Tank Requirements

[mommyof2bettas]

I will very soon be getting a 55g tank.
I have no clue what cycling is, or what I need besides water and fish.
How do I set the nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and Ph levels. I will be keeping probably 6 neon tetras, and I need to know what I will need. I'm not sure if the tank comes with a filter, since I have never had an aquarium before. Will I need to change the water
How will I test the water, WHAT IS CYCLING? HOW DO YOU DO IT?]
PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[xoedusk]

At the top of the Beginner Questions page is a list of pinned topics. Those should get you started.


Cycling:

Basically, fish will produce ammonia (NH3). This ammonia would kill your little fishies in a short amount of time (called new tank syndrome).

Fortunately, there are types of bacteria that digest ammonia, producing nitrite (NO2). They are slowly established in your tank as their food becomes available.

So they turn ammonia into nitrite.

But this nitrite would kill your fishies very quickly too! EEP! Fortunately, there's a different type of bacteria that will digest nitrite and produce nitrate (NO3). This nitrate is pretty stable, and won't be turned into anything else. It will also kill your fishies, however, so it'll have to be removed by weekly water changes.

Cycling is basically the process by which you establish these beneficial bacteria. They can grow on your gravel, in your filter (they like sponges I hear), and else where in your tank. You can establish these becteria with fish (which will produce the ammonia for you, thereby starting the cycling process), or you can do it more manually (adding pure ammonia to the tank BEFORE any fish go in).

Cycling with fish is looked down upon by most here... or at least they are the vocal majority. The reason for this is that the ammonia and nitrite level will get quite high and most often kills at least some of the fish that are used to cycle the tank.

Cycling without fish (aka fishless cycling), if done correctly, can be a relatively quick process. The advantage is, you won't have to kill fish and, once completed, you can stock your tank completely with the appropriate number of fish, rather than waiting for the bacteria to build up in your tank each time you add a new fish.

But please read up on it.

 

[xoedusk]

This post explains it much better than I can
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=&amp...ost&p=90467

 

[dwarfgourami]

Right, xoedusk has given you all the references you need about cycling. Basically, you want to buy some liquid ammonia and add controlled amounts to the tank for a few weeks until the daily tests show that the tank bacteria are capable of consuming all ammonia+nitrites in 24 hours. Then you do a big water change (70-80%) and then add fish.

Or, if you cycle with fish, add a few hardy fish (like black widow tetras or danios), keep testing the water every day, do partial water changes whenever ammonia or nitrites spike.

In either case, neons are not ideal starting fish as they can be quite sensitive. I would add some other fish first and save the neons until the tank has been up and running a few months.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

That was really helpful thanks
If neon tetras aren't good starter fish, can you give me some ideas of what starter fish I could put in my tank? I want prferrably small fish but it really depends on thir appearence. I would like at least 6 fish in my tank, with room for more. But I don't think I'll stick with 6 of the same species unless they are community fish. If I have to do water changes anyways, then what is the filter for? The tank is so big, how will I change the water and where do I put the other fish?

 

[tommo2]

That was really helpful thanks
If neon tetras aren't good starter fish, can you give me some ideas of what starter fish I could put in my tank? I want prferrably small fish but it really depends on thir appearence. I would like at least 6 fish in my tank, with room for more. But I don't think I'll stick with 6 of the same species unless they are community fish. If I have to do water changes anyways, then what is the filter for? The tank is so big, how will I change the water and where do I put the other fish?

When you do a water change, you dont empty the tank completely. You simply drain about 10% off and top it up. This is the only way to remove nitrate biuld-up. Do not remove your fish when doing water changes and never completely empty the tank.
Be sure to de-chlorinate the water first before adding to your aquarium.
You can get siphon kits to "suck" the water out of your tank when changing water.

The filter is to remove particle waste which would make your water cloudy. It also acts as a breeding ground for the beneficial bacteria mentioned above. It is absolutely necessary. It is, in fact, the most important part of your aquarium.

Best of luck...

 

[dwarfgourami]

or, to phrase it slightly differently: the filter is there to house the bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates. There are no bacteria that will get rid of the nitrates so those you need to dilute through water changes; otherwise they'll keep building up. In the Walstad system, you keep an incredibly heavily planted tank and the plants eat all the nitrates: the only problem with this system is, it takes quite a bit of expertise, hard work, extra powerful lights and a contraption for adding CO2, to keep a tank planted and growing to the extent that this would require. For a beginner, though ordinary planting levels certainly help, water changes are actually the easier option.

to recommend fish, we would need to know whether you intend to do a fishless cycle. In that case, you have quite a wide choice of fish (though neons should still be added later). IF you cycle with fish, you are really restricted to a few hardy species: black widow tetras, platies or danios are the ones usually recommended.

The following fish are schooling, so should be kept in groups of at least 6:

all tetras that I can think of, danios, corydoras (though here you can get away with 3-4), khuulie loaches, most barbs

the following need to be kept in a ratio of 2-3 females per male, or females only: the common livebearers, cherry barbs, gouramis. With guppies and platies you can also get away with a large (5+) group of males only

the following are territorial: gouramis (only 1m male per tank), red-tail black shark (only 1 of these+no similar-looking fish), cichlids (do individual research)