At wits end with 29gal cycle - help!

[MandyINCo]

Boadams87 - I'm not sure what you mean.

Mr. Pleco - I plan to buy a UVB bulb tomorrow. Do aquatic plants also need food or supplements of any kind?

 

[Mr.Pleco]

When doing a fishless cycle people usually dose their ammonia back up to 4 to build bacteria. You can buy a pure ammonia for cheap.

Did you buy a amazon sword?
If so they require medium to high lighting.
Can you get a picture of the other plant? So we can see if your lights will be okay?

And plants like swords need higher lighting to grow. Root tabs placed directly under the roots will help a lot. If you only have a few plants I wouldn't mess with ferts. If you really want you could buy a bottle of Seachem Flourish, but I think you'd be okay without it.

 

[MandyINCo]

Oh and to follow up with everyone's suggestion... I am going to purchase Special Blend if this nutrafin doesn't work. I only bought it because I happened to be at petsmart instead of petco.
I am also going to purchase a second filter to help handle the bioload.
I will be making a trip to the best fish store in the area to get some filter media in a few days.

Hope I remembered them all. And THANK YOU to everyone!

 

[MandyINCo]

When doing a fishless cycle people usually dose their ammonia back up to 4 to build bacteria. You can buy a pure ammonia for cheap.

Did you buy a amazon sword?
If so they require medium to high lighting.
Can you get a picture of the other plant? So we can see if your lights will be okay?

And plants like swords need higher lighting to grow. Root tabs placed directly under the roots will help a lot. If you only have a few plants I wouldn't mess with ferts. If you really want you could buy a bottle of Seachem Flourish, but I think you'd be okay without it.

Thank you! I will post a pic of the other plant tomorrow. I can't believe I don't remember the name. The lady said it half a dozen times. She said it is the best if I only have a kit light. I want to have ALOT more plants eventually. We shall see.

 

[Mr.Pleco]

Thank you! I will post a pic of the other plant tomorrow. I can't believe I don't remember the name. The lady said it half a dozen times. She said it is the best if I only have a kit light. I want to have ALOT more plants eventually. We shall see.

Glad to hear you'll consider SB! Promise if you turn to it it won't let you down

And yeah if you plan on going for more plants once you get it cycled, I'd start looking into fixtures. Once you start adding more plants you can look into ferts as well.

What kind of filter are you looking to get?

 

[MandyINCo]

Glad to hear you'll consider SB! Promise if you turn to it it won't let you down

And yeah if you plan on going for more plants once you get it cycled, I'd start looking into fixtures. Once you start adding more plants you can look into ferts as well.

What kind of filter are you looking to get?

I was thinking of a bio wheel of some sort. Any suggestions?

 

[Mr.Pleco]

I was thinking of a bio wheel of some sort. Any suggestions?

I'm not a big fan of biowheels...I had one on my 10g for a few years and it would just make me mad because the wheel wouldn't spin all the time lol

I have topfin's on 4 of my tanks and fluval 405's on 2 plus a bunch of other stuff...I know topfin isn't top name brand but I'm overfiltering on all of them and they are cheaper.

I know marineland makes good biowheel filters.

What size do you think you would get? You wanting to go the route of buying a bigger filter to eventually replace the one that's on there? or Just having 2 going?

 

[MandyINCo]

I'm not a big fan of biowheels...I had one on my 10g for a few years and it would just make me mad because the wheel wouldn't spin all the time lol

I have topfin's on 4 of my tanks and fluval 405's on 2 plus a bunch of other stuff...I know topfin isn't top name brand but I'm overfiltering on all of them and they are cheaper.

I know marineland makes good biowheel filters.

What size do you think you would get? You wanting to go the route of buying a bigger filter to eventually replace the one that's on there? or Just having 2 going?

I think I'd like to eventually replace what's there. The filter I have is super quiet, but it sucks. If it can't handle the bioload of a few little fish in a 29gal tank, it's not cutting it at all.

 

[MandyINCo]

I'm not a big fan of biowheels...I had one on my 10g for a few years and it would just make me mad because the wheel wouldn't spin all the time lol

I have topfin's on 4 of my tanks and fluval 405's on 2 plus a bunch of other stuff...I know topfin isn't top name brand but I'm overfiltering on all of them and they are cheaper.

I know marineland makes good biowheel filters.

What size do you think you would get? You wanting to go the route of buying a bigger filter to eventually replace the one that's on there? or Just having 2 going?

Your tanks are beautiful!

 

[Mr.Pleco]

I think I'd like to eventually replace what's there. The filter I have is super quiet, but it sucks. If it can't handle the bioload of a few little fish in a 29gal tank, it's not cutting it at all.

All my hangs are quiet except my original topfin60 that was on my 50g cichlids. It got sand in it and now it's noisy. So I bought another and then bought a fluval 405 so it's well overfiltered.

I'd probably shoot for a 40g or 50g filter if you can fit it. I'm not sure how big marineland's biowheel filters are these days. I'm sure your setup came with a hood so it'll be tough. Once you get a light fixture you can get a glass top with the plastic at the end that you can cut to fit filters.

 

[Mr.Pleco]

Your tanks are beautiful!

Thanks

I'm constantly working on them.

 

[cichlid.greenhorn]

Try a marineland penguin bio-wheel 200, its rated at 50 gallon. I have two on a 55 and its near silent. Has two media compartments and is affordable (20-28$).

 

[Mr.Pleco]

Another option would be a canister. They are silent as well and low profile and you could keep your hang filter you have on there now. I have 2 fluval 405's and I love them.

It's more money but it would def be worth it. Not sure what your plans are for fish or future tanks but if you have $$ and aren't getting another tank for awhile I'd look at one as well.

Amazon.com: Fluval 205 External Canister Filter - 110V, 180 gallons per hour: Pet Supplies

Everyone loves Fluval..in my opinion I would never buy anything else for canisters. There are other brands that are cheaper too.

 

[skywhitney]

The Aquaclear filters are a good option as well. They're very customizable as far as media options go, very quiet, and they are made by Hagen (same manufacturer as Fluval). Pricewise they are only $25-35 for the size you'll need. Just another option to consider.