New Tank Setup

ladygunn3r · Sep 3, 2011

I have a Clear Seal 39 Litres/9 gallons Fish Tank.
Last Monday i set up this tank, put in a used Fluvel 2 Plus Filter, i did clean out the filter.
A 100w Heater, and filled up with Water and put in the right amount of AquaSafe.
Now that it is Saturday will this tank be ready for putting in New Tropical Fish.
My kids want Neon Tetras and Blue Skirts Tetras.

I really just want to know if this tank as had enough time of cycle, i am going to buy a pump and air stone, before putting fish in.

Please help if you can.

:good:

fluttermoth · Sep 3, 2011

How did you clean out the filter, and have you been adding an ammonia source, either household ammonia or fish food?

ladygunn3r · Sep 3, 2011

fluttermoth said:
How did you clean out the filter, and have you been adding an ammonia source, either household ammonia or fish food?

When i open up the filter it was clean, sorry i just meant i cleaned the outer case.
No i have not added any Ammonia household or fish food.

What do you mean by Household Ammonia?

fluttermoth · Sep 3, 2011

Ok, well your problem is that the bacteria might have died off from lack of food, leaving your tank uncycled. Do you have another tank with a mature filter?

Household ammonia is a cleaner that can be used to feed bacteria in the absence of fish; either in a fishless cycle or to keep bacteria alive after cycling.

ladygunn3r · Sep 3, 2011

fluttermoth said:
Ok, well your problem is that the bacteria might have died off from lack of food, leaving your tank uncycled. Do you have another tank with a mature filter?

Household ammonia is a cleaner that can be used to feed bacteria in the absence of fish; either in a fishless cycle or to keep bacteria alive after cycling.

No i don't have a different tank this is a new starting tank, i have just done the basic's. I have heard that you can put in a couple of hardy fish like Tigers Barbs.
Can i get anything from a pet store to put in the tank to help cycle quicker, kids really want some fish.

fluttermoth · Sep 3, 2011

You can buy 'instant cycle' products, but they don't work. We never recommend fish-in cycles here; there's just too great a risk of killing fish or causing them permanent damage from elevated levels of toxins.

I know it's difficult with kids, but if you explain, step-by-step what's happening during the fishless cycle (info on how to do one is in the beginner's resoure centre; link is in my sig) and get them involved; maybe not with the actual testing depending on their age, but with reading the test results (you could make it into a science project, with a chart to colour in, perhaps?), you usually find they have more patience than you think; anyway, dead fish is more upsetting for kids than having to wait!

ladygunn3r · Sep 3, 2011

fluttermoth said:
You can buy 'instant cycle' products, but they don't work. We never recommend fish-in cycles here; there's just too great a risk of killing fish or causing them permanent damage from elevated levels of toxins.

I know it's difficult with kids, but if you explain, step-by-step what's happening during the fishless cycle (info on how to do one is in the beginner's resoure centre; link is in my sig) and get them involved; maybe not with the actual testing depending on their age, but with reading the test results (you could make it into a science project, with a chart to colour in, perhaps?), you usually find they have more patience than you think; anyway, dead fish is more upsetting for kids than having to wait!

Can i put in fish food, and see how it goods, if i do this how mancy days do i do this for.

white9870 · Sep 3, 2011

it could take a few weeks doin it like that

ladygunn3r · Sep 4, 2011

white9870 said:
it could take a few weeks doin it like that

My next door neighbour has goldfish, is it possiable to take some of the filter media squeezed into a cup and put that into my tank, would this work better then waiting for the fish food to work on his own.

fluttermoth · Sep 4, 2011

The bacteria you want cling very strongly to the media, so sqeezing out the mulm is unlikely to do you any good.

However, if you can persuade your neighbour to let you have an actual bit of media to put in your filter (you can take up to a third without negatively affecting their tank), then you're effectively cycled, for the amount of fish that piece of media was supporting.

So if they have four 3 inch goldfish, and give you a quarter of their media, your filter could then support one 3 inch goldfish, or it's rough equivalent in tropical fish, maybe two or three large tetras; always err on the side of caution when stocking the new tank.

Oh, one thing; do look carefully at these 'blue skirt tetras', as they're often given that colouration by being injected with dyes; this is a horrendously cruel practice and not one we should be encouraging :good:

ladygunn3r · Sep 4, 2011

fluttermoth said:
The bacteria you want cling very strongly to the media, so sqeezing out the mulm is unlikely to do you any good.

However, if you can persuade your neighbour to let you have an actual bit of media to put in your filter (you can take up to a third without negatively affecting their tank), then you're effectively cycled, for the amount of fish that piece of media was supporting.

So if they have four 3 inch goldfish, and give you a quarter of their media, your filter could then support one 3 inch goldfish, or it's rough equivalent in tropical fish, maybe two or three large tetras; always err on the side of caution when stocking the new tank.

Oh, one thing; do look carefully at these 'blue skirt tetras', as they're often given that colouration by being injected with dyes; this is a horrendously cruel practice and not one we should be encouraging

Thank you for all your help, i have just bought some fish food and have put some of that in.

Just one more thing the tank i have is a Clearseal, 60l, there is no light in the hood, i want to buy one but do not know what will fit in it and what watt i will need, don't know if you can help me with this.