Woooohooo Think I'm Nearly There!

[stuhyde]

Well, its been a hard 3 weeks of testing, adding ammonia, but I THINK I'm nearly there.

I now add 5ml of ammonia each day and its always 0 the next day (120L tank)

Ive just took it back up to 5ppm at 2pm, gonna see how many hrs it actually takes to reach 0

NitrItes were about 40ppm last week, tested today and its on 0.25ppm

NitrAtes are off scale, but not worried about that, will do an 80% water change when nitrItes hit dead 0 (or is 0.25ppm acceptable now?)

Water is still crystal clear tho, although I have a EX700 filter.
Ive not done anything with the filter since I started, will the filter media still be OK?

Need to start deciding on fish now I guess, might get some Java plants tomorrow and put some food in the substrate (gravel).

Any tips etc now gratefully received on types of fish and how many I can have

 

[doresy]

Wooooow, you are very nearly there my friend

You just need to wait a tiny bit longer to shed those pesky nitrItes It would be a shame to rush it right at the end.

As for your filter you have done the right thing by not disturbing it during the cycle. No muck is being sucked in there as you have no fish. If you don't have plants yet either then I wouldn't bother even looking at the filter untill you do you first water change AFTER adding fish and then only rinse the first stage, fine media

Best tip I would offer at this point (apart from waiting for a zero nitrIte reading) is to work out your intended stock and introduce as many as you can on day one after that massive water change to keep your well earned bacteria well fed.

Also, it would be a good idea just to do water tests after adding your stock for a couple of days just to keep an eye on things.

Oh, and one more thing, remember a 'cycled tank' is NOT to be confused with a 'mature tank' so check that any stock that you intend to get doesn't require a mature tank as that is at least 16-20 weeks down the road

 

[Scunny]

im not good with water chemistry...its all jsut a bunch of numbers to me.

As far as fish go, depends what look your going for.

You could have groups of small shoaling fish.

You could have an aggressive tank with some Cichlids in and maybe a RTBS.

You could put some plecs in, with some gouramis, and then a group of shoaling fish.

Really depends on what kind of 'look' your going for.

 

[stuhyde]

Thanks for the replies

I will introduce some plants tomorrow, and add some food to the substrate.

As for the "look", I dont know, I want pretty coloured fish, an angel fish, maybe sharks, but not really sure

 

[Scunny]

I've recently been working out the stocking for my 180litre tank, and was looking to put angels in (although im going with convicts now ). There really nice fish, but what size is your tank, and how high is it? 'cos angels get pretty big

Im putting a RTBS in my new tank as i've always liked them, but dont forget that there quite aggressive, and Silver sharks grow pretty damn big.

 

[stuhyde]

its 3ft x 1ft x 18in (120L)