New 30 Gallon!

[Chuka1212]

I am very excited about my newest (but used ) 30 gallon aquarium! I have used the same filter cartridge (in hopes of keeping the good bacteria), cleaned the gravel well, and did a 90% water change and very thouroughly cleaned the tank since it was poorly taken care of. I have removed the previous occupants that came with the tank. So I have two questions:

1) Since I have mature filter media (power filter and undergravel) how long should I do a fishless cycle or could I go ahead and throw a fish in?

and:

2) I want to have south american cichlids. Any ideas on a mix of 3 or 4 that you guys like, think are beautiful, or have had good experiences with?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the mature media will only stay mature for around 12 hrs after you've removed the tank's occupants and only then if kept in water and not cleaned out too thoroughly, so i'm not entirley sure that you do have mature media i'm afraid

if you do have mature media feed it daily with ammonia until you add fish, or get your fish in within 12 hrs of removing the old ones.

a 30 gal is really only big enough for dwarf cichlids like rams or apistogramma's but you could make a lovely tank around that.

how about

1 BN Plec
8 Apistogramma cacatuoides/agassizzi etc
8 Rummy Nose Tetra's

 

[Tiger Barb]

how long should I do a fishless cycle

- I guess you have to do it until the cycle is complete! (Sorry to state the obvious!) I would think you should add a daily dose of ammonia (from a bottle - Homebase or Jeyes) and test the water regularly. If the bacteria are still in situ, it shouldn't take too long for the ammonia (and resulting nitrites) to disappear.

could I go ahead and throw a fish in

- I have very strong views about this, for which I do not apologise!! Go ahead and throw a fish in if you want it to suffer and have a short and painful life. (Sorry - I said I had strong views.... don't take it personally!!! )

I have no knowledge of cichlids.. so I will not even venture an opinion on that question. (For which I am sure you are grateful!)

Good luck - I hope it goes well!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

tiger barb that's not quite true

if the media is mature and has been kept alive properly it's perfectly acceptable to stock fully straight away, there will be no ammonia or nitrite spike and no danger to the fish

 

[Tiger Barb]

tiger barb that's not quite true

if the media is mature and has been kept alive properly it's perfectly acceptable to stock fully straight away, there will be no ammonia or nitrite spike and no danger to the fish

Thank you, Miss Wiggle, for putting me straight - I'm still learning and grateful for any advice. I think what I meant was that, in the same situation, I would want to check whether the bacteria were still alive and kicking, and I would prefer to check that using ammonia than using fish.

I probably didn't phrase it correctly, for which I apologise!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no problem

i agree if i got the tank from someone else i would want to check myself and a few days of adding ammonia and checking ammonia and nitrite readings would do this

however if it was my own filter and I had looked after it from the old fish being taken out to the new ones going in then i could be assured the media was still fine and i'd be perfectly happy adding fish straight away, I've done so before now with no problems

 

[Chuka1212]

the mature media will only stay mature for around 12 hrs after you've removed the tank's occupants and only then if kept in water and not cleaned out too thoroughly, so i'm not entirley sure that you do have mature media i'm afraid

if you do have mature media feed it daily with ammonia until you add fish, or get your fish in within 12 hrs of removing the old ones.

a 30 gal is really only big enough for dwarf cichlids like rams or apistogramma's but you could make a lovely tank around that.

how about

1 BN Plec
8 Apistogramma cacatuoides/agassizzi etc
8 Rummy Nose Tetra's

Hmmm, good idea... I do love dwarf cichlids. Any more??? i guess they don't have to be cichlids...