Help with cycling my new tank!

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Chriss94

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Hi all, I have a 76L Aqua One lifestyle tank, with a built in top filter. Itā€™s a week old, filled with gravel, stone, drift wood, live plants and bunch of fish.
Unfortunately, I was unable to properly cycle the tank before adding the fish as our old tank had conked it, so had to fast track it. I modified the filter and added bio rings, poly, a carbon pad, and a few bags of fluval activated carbon. I have also been treating the water with stability each day. Ammonia, PH, nitrate and nitrite all ok, tested every 2 days. The water is a little cloudy, which can be expected, but what Iā€™m worried about is how dirty the filter is getting, most specifically the poly pads. After only 3 days, they were that dirty that they had to be replaced and couldnā€™t even be rinsed. I could appreciate that the filter would be working overtime to try to handle the high load of matter in the tank (all washed correctly prior to putting In), and the fish waste too. Iā€™m worried that this is just too much for 3 days worth. I have since replaced it with a new pad, and within only 6 hours, it has already getting real dirty (see attached for 6 hours old new pad). can I expect this given it is a new tank still trying to cycle with such a high load? Stability has been used every day for a week straight, no water changes yet, also treated with API water clearer, but I now realise that if the cloudiness is due to a bacteria bloom, it wouldnā€™t do anything. Mainly, I just want to ensure Iā€™m doing everything ok at this point to keep the fish healthy, given the less than desirable circumstances. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks all :)
 

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First thing we need to know is what size tank, complete fish stock list, and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.

What happened to the old tank and the media that was in it? You could have brought everything over from the old tank for an instant cycle.

As far as the poly pads, those are mechanical filtration. It catches debris and can be discarded afterwards. It will make the tank look clearer, but will do little for your biological cycle. That is the only media that should be changed or cleaned if the tank is uncycled.

We need to know water levels mainly ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If you have ammonia or nitrite, you need to do a water change right away.

You can also add fast growing floating plants that feed from the water like anacharis or water sprite. They will take in the ammonia.
 
Thanks for getting back to me!
Unfortunately, the media in the old tank was unable to be used because my partner unfortunately threw it all out, not knowing any better, and I could not salvage it... stupid thing, but it happened.

The tank is 76 litres, has an air pump with sponge too. At the moment, I have a poly pad first, followed by a carbon pad (for the meantime to clear up some of the water), and then the biological media lastly. Ultimately, once the water clears, Iā€™m planning to have just a mechanical layer followed by biological - removing the carbon pad once itā€™s used up.

See the attached photo for the fish in the tank and the water levels.

I understand that the amount of fish in the tank is pretty dense at the moment, and eventually plan on getting a bigger tank. I also understand that some of the fish will get pretty large, but for now, this is the tank I have and I need to ensure it cycles properly, and that the fish stay healthy and happy during the cycling and for the foreseeable future. Also note, all the fish are still pretty small.
The tank was set up a week ago tonight.
Thanks for the advice on those plants, Iā€™ll look into that tomorrow.

Iā€™ve been using stability everyday for the last 7 days continually. I understand the bottle says use for 7 days then once a month thereafter. I was wondering if there is any harm in using it for another week or so?

Also, I have read that using prime daily during the cycling is ok to do, but Iā€™m not sure and wanted your advice on this.

Thanks again for replying, itā€™s much appreciated!

Test 1, 03/08/2020:
  • PH: 7.2
  • Ammonia: 0ppm
  • Nitrite: 0ppm
  • Nitrate: 0ppm
Test 2, 07/08/2020:

  • PH: 7.6
  • Ammonia: 0ppm
  • Nitrite: 0ppm
  • Nitrate: 0ppm - 5.00ppm

  • 1 x knife fish
  • 1 x black Moore gold fish
  • 3 x balloon Mollyā€™s
  • 1 x Platy
  • 5 x Dwarf Gourami
  • 15 x tetras
  • 2 x danios
  • 3 x fantail guppyā€™s
  • 2 x silver sharks
  • 1 x clown loach
  • 2 x catfish
 

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What are current ammonia, nitrate, and nitrate?

Was your last test done on your old tank? The picture says test 2 was done about a month ago, but this tank has been set up for one week. That test shows a cycled tank.

I'm unsure if you are aware of your stocking problems.....there is more too it than just too many fish.

A lot of these fish cannot live in the same tank. The knife fish, silver sharks, and clown loach grow to over a foot long. They need a 125 gallon tank as absolute minimum. Clown loaches and silver (bala) sharks should be kept in a group. All these fish should be re homed.

The goldfish is not a tropical fish, and needs a lower temperature. And should also be rehomed.

Looks like the rest of them could at least live together, and will do better in a larger tank.

Sounds like you've got a decent plan currently, but we still need current levels to give advice on water changes and so on. If you have zero ammonia, nitrite, and some reading of nitrate, you're tank is cycled and you can resume normal weekly maintenance and water changes. Of course monitor this until you are sure the tank has cycled out.

I have never used stability before. I am not a fan of any of the "bacteria in a bottle" products.

Using prime during cycling will detoxify ammonia. If you have dangerous amounts of ammonia and cannot get around to a water change, you can use prime to temporarily prevent fish death. It will not help solve the problem though. If you have low or zero ammonia, only use prime as you would during water changes.

If you brought over gravel and decor from the old tank, it may have been enough to get the tank going within a week. Most bacteria does live in the filter, but it does indeed grow on all surfaces. Anything that came from the old tank will have this beneficial bacteria on it as long as it was kept submersed in tank water and not cleaned by tap.
 
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Thanks for your advice. I definitely will take it on board. I will be getting a larger tank soon, and may look at rehoming some of the fish you mentioned.
The two water level tests were both from the new tank. The latest test done tonight.
As the built in top filter has limited space, in re-thinking the bio media. I have bio rings now, which are pretty big, so I can only get one Single layer in, about 20cm by 6cm. Are there any alternatives that may be smaller in size so I can fit more in and potentially have a multi layer, or would you recommend keeping the current single layer?

Also, I appreciate your concern re the fish in the tank. Iā€™ll be getting a bigger tank soon and separating them accordingly.
Thank you
 
If that test is your last one with zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and 5 nitrate....your tank is cycled. Now you just have to make sure it stays that way. Test weekly before your water changes, do 50% or more water changes and gravel vac once a week and refill with dechlorinated water.

You can use a sponge instead of the bio rings, but I would wait on that. You'd get more surface area from a sponge in that limited space, but you do not want to do anything to mess with the cycle as it is in a fragile condition at this time. Removing any kind of bacteria can cause you to take steps backwards.

My concern with the larger tank is that it needs to be so much larger. Not many people go from a 10 or 20 gallon starter tank to a large 6 foot long tank within a short time. It's a huge step up and the fish need the larger tank pretty much right now.

I'd never suggest buying a fish that you do not currently have the proper size tank to home them in. The "I'll get a bigger tank soon" plan rarely works. There is a lot of time, dedication, and money that goes into setting a tank up, especially one of that size.
 

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