Done with Fish less cycle, Ready to stock, any tips?

[GregW]

So I finally made it through the cycle after 2 attempts and 60 days. So I'm ready to get fish tomorrow. I have a 40 Gallon tank. I have a few questions.

1- Should I do a water change even if my readings are zero?
2- Is 4 a good start for a 40 gal tank?
3- I don't add any more ammonia after tonight right?
4- Is there a good temperature for most tropical freshwater fish?
5- Is there anything else I need to do or watch for?
6- Any other tips?

Thanks Greg.

 

[librarygirl]

What fish are you planning on getting?

1. Hm, if you're continually dosing ammonia every 24 hours and the cycle is done, nitrates should be rising. Did you do a water change recently? What test kit are you using?
2. 4 fish? Depends on what kind? Since you just completed a fishless cycle you can add 1/3-1/2 of your stock all at once.
3. Right, if you want to get fish tomorrow then don't dose today.
4. Most do best between 76-78 degrees F
5. Not really. Bring the temp of the tank down if you've had it high for the cycle. Make sure the tank is free of ammonia and nitrite before you get fish; make sure nitrates are as low as you can get them (<10 is ideal). You might want to do a YouTube search for "drip acclimation aquarium" as it's the best way to introduce fish to a new tank. For the week after you get fish, test the water daily to ensure that there aren't any toxin spikes.
6. Don't overfeed and give your fish a good variety of foods. Do a 50% water change weekly (assuming ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 and nitrates don't rise more than 20 during the week) with substrate vacuum. Leave the filter media alone until it's literally falling apart. After the first month or so you can start rinsing the media out in old tank water once a month during a water change.
7. Enjoy the fish

 

[adamx457]

Just make sure your certain of that fish when your buying it especially when buying shoals. A few suggestions are a dwarf cichlids tank with rams, kribensis, or apistogrammas. You could also do maybe 2 or 3 angelfish and add in some small rainbowfish. Good luck