Help please

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jojenkins

Aquarium Advice Newbie
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Oct 30, 2014
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Im new to thos hobby and have been doing a lot of research. I decided to do a tropical freshwater tank. I have a 60 gallon tank that i have completed and put the water in and started running the tank. Then i started learning about how long to cycle for and this is where im having my problem and have almost gotten to the point where i want to give up befpre ive even started.
I read forums where people say you can put a fish or 2 in right of the jump. Then ive read where some say wait 2 days. Manager at local petco says 2 days. Some other forums say six to eight weeks. Then i read replies where everyone contradicts everyone else. Im new to this and im about to lose my mind.. or maybe ill just call it a bubble tank.
Can someone please give me a simple solution, maybe break it down for me. Ive waited years for this and now i feel like giving up. What do i do? How do i go about it? I want to have a successful aquarium. Right now im running 2 undergravel filters and a hang on filter.. i was told this wouldnt hurt.. im lost .. i just want healthy fish in a healthy aquarium? Please help

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Your tank needa to cycle, that van take time depending on how you do so. Fish-in cycling can take months to cycle and can cause alot of health problems with the fish and requires a lot of care by you. On the other hand you can do a fishless cycle by adding ammoina to the water and let nature do its magic. The pros to fishless is that it can take less time to cycle and your not putting fish through a rough time in the tank. It took my 20 gallon 22 days for my tank to cycle ammoina in 24 hours. A larger tank may take longer but you have a good setup right now to start growing the good bacteria.

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The 2 days would be to let the water gas off and get the temp/heater situated. You can do a fishless cycle using janitorial ammonia, it could take 2-4 weeks. You will need an api liquid test kit for testing the water in order to track the cycle. You can do a fish in cycle by adding 1-2 hardy fish for every 10 gallons of water this involves testing daily and changing water as needed to keep the levels safe for fish either way can be assisted with seeded media from an established system. Search the getting started section of this forum for specifics on both methods.

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It all depends whether you want to take weeks or even months, or If you know a friend with a tropical set up, ask for a squeeze of his filter medium or ask your LFS for some, put it in your filter, add a couple of fish and your good to go in a less than a week, I have done this many times with great success and no problems..........
 
Even though some people refer to letting the tank run empty as "cycling", don't confuse it with actually cycling a tank which means building the bacteria colonies that consume the ammonia produced by the fish. No ammonia source = no cycle. I recommend a fishless cycle for beginners. It will help you get familiar with testing your water and how the nitrogen cycle works. There are some good articles on this site to help get you started. Here's one: /Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
 
As others have pointed out, you need to choose to cycle with fish or to do a fishless cycle. Both are valid choices.

If you choose fish-in cycling the key to success is to add a very small amount of fish until your tank is cycled.

If you choose fishless my strongest advice is dose to 2ppm of ammonia instead of 4ppm as some guides suggest.

Once you make your choice post again with more questions and I am sure we can help with specifics.
 
Ok... i just did a test on my water and my ph is a little high but not off the chart. My nitrite and nitrate levels are at the lowest along with my ammonia... i want fish in cycle.. i guess i may get 2... what would be the best choice fish wise to do this.. i dont want any goldfish in my tank so what would be the best fish to start with.. also when do you add the algea eaters... i hope my questions dont seem ridiculous but im really wanting to do this the right way

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i guess i may get 2... what would be the best choice fish wise to do this
I guess it depends what fish you want in your tank long term unless you are planning on exchanging them after. I would stay away from very small fish, especially tetras. Any idea what you are thinking of putting in your tank?

also when do you add the algea eaters
Algae eaters are not a requirement in all tanks but if you want one I would wait until after your tank is cycled and you have algae.
 
You want to get hardy fish. I used Platy's in my tank. Danios will work also. They both are inexpensive and hardy. As for algae eaters they go in after your tank has fully cycled and has been up for a while. In a brand new tank there's nothing for them to eat
 
There are two schools of thought on cycling with fish.

One is to buy a very hardy fish like danios and not worry about them too much while you cycle. At the end of the cycle, trade them in for what you want.

The other school of thought is that you should buy the fish that you want in the long term and do appropriate water changes to ensure they are not harmed during the cycle.
 
When I set up my 45 gal tank I added a bottle of bacteria. I waited two days and then I added a few hardy fish like black skirt tetras. My LFS has several tanks of fish labeled as okay to use to cycle a tank. I took water samples to my LFS teach week to check on the cycling. I didn't lose any of those fish. My tank is now 3 1/2 years old and I still have some of those original fish.
 
If doing a fish in cycle, get some dirty media from the pet store and put it in your filter. Start out with one or two small fish, feed lightly, wait a month and slowly increase your stocking.
I'd test ammonia and nitrites at least every other day and change 50-70% if ammonia hits .5 or nitrites hit 1. I'd personally get some dirty filter media, and dose ammonia following a fishless cycle guide. In 1-2 weeks you'll be able to add a mostly full stock and avoid the disease, death, and labor of water very frequent changes likely from a fish in cycle.

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How best to cycle a tank is answered about as easily as how best to make chicken soup. There are many recipes and little objective evidence.

Your goal is to grow enough bacteria in your filter to process all the ammonia first to nitrite then to nitrate.

To do that you need a source of your first generation of bacteria and a source of ammonia.

Ammonia usually comes from a bottle or from fish. Bacteria can come from a bottle, an established tank (something solid, not water, as Bactria is on surfaces) or the clear blue sky. Bottled is hit and miss, and out of the air is slow.

I chose fishless because I didn't want to do all the water changes that are necessary to keep the process from killing the fish. The high pH and temp I used to speed up the cycle would have kept ammonia pretty toxic. But it was slooooooow until I got seeded media from someone.

Dr Tims sells a cycling kit I often hear good things about.




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Thanks folks...you have been a lot of help... im still trying to figure out what fish i want... i want a variety.. crayfish and whatever will go good with them... so much out their to choose from

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