of wood with it, anyone able to identify if it is safe to use for bristlenose? (P.S. I realise it is wood and hard tt identify but thought it was worth a shot, looks like drift wood to me)
(P.S.S They are all the same wood, each side is taken with and without a flash, just incase it was easier to identify with/without flash)
Pictures:

Kindest Regards,
Indir

 

[rabbut]

Looks like bog wood to me. Sit it in a bucket of water and see if it makes the water go yellow. If it does, it likely is bog wood and can be used safely. Other woods may rot if they aren't bog wood, and this can caurse problems.

For center piece fish, Dwarf Gourami should be fine with the danios. I'd get the danios first, then wait a coupe of month for the Gourami and Bristle Nose plecs The Plecs and DG's aren't that hardy IME and have a habbit of flaking over in a new tank

All the best
Rabbut

 

[indir-emir]

Heh yeah thats the problem, since im still sorta starting out (even tho ive researched tonnes) im trying to start with a few hardy fish. Im gonna get about 8-10 Danios, probably a few leopards, zebras and blues. Whatever i can find in the store really They will all shoal together. Not sure when i should at the BN :\ would it be okay to add one BN at a time (male then female or female then male), or better off both at the same time (can find 2-3 inch ones for around 10 AUD)

Ill have to find a bucket that i can see water in. I bought a black bucket not thinking about needing to see things

Regards,
Indir