Cambspaul Fish In Cycle Log

[cambspaul]

All advice welcome please .

fluval venezia 350 tank (294 liters)
300 w heater set to 23 degrees c
fluval 405 filter pump output 1300 liters/hour
tank is 3 weeks old
1 common pleco
Think im down to 1 minnow but not sure as tank is so heavilly clouded

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ph lowrange 7.2

Have been suffering from bad advice from the place i got the tank from , started with 10 minnows and clear water now it looks like the thames .

 

[fluttermoth]

The cloudy water is probably a bacterial bloom. It shouldn't affect the fish if your other stats are ok (which they are). A few large water changes (and by large I mean 50% or more, sorry!) should clear it up.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Yes, that is a BIG tank...but you will benefit from the big water changes. In case you didn't know - you can just click the "edit" button on your first post and add more testing info as you go. I didn't mention that in the other thread...

 

[cambspaul]

Ill go for a 50% water change tomorrow then . Would that be a good time to start changing the carbon to another sort of media , i know i have to do it in stages so as not to get rid of all the bacteria .
If i get the water clear again , how long do you think ill have to wait to add more fish ?

 

[cambspaul]

Did the 50% change , can see alot better now but still cloudy . Thought i was down to 1 minnow but now its clearer can see 2 of them .

Still not sure what media to change the carbon for , have been reading about peat . Has anyone got any experience with it ?

Want to get it crystal clear then start adding more fish , thinking about discus . Was told by the shop i got the large plec from that he would be ok with discus , is that true or another bit of bad advice ?

Has anyone got any stocking ideas , this is my first tank and want it to look good .

 

[waterdrop]

Discus tanks are more or less a species tank specialty hobby, beyond the level of our beginner forum here and not often recommended to people without some years of experience in fishkeeping (perhaps you have that though.) Peat filter are indeed often used in discus tanks but the effort and skills involved in moving your water away from your tap parameters is a big deal and its best to research this for a while before making a decision in this direction. WD

 

[Skins]

Hello,
I thought about keeping discus but was quickly put off when i read up what was involved. I noticed from your previous topic size of your common pleco was mentioned, This could grow to around 46cm(18"). That will keep your alge levels down.

Skins.

 

[cambspaul]

Thank you for all the advice ,i might leave the discus idea till i have abit more experience then . Im planning another 50% water change for tomorrow . Hopefully i should get some clearer water soon .

Has anyone got any advice on what sort of fish would be ok with a large common plec . Think he might have eaten some of the minnows as never found all of there bodies . I would like a nice mix of fish but not at the risk of him picking them off .

 

[fluttermoth]

Well, all fish are individuals, so you may have a rogue, but normaly even large plecs are very peaceful and won't eat other fish, unless they're already dead, in which case they would certainly eat the corpse.

Having him/her shouldn't affect what you can stock.

 

[cambspaul]

Thanks for the advice fluttermoth . Im busy looking at stocking ideas now . Also checking out airstones and planting ideas.
After coming on here for help ive seen so many amazing designs with plants,rocks and wood . Its given me the urge to redesign .

 

[waterdrop]

Not sure if you are doing this but you might want to continue on with daily checks of the stats you posted up top. At 3 weeks, your fish-in cycle may or may not have fully cycled the 405. A 78 USg tank should leave you quite free for anything your imagination can come up with, both in terms of aquascape and stocking. Stocking plans are hard work.. lots of plans dropped before the right one emerges. Your tank gives you the option of some larger fish with groups of medium fish (including ones that normally give some trouble for those of us with smaller tanks) kept under better control by the presence of the large fish. Or, depending on your own likes, it alternatively gives the option of learning more about planted tanks and having a stunningly large shoal or two of smaller fish moving near the plants. Or of course a mix, for those who are less decisive, lol.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[cambspaul]

Tested it again today waterdrop , its still looking good .

ph 7.2
ammonia 0
nitrite 0.1
nitrate 10

Think it might have cycled . The water is now clear again after the big water changes that were advised on here .
Now all i have to do is make my mind up as to what to put in the bloody thing . I do like the sound of a large shoal , going to look in to that one now .
Trying to find some tall plants but not having much luck , does anyone know where i can get some from ?

 

[Gvilleguy]

Congrats on getting the tank cycled!

I wanted tall plants to cover the back wall of my tank, and I bought Water Sprites. They can grow in even low light, and they grow like weeds! You don't root them in the gravel - you can just wrap their roots around a small stone and secure with a rubber band. They constantly grow new root systems that can be cut and secured as a new plant.

Here is a pick of my sprites on the middle back wall:

I aways keep a "spare" sprite floating on the surface and secured to the hood (on the upper left of my picture), in case I need a new one.

 

[cambspaul]

I love your tank gvilleguy .I hope i can get mine looking good enough to put some pictures up soon .
Those sprites are just what im looking for . Im going to look online and see if i can find some .
Thanks again for the advice gville , you and the others on here have helped me learn alot . Still lots more to learn though i think .

 

[Gvilleguy]

I love your tank gvilleguy .I hope i can get mine looking good enough to put some pictures up soon .

Thanks! I've had the tank running since the end of June. I'm just about to upload a current video of it to Youtube. (will replace the link in my signature when it is done) The old video was done a couple days after adding fish, and my tank looks a LOT different that it used to. We lost all the guppies and added Rams, for instance, plus a few live plants and fake silk ones.