Cycling a 75 Gallon

[jc102]

Hey guys,

I added a new 75g aquarium about 2 weeks ago. Beforehand, I ran an extra filter with some Biomax on my 10 gallon aquarium that housed some glo-fish and a growing sailfin pleco. I ran it for a few weeks in order to seed the Biomax for the 75 gallon tank. I moved my pleco to the new tank and added the seeded Biomax plus a bag of gravel from the established 10 gallon tank. It has been 2 weeks and I'm not seeing anything on my test readings. I'm using the API master kit. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 0 nitrate.

I was hoping for a rather instant cycle so that I could start adding more fish (african cichlids) but I'm worried that my seeding efforts did little to help the cycling process. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do to get the tank cycled?

 

[Tbox]

0 ammonia and 0 nitrite are normal. Since they are, there should be some nitrate in the water, unless you just did a huge pwc and then did the testing? Two weeks is still a young tank, nice work on the seeding, but treat it as a fragile water column and add fish(bioload) slowly

I know you didn't ask, but mixing a pleco with africans cichlids will be an issue. Sailfin Plecos are aggressive and don't back down, and a lot of mbuna in particular will target the pleco. Also, difference in water conditions they prefer to thrive in.

 

[jc102]

0 ammonia and 0 nitrite are normal. Since they are, there should be some nitrate in the water, unless you just did a huge pwc and then did the testing? Two weeks is still a young tank, nice work on the seeding, but treat it as a fragile water column and add fish(bioload) slowly

I know you didn't ask, but mixing a pleco with africans cichlids will be an issue. Sailfin Plecos are aggressive and don't back down, and a lot of mbuna in particular will target the pleco. Also, difference in water conditions they prefer to thrive in.

I did a 25% water change a few days ago. That was the second pwc that I have done since I set the tank up 2 weeks ago. I test every day and keep a close eye on the pleco. Perhaps I should reconsider on the African Cichlids then. I have been discussing this on here for a while, and no one has mentioned that it could be a problem. So far, I just have sand in the tank and no plants or rocks. I could hold off on the Cichlid tank and make this a community tank or something.

 

[Tbox]

I don't want to sway you away from what you wanted. If you're attached to the Sailfin, add some DW and go with a new world community. Lots of SA cichlids to choose from! If you were really wanting a African tank, add a satchel of crushed coral to the filter and lots of rock work. Texas holey rock looks nice and helps buffer the water.
Then, you should start another tank to keep the sailfin[emoji6]

 

[jc102]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I'm going to look into South American cichlids. I'm sure I'll get my African tank one day. I won't put my sailfin in jeopardy for it though, so I'll just be patient!

 

[Angellove78]

I have a sailfin pleco with angelfish in a 75g. He's about 3" and I've never had any problems with him. The only problem I have is when I need to give him a wafer (food) all my fish eat it. And cycling the 75g. You gotta have nitrate. Make sure you follow the directions to a T on that test. If you still don't get readings than the tank wouldn't be cycled. A 75g takes time. It's alot of water. And I wouldn't do water changes until and/or if you get ammonia or nitrite readings. Test daily. To me just seems like the test for nitrate is not being done right. Cause if there's been no ammonia and nitrite readings it could have cycled from the start knowing everything you've done to help it out. And I wouldn't worry about the pleco. They are harmless.

 

[jc102]

I have a sailfin pleco with angelfish in a 75g. He's about 3" and I've never had any problems with him. The only problem I have is when I need to give him a wafer (food) all my fish eat it. And cycling the 75g. You gotta have nitrate. Make sure you follow the directions to a T on that test. If you still don't get readings than the tank wouldn't be cycled. A 75g takes time. It's alot of water. And I wouldn't do water changes until and/or if you get ammonia or nitrite readings. Test daily. To me just seems like the test for nitrate is not being done right. Cause if there's been no ammonia and nitrite readings it could have cycled from the start knowing everything you've done to help it out. And I wouldn't worry about the pleco. They are harmless.

I will try the nitrate test again and open the instruction booklet just to make sure I'm not missing a step. I've done it for so long that I don't even have to think about it. I always shake bottle #2 for over 30 seconds, being sure to hit it on something like the palm of my hand. When I shake the vial for 1 minute, some of the solution escapes from the cap. Could that cause a misreading? It's done that ever since I bought my kit. I'll also test my established tank and see what the nitrate shows to make sure it's working.

 

[Angellove78]

Well, sounds like your doing it right. But if your not seeing any reading of it. I wouldn't do water changes till ammonia readings show up. Everything you've added to help seed it might not be enough. Might not be cycled. Think it took about a wk or 2 to get ammonia reading on mine when I started. Tested everyday. When I seen ammonia then I did my water changes. And just to add to this. My tank, and filter I bought was used. But think the good bacteria was killed off when I got it. So basically started over with it.

 

[King Fisher]

I have a sailfin pleco with angelfish in a 75g. He's about 3" and I've never had any problems with him. The only problem I have is when I need to give him a wafer (food) all my fish eat it. And cycling the 75g. You gotta have nitrate. Make sure you follow the directions to a T on that test. If you still don't get readings than the tank wouldn't be cycled. A 75g takes time. It's alot of water. And I wouldn't do water changes until and/or if you get ammonia or nitrite readings. Test daily. To me just seems like the test for nitrate is not being done right. Cause if there's been no ammonia and nitrite readings it could have cycled from the start knowing everything you've done to help it out. And I wouldn't worry about the pleco. They are harmless.

Feed the veggie wafer to him at night then turn the lights out.

 

[Tbox]

All plecos, imo, will be defensively aggressive when provoked. Some cichlid species, such as African Mbuna, will curiously nibble at those beautiful fins just because they're there.
I've also had issues with apistos and a BN pleco that had territorial disputes and had to be separated. Extra tank space does help tremendously too

 

[earhtmother]

Sexond the aggeesaiveness of the Sailfin. Mine were cute agreeable little things until thwy reached the 4/5" mark then they became bossy. Now at 9-12" each they are definitely the most aggressive fish I own - should have gone with the **** bristlenose after all?

 

[Angellove78]

Feed the veggie wafer to him at night then turn the lights out.

I've tried that. Lol! I wake up the next morning to find all my angels bloated. I've tried a clear container upside down with a few holes for the pleco to be the only one able to fit through. With a rock on top of it and the wafer inside. Wake up the next morning and found one of my biggest angelfish trapped inside with his fins bent all to hell. And boated. Lol! I've tried alot of different things. The only other thing I can do is feed him in a floating container by himself.

 

[King Fisher]

Don't overcrowd and you shouldn't have an issue with the pleco and tank mates.

 

[King Fisher]

I've tried that. Lol! I wake up the next morning to find all my angels bloated. I've tried a clear container upside down with a few holes for the pleco to be the only one able to fit through. With a rock on top of it and the wafer inside. Wake up the next morning and found one of my biggest angelfish trapped inside with his fins bent all to hell. And boated. Lol! I've tried alot of different things. The only other thing I can do is feed him in a floating container by himself.

Lol. Well have you tried feeding all of your fish at night before you turn out the lights? To maybe cut down on the need to go after the water.

 

[King Fisher]

Wafer* Sorry. Typo

 

[jc102]

Thanks for the advice. As of today, I started seeing some nitrates, about 5ppm. I never really had an ammonia or nitrite spike though. I'm going to continue to test to see if nitrates continue to rise or if it was a bad test.

 

[King Fisher]

You should have 0 nitrites. Nitrates should be between 5-20 ppm. I've ran them as high as 30-40 ppm before a water change without issues. Most will tell you 10-20 ppm is ideal.