bosk1 said:
That's exactly how you should do it. Even thought it appears you may be done, you will know you are only if both ammonia and nitrite drop to 0 after 24 hours. If so, you are good to go. If not, you should be close.
I would also be cautious about your stocking rate. 7 fish at once may be a bit much if they are good sized fish. If they are small, you shouldn't have a problem. In any case, just watch your parameters closely during the first week or so after adding them. If parameters stay ideal, you are in the clear. If they start to rise, start changing water!
Yep, patiently waiting for that 0ppm nitrIte reading.
I'm looking to stock a Rainbowfish school, which get to be a decent size, but should only be 1-2 inches when purchased. I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on parameters.
7Enigma said:
I wouldn't wait a week to finish with the bottom feeders personally. I'd wait a day or 2 and if you still do not have detectable levels, I'dd add the rest in.
Your bacteria are currently in the log growth phase. They are doubling every 12-24hours. You want to maintain that level of growth until the point at which all of your fish are added, and then they will die off to the point where they reach equilibrium with the bioload in the tank.
You don't want to lower your bacterial numbers being understocked, and then add more fish. While you probably won't get a small cycle, it's better to not take the chance. Again this is only if you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrIte after 24-48hours with the addition of the school (that's why I did the 24hours 1st batch, 24hours 2nd batch, 24hours 3rd batch, it was just enough time to make sure no appreciable amounts of ammonia or nitrIte would be present, but not long enough for the beneficial bacteria to begin to die due to lack of food supply).
My thinking was this:
- Fishless cycle to build up bacteria
- Add school of 7 and let bacteria equalize with that school
- Slowly add bottom feeders 1 or 2 per week, allowing bacteria to compensate after each addition
- Slowly build up another small school 1 or 2 at a time until fully stocked
- Fight the urge to overstock
- Succumb to Multiple Tank Syndrome
I've read that a fishless cycle will grow enough bacteria to support a FULL stock level, but I wanted to err on the side of caution by only half-stocking it, then slowly building up to full stock. Maybe it would be ok to add batches of fish every 24-36 hours till fully stocked, but I'm worried that I might overstock too many fish for the bacteria present and have to do frantic water changes till bacteria catches up.
I dunno, it's a tough dilemma to decide. I totally understand 7Enigma's reasoning of not letting the current bacteria die off, it's just hard to convince myself to be absolutely certain that the bacteria colonies are big enough.
EDIT: I'm pretty confident about my ammonia to nitrIte bacteria...they're well established and doing a great job. It's the nitrIte to nitrAte guys that I'm worried about since they're just now ALMOST big enough to consume 3ppm in 24 hours.
