Eek, Here Goes, First Malawi Set Up...

[locust267]

I've been posting here over the past few days after being absent from the hobby since January (please feel free to read my other topics).

I have decided to re cycle and go with a Malawi tank, and I'm either starting the cycle tomorrow or Tuesday.

I have a 260l tank that I have kitted out with flat rocks and sand (I also have kept in a piece of bogwood I love even though I know this may not be ideal with pH, it is quite an old piece), ocean rock and a few cobbles.

I have a TetraTec ex1200 that I hope will be sufficient until I start over stocking, at which point I will purchase another filter.

I have decided to try a "add daily" fishless cycle this time due to it creating more happy bacteria for the overstocking.

Tested my tap water tonight and readings are:

pH: 7.6
KH: 9

I'm not sure but I think this translates into a GH of 161.1.

Judging by my results, I'm guessing for a malawi set up, I will need to raise my pH (hoping to do this with coral sand in filter).

Also raise my KH and GH, I'm not too sure how they interlock (like how ammonia, nitrite and mitrate have a knock on effect). I have read that I could add baking soda to the tank, 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons, and also epson salts? What's the consensus on this and should I add whilst cycling?

Will try to get a pic uploaded but it's nothing special, I know I need to add more rock at a later date but trying to save the pennies at the moment

Thank in advance

Vicki

 

[rifty]

dont do soda or salts!!! you will create massive varience in the ph using them!
just de chlorinate your tape water and buffer using like you said coral sand in the filter

 

[bullit]

GH of 160 and PH of 7.6 is fine. I wouldnt even add any in the filter with that, especially if your going for a coral sand substrate as that should buffer you up slighly more.

I use baking soda, only for the fact i have wild caught fish. cheers

 

[locust267]

GH of 160 and PH of 7.6 is fine. I wouldnt even add any in the filter with that, especially if your going for a coral sand substrate as that should buffer you up slighly more.

I use baking soda, only for the fact i have wild caught fish. cheers

I've just got playsand substrate, was considering mixing in some coral sand but instead thought it might look better to just put in filter?

Good to know water levels are a good starting point

 

[Malawi MaD]

GH of 160 and PH of 7.6 is fine. I wouldnt even add any in the filter with that, especially if your going for a coral sand substrate as that should buffer you up slighly more.

I use baking soda, only for the fact i have wild caught fish. cheers

I've just got playsand substrate, was considering mixing in some coral sand but instead thought it might look better to just put in filter?

Good to know water levels are a good starting point

Definitely put it in the filter as the sand will just sieve through the coral sand .

 

[locust267]

GH of 160 and PH of 7.6 is fine. I wouldnt even add any in the filter with that, especially if your going for a coral sand substrate as that should buffer you up slighly more.

I use baking soda, only for the fact i have wild caught fish. cheers

I've just got playsand substrate, was considering mixing in some coral sand but instead thought it might look better to just put in filter?

Good to know water levels are a good starting point

Definitely put it in the filter as the sand will just sieve through the coral sand .

How many grams worth of coral sand should I put in filter? I was just about to purchase a 4kg bag. How often would this need changing (if ever)?

 

[rifty]

GH of 160 and PH of 7.6 is fine. I wouldnt even add any in the filter with that, especially if your going for a coral sand substrate as that should buffer you up slighly more.

I use baking soda, only for the fact i have wild caught fish. cheers

are you concerned with spikes in ph using it?
i keep wilds never used it nore been advised to? but i do live in kent with very hard tap water!

 

[locust267]

I've done some tests on my 54l tank today and all looking good. So even though the filter is only little, I'm going to take some media out of it and put it into the ex1200 tomorrow when the replacement media arrives.

It might speed things up a little bit, so will keep posted.

Oh and I've also ordered some coral sand and bought some tights, so I can also pop this in the filter. Any idea on how many grams of coral sand to put into filter?

 

[bullit]

GH of 160 and PH of 7.6 is fine. I wouldnt even add any in the filter with that, especially if your going for a coral sand substrate as that should buffer you up slighly more.

I use baking soda, only for the fact i have wild caught fish. cheers

are you concerned with spikes in ph using it?
i keep wilds never used it nore been advised to? but i do live in kent with very hard tap water!

My water is hard but ph was 7.6. I prob didnt have too, but i wanted the water right for a few reasons. I dose on water changes and have had no problems. Ph maxes out at 8.2 then.

 

[locust267]

Today Nh3 at 4ppm (haven't added media from other tank yet and still waiting for parcel with replacement media) also tested ph and that's gone up to 8... I thought ph usually drops with ammonia, or could it be that the rocks are kicking in?

Still gonna add the coral sand to filter when it arrives, hopefully it'll create a more stable ph overall once the cycle is done.

 

[bullit]

When you intialy tested the ph, was it straight out the tap or did you leave it a day? It normally goes up you see.

 

[locust267]

Yes, it was just a test on the basic tap water straight away.

Will update when I start seeing changes

 

[locust267]

We have a bit of movement today:

Day 5:

NH3 = 1.5PPM
NO2 = 1PPM

 

[bullit]

Yes, it was just a test on the basic tap water straight away.

Will update when I start seeing changes

ok. Normally if you aerate a glass of water for 24 hours the ph will go up. cheers

 

[locust267]

Well, day 15 and I had my first double Zeros this am. Have now redosed to 3ppm and once I see the next double zeros I will up to 4ppm.
I did do things slightly differently, just hoping my cycle continues to run smoothly as the first time it took 8 weeks.

I didn't thoughoughly clean the filter before starting it up again (was off since January, so maybe the bacteria can lie dormant)? I added a tiny amount of media from my filter in the 54l which only has one harlequin in on day 3 of my current cycle, so maybe that sped things up. I also started to do 12 hour dosing, each time taking to 1ppm (so max 2ppm in 24 hours), my thinking was give the nitrite a chance to process. Also done a 80% W/C on day 8.

Here are my results so far:

DAY 1:

Added 5ppm ammonia

DAY 2:

NH3 = 5PPM

DAY 3:

NH3 = 4PPM
PH = 8
KH = 10 dKH
GH = 179

DAY 4:

NH3 = 4PPM

DAY 5:

NH3 = 1.5PPM
NO2 = 1PPM

DAY 5 (EVE):

NH3 = 0.25PPM
NO2 = Off the scale
NO3 = 7.5PPM

DAY 6:

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 2PPM

DAY 6 (EVE):

NH3 = 0.25
NO2 = Off the scale

DAY 7:

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 2PPM

DAY 7 (EVE):

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale
PH = 7.9

DAY 8:

NO2 = Off the scale
NO3 = 7.5

80% W/C took NO2 down to 1PPM

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 2PPM

DAY 8 (EVE):

NH3 = 0
NO2 = 4PPM

DAY 9:

NO2 = 4PPM
NO3 = 15PPM (false reading)?

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 2PPM

DAY 9 (EVE):

NH3 = 0

DAY 10:

NO2 = Off the scale
NO3 = 7.5PPM
PH = 7.9

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 1PPM

DAY 10 (EVE):

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 1PPM

DAY 11:

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale
NO3 = 5PPM (false reading)?

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 1PPM

DAY 11 (EVE):

NO2 = Off the scale

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 1PPM

DAY 12:

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale
NO3 = 7.5PPM

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 2PPM

DAY 12(EVE):

NO TEST AND NO DOSING AS TOOK TO 2PPM IN MORNING

DAY 13:

NH3 = 0
NO2 = Off the scale
PH = 7.9

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 2PPM

DAY 13 (EVE):

NO TEST AND NO DOSING AS TOOK TO PPM IN MORNING

DAY 14:

NO TESTING BUT INCREASED AMMONIA TO 2PPM AT 16:00

DAY 15:

NH3 = 0
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 40PPM

*ADDED AMMONIA TO 3PPM

May be wishful thinking but I'm hoping to get two more zeros in the morning Will test at 10pm tonight and report back in the morning.