Cichlid tank setup

[Sunny.C]

i just got a new tank, 40 gallons.
Ok can someone please explain what steps i need to take to step up this tank properly and than how to take the new fish from old to new tank in a safe way.
1.Do i was the new tank with tap water???
2.Do i was the gravel in tap water before i put it in?
3.What kind of ojbects should i put in the tank???plants?? rocks??
4.How long before i put the fish in from old tank???


By the way the fish are currently small 4-5cm max i will move to bigger tank later.

 

[freddyk]

How to set up the tank could depend on what cichlids you have. If you have mbuna, then the artical above should answer most of your questions.

 

[loafybones]

1. Yes, you can wash the tank with tap water but if you are cycling with fish, don't use soap.

2. Yes, wash the gravel out well with tap water and when you think it is clean, wash it twice more.

3. I'd say rocks would be best. Don't even bother with plants, they won't last very long! as long as you put loads of rocks in to create plenty of places to hide, you shouldn't need much more.

4. Wait until the tank is cycled if you are doing fishless. If you want to cycle with fish though, you can put them in straight away.

Good luck

 

[Sunny.C]

What exactly is cycling??? getting the tank to generate bacteria???
what is it in plain english?
I understand i need to do it when i first get the tank.
1.Whats the steps for it??
2.How often do i do it?

 

[loafybones]

Cycling is basically getting all of the chemicals in the water to a safe level for the fish.
You can either do this using fish (which is what I did for both of mine) or without fish (dunno how that works). For a fish cycle, you need to get the water in and put all the usual things in like de-chlorinator and stuff like that. Then you need to get the temperature right for the fish you want to keep and see if you can keep it stable for a couple of days. Then you need to get yourself some good hardy fish like Zebra Danios or Red Zebra Cichlids.
What happens is, the fish's poo breaks down and creates ammonia. Then the ammonia gets broken down by bacteria and the by-product of this is nitrite. Then that gets broken down by more bacteria into nitrate, which is relatively safe for fish but you don't want to let this get too high. This is controlled by doing water changes.
You need to test the water regularly to check the levels of these three chemicals. When the ammonia and nitrite are at 0, you can add more fish a species at a time leaving a couple of weeks until you get more. Adding too many fish at once can cause ammonia spikes and kill the fish.
I know it seems complicated, but you only need to cycle your tank once and you're away!