Starting Fishless Cycle Thread

[waterdrop]

Wow, great Anniekins! Your water looks bright and clear and the plants look really green and nice. Love your cory and the school of harlequins looks happy and doing their thing! I also really like your sand and the contrast where the plants meet the sand.

Not too bad on first try fishtank photos either (I can't talk, having never even done any yet, lol!).. I suppose you could experiment with different angles to help avoid the flash reflection and also experiments with finding the setting in your camera that will turn the flash off. There are some nice help writeups floating around the forums on camera stuff if you ever go looking.

So, I guess now you are into "maintenance phase" and it won't be long before fishless cycling is a distant memory! Make a findable mark in your log when you clean your filter so you can look back easily and know if its time to do it again and try not to miss those weekend water change gravel cleans. Let your testing regimen slowly taper down but test again if you add new fish and of course only add a few at a time.

I'm not very good advising about plants but that may be another thing to be exploring. Getting the light, fertilization, carbon nutrtition and algae control all worked out can be a challenge sometimes.

Keep us informed from time to time!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[anniekins]

Thanks for your positive comments WD they were very much appreciated. I must admit that I have an awful lot to learn still and hope that the "maintenance phase" goes fairly smoothly!

I am still checking water stats twice a week at the moment and all reading zero still. Water changes I'm doing once a week about 20%.

Not sure exactly what you mean by cleaning your filter, sorry must be a "newbie" moment, but could you explain if it's the rinsing of the filter sponges or if it's something else I need to do and, if so, how frequently?

As for the photography, well, never has been my strong point as you can see by the flash in nearly every picture.

Am getting interested in aquarium plants and I do like the look of planted tanks so I'm reading the planted section on the forum a great deal to learn as much as I can but as you say it is quite a complicated area.

Still, I'm loving the whole fish experience at the moment and long may it last.

Bye the way I found myself looking at bigger tanks already!

 

[waterdrop]

Just like the weekly water change gravel clean, there is a cycle for filter cleaning and the most important thing is just that it be done regularly. We usually recommend that beginners start with a monthly filter clean but then adjust that timing if necessary, usually downward if the filter is too clogged.

The real need for filter cleaning can vary a lot based on how heavy the fish load is and how big the filter is relative to the fish load, among other factors. You just have to make a judgement call on it based on whether the media of your filter seemed clogged and overwhelmed when you cleaned it or whether it just seemed dirty. If it seemed clogged you'd want to adjust your schedule to clean it more frequently than once a month.

You clean a filter in the middle of a weekly water change when the water level is low. A very easy technique is to siphon your tank water out and pass it through a bucket, say, in the tub, so that it can overflow if you remove more water than it holds. Then you have this bucket of tank water to use to clean your filter. You can also separate off a quantity of it to refill the filter box with if you want. You turn the filter off, disconnect the hose set if that's necessary or lift out the intake tube if its a HOB type. You carry the filter box to the bathtub or whatever your cleaning area is. If its a cannister, open it carefully, noting whether the O-Ring (seal between the pumphead and the filter box) is disturbed. Keep track of where everything goes so you can put it back together properly. Clean sponges by squeezing them out in the tank water bucket. Clean trays or bags of loose media by swirling/swooshing them in the tank water. Floss pads can also be squeezed out but might need to be replaced if they are deteriorating. You can clean out the empty filter box and similar parts under the tap if necessary. Clean the impellor according to manufacturer instructions or plan on getting detailed help on this from our hardware section. If you have O-Ring seals, now is the time to relubricate them, using vasoline unless you have some lube from the manufacturer. You coat the entire seal between your thumb for forefinger and always replace it very carefully in the correct slot positioning so that it doesn't get crushed (what I'm talking about is a circular silicone/rubber type seal that goes all the way round between the pump head and the filter box on external cannister filters.. there are also two small rings on the intake/output tubes also.)

Take the cleaned filter back to the tank, reconnect it and follow instructions to re-prime it and get it going again. Finish your water change!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[anniekins]

Thanks Waterdrop, will be tackling cleaning process tomorrow.

 

[Thommo]

Thanks Waterdrop, will be tackling cleaning process tomorrow.

YEY nice pics anniekins. Looks like you have some very happy cory in your tank.

Looking for a bigger one already hey Addictive isn't is. If only we had enouhg money to fill all our tank fantacies.

Thanks for the update and keep reading into planted tanks. i think they really add to a show tank IMO. There is a whole other hobby out there though when it comes to planted

Good luck with your cool little fishies and enjoy the show.

 

[anniekins]

Thanks for your reply Thommo, I think you are right about a whole new hobby when it comes to planted tanks but it's good fun learning along the way.

Your tank looks a real credit to you, it's the sort of tank I could only hope to achieve one day, if at all come to that!

Still enjoying the fish so much, they are so interesting, especially the corries, real little characters!

 

[Thommo]

I love the corries too. Cute little guys. They are so playful. I think that they have the most caracter out of all the fish in my tank. Thanks for the comment too. I wish it still looked like that

I havn't been doing this very long either but like you said it is fun learning along the way. Lots of reasarch and fun on forums helps a heep.