Cycling -- With Fish :/

[n3ont3tra]

Amonia is prooving to be hard to find, surprisingly. Just to make sure, it won't work if it has surfactants in it, right? I'm assuming it's not.... so I guess I have to do a cycle with fish What would the procedure be? Just add a filter and heater and a few hardy fish and keep testing the water untill amonia and nitrites is at zero? Also, what would some good fish to try be? It's for a 10 gallon tank. I would use the fish I intended to put in it, but their Rummy Nose Tetras and Panda Cories, which I've heard are fragile...

 

[Liam]

Just run a filter in your established tank or swap a little media from your running filter to your new one. Also use some gravel, plants, decor and a bit of muck from a water change from your running tank Start off with a fish or two and add slowly.

 

[karin15]

yeah thats a good idea use the water from your water change.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Ok, would it be okay if I added just a few shrimp first? Then added more fish?

 

[SamUK]

yeah thats a good idea use the water from your water change.

the water has basically nothing in it thats beneficial to your fish or the cycle.

the only way that would help is if you were moving fish from an existing tank into the new one and even then its only helpful because the fish dont get a shock being put into new water.



if you have a tank already then using some of the media from that tank will help alot but otherwise youll jus have to keep an eye on the levels and if they get to high then do a waterchange.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I'm worried about my fish, though. I've already bought natural-colored gravel for the new tank because I despise the bright pink and black gravel from the 30 gallon. My stocking plans are this:
6 Rummy Nose Tetras
3 Panda Cories
4 Ghost Shrimp
It'll be filtered with one Penguin Biowheel 150. Also, the tank will be very heavily planted. When would be the best time to add the plants?
What fish (or invertebrate) should I add first?

 

[fluffy]

chuck some gravel in a stocking then sit the stocking on the top of your new gravel, add a few fish at a time, once the bacteria colony grows it will move into your new gravel after a week or two then you can chuck the stocking and the awful pink gravel with it.

 

[George Farmer]

Add plants right away. Providing there's sufficient light etc. to acheive decent growth rates they will uptake the NH3/4, NO2 etc.

Does the bio-wheel agitate the surface? This will drive off CO2, not good for a "very heavily planted" tank.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I dunno if it aggitates the surface -- I haven't gotten it yet. The only thing I have right now is the tank, gravel, and light.

EDiT: In my 29g I have 2 SecondNature Whisper Power Filters with the "Bio-Bags" and an undergravel filter. Could I use the biobag filter media on the Penguin Filters? Would it fit? I've never had a penguin before. If they'll fit, then I won't have a problem... Also, antother question, would I have to remove the activated carbon from filters in the planted tank? I've heard it uses up a lot of the nutrients that plants need. If that's true, then is the only point of carbon to get rid of medications?

 

[zoekin8yg]

You dont need ammonia you can add fish food which will break down into similar products that the fish will produce themselves!! I think you would also be overstocked with what you plan to add.

 

[Griz]

Here's what I did:
I took the media from the new filter and ran it for a few weeks in my established tank's filter. (I had room for it ) In the mean time I filled the new tank and set it up the way I wanted it. I ran it with the filter and no media for the entire time while I set the heater, added the plants, shells and rocks etc. This allowed me to fiddle with it without fish in there. I then simply put the media into the filter of the new tank and I was good to go. I only added a pair of shelldwellers so the load was light but it worked like a charm and I had absolutely no Nitrates or Ammonia in the tank. (I tested daily for about 2 weeks to make sure)

You don't want carbon in a planted tank. As you said, it is good for removing meds though so save it.

I'd seriously consider sand for a planted tank that is going to have corydoras in it.

I'm not familiar with the filters you are talking about that have cartridges. I use Aquaclears that simply have a block of reuseable foam that is rinsed every so often. I would look for something like that.

Add your plants right away, they don't require a cycled tnak.

 

[karin15]

yeah thats a good idea use the water from your water change.

the water has basically nothing in it thats beneficial to your fish or the cycle.

the only way that would help is if you were moving fish from an existing tank into the new one and even then its only helpful because the fish dont get a shock being put into new water.



if you have a tank already then using some of the media from that tank will help alot but otherwise youll jus have to keep an eye on the levels and if they get to high then do a waterchange.

the water that you sucked out with a gravel vacume would be full of bacteria.
*of course thats on top of the regular cloneing, I should have done that when I cloned my tank.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I'd seriously consider sand for a planted tank that is going to have corydoras in it.

The gravel I'm using is very fine and smooth. It's not /quite/ sand, but it's close. Also, I know the tank will be overstocked, and I plan on doing a 20% water change every 5 days. That should be enough to keep nitrates down, I think.

Okay, so here's what I'm going to do:
1. Install penguin biowheel filter.
2. Smeare a little bit of stuff from my 29g onto the new filter
3. Put a little bit of gravel vac'd water in the new tank
4. Test for amonia and nitrites
5. Put some fish food on the bottom of the tank so it'll turn into amonia
6. Install a heater
7. Get plants
8. Make sure the fish food I put in is gone
9. Test again
10. Add fish, slowly.
11. Test
12. Water Change
13. Test
14. Water Change
15. Continue.

That sound good? I'll probably get the filter in a week.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Hey, does this sound good?

 

[starrynightxxi]

i think you would be betterr off running the new filer on the old tank for a little while. It's a better way of getting the bacteria colony built up then just smearing some of the gunk into the filter.

Also, as for the water and gravel, there is actually very little bacteria in the water column. Only moving water would pretty much makes no difference in cycling. Gravel, if in the case of an undergravel filter, would have the bacteria in it, but other wise, it too has very little. Almost all the bacteria is in the filter.