Fishiewishies Fishless Cycle And Other Shenanigans

[FishyWishie]

Hi all !

This will be my ongoing (once tank arrives in 1 or 2 days) thread covering my fishless cycling as well as the inevitable ups and downs there will be along the way. For those who don't know my setup.

Tank Fluval Roma 240 litre
Filter Fluval 305 (External)
Heater Tetric heater
Aerating via 28" bubble curtain

Im from scotland so the water is obviously soft however my API master kit indicates the PH is 8 or just under which from the fish ive been looking at is to high. Now ive been looking at using live plants to drop the PH as opposed to chemically doing it and as such id welcome any and all advice on the types/names of plants to look for. As id like if feasible to drop the PH as im cycling.

I'll keep this thread updated with the cycling details once it commences tho i will be in turkey for 2 weeks from the 7th june so ill be entrusting neighbours to keep topping up the ammonia every other day so when i get home i should be able to do my proving week and any final adjustments. I'll also try and add some pics as i go along !

 

[PDSimon]

8 pH will give the bacteria optimum conditions for bacterial growth in the filter

but as you're aware they don't give good conditions for a lot of fish! But you might want to look into african cichlids...a lot of those like higher pH and some are stunning. As well as other fish...

good luck with your cycle

 

[mattlee]

unfortunately plants wont drop your pH they will however use some nitrates in the water, this is why a fully healthy planted tank may well show 0 nitrates after testing.
using things to reduce the pH can be more trouble than what its worth as a steady constant pH is much better than a fluctuating one, even if its beyond a certain fishes comfort zone. dont forget that pH recordings given for different species of fish are taken from their natural habitat. a lot of fish are bred and raised on farms, by private breeders etc so will never have even been in their wild conditions. some are still caught from the wild and these mat take some acclimatising. if possible try to find out where your fish are from by asking at the lfs.
alot of my fish according to the figures prefer acidic waters but ive kept discus, corys, tetras, angels, bushfish, dwarf rainbows etc etc in a pH of 7.6-7.8. just take your time when acclimatising them and if your concerned then just do it slow and steady. i took 1.5 hours to get a discus ready for my water at the weekend with success

if i were you i would buy a tube of aquarium safe silicone from lfs and run it around the inside of the roma 240 where the top plastic trim meets the glass. i have the same tank and its forever dripping as there seems to be no seal between the two parts....... for what it takes its worth doing also if you aim the outflow of the filter towards the surface causing ripples then there is no need for an airpump etc as this will work much better at causing gas exchanges, the bubbles from an airstone/curtain are really only good for asthetics. so if youve not already bought it then i wouldnt bother and save some cash

if you still want to drop the pH then you could try using peat in the filter as a natural way instead of adding chemicals etc into the water. this will slightly tan the water how dark depends on the amount used. again though care has to be taken when adding new peat to get the same pH and an eye should be kept on the pH levels as it doesnt last forever and when it needs replacing the pH can rise again. this may cause stress to the fish hence the reason a steady pH is better than a modified one. hopw this helps

 

[FishyWishie]

Good news ! i may have not had quite the level of water in the PH test last night just did 2 tests there to confirm and they both indicate 7.4 an hour apart.

 

[PDSimon]

haha, load of fuss over nothing

Now you've got your pick of fish and plants

 

[KAISER]

Hi fishywishie, when you test your tap water ph, leave the glass to stand for 24 hours before testing
I live in Ayrshire and my ph is 6.6 after 24 hours, the same as the tanks.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, tap water stats can vary from when the tap water is drawn versus 24 hours later. One difference is that there is often CO2 that leaves the water during that period. CO2 stays at elevated levels under the pressure of the water piping system.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[FishyWishie]

Tank is delayed till middle of next week Seapets having courier issues it seems.

Gives me a chance to ask another question Im using Caribsea White Marine Sand as my substrate (It's fine with tropicals ive researched this greatly) Im thinking once the cycling is eventually complete id like some living plants in there. Now ive broswed a few threads and saw someone recommended soil under the sand which seems reasonablt enough what height of soil would i be looking at to go under the sand ? And can someone point me to the plant growing section on here lol ive hunted for it for days and i still can't find it

 

[PDSimon]

read old mans post on thread - click here

 

[FishyWishie]

That was the thread i was referring to i tried asking about suggested depth in there but chat moved on. Im also looking for where i can find out types of plants etc so i can go off and do further research.

 

[PDSimon]

You didn't read it then

he said "1.5 cm thick, it will be plenty by the time you add some gravel or other cover to prevent a mess in the tank's water."

I recommend looking in the planted tank section on this forum. There are two very good lists of plants that are for beginners, low tech and therefore easy to maintain.

I also recommend looking at the tropica website or the green machine one, lots of plants and all the info you need.

Basically there are two options, high tech or low tech. High tech being extra lighting, co2, fert, etc
low tech is less than 1.5 Watts per gallons (I think - you'll have to check). I'm planning on doing a tank with plants with just sand, 2 x 20W bulbs and fertilizer (maybe liquid carbon if necessary)..

 

[FishyWishie]

Many thanks i did indeed miss the 1.5 cm part thanks for pointing that out i skim read the reply and didnt think it was to do with my question pays to read the whole reply clearly

 

[PDSimon]

Heres another thread covering a bit about substrates

My link


I used 1.5 inches of sand in my tank, although I probably would've been better off putting a bit of fertile substrate underneath it but it shouldn't matter

 

[FishyWishie]

Many many thanks a lot of useful information in there to digest. In a way im glad the tank is going to be 3 or 4 extra days giving me more time to garner some extra knowledge.



If i wanted to add a second filter (my fluval 305 only does 4x tank capacity) What would be a good cheap second filter (ideally external) to add to improve the overall filtration capacity?

 

[PDSimon]

I'm not sure on external filters, I just have a fluval u3 which came with the tank.

however there are some amazing used deals on filters only 6 months old - some in the classified section on this site as well as ebay etc

hopefully someone else can advice you on the make/model.