new 80 gal

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luk00

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jun 27, 2017
Messages
39
Hi, i have a new 80 gal tank and i am new to the hobbying, i have done lots of research but i came on here for more help, i have 6 mollys, 2 gouramis, and 2 angels, and 3 plecos. i have had a bacterial blossom that went away in 1 night and my ammonia levels seem to being staying below 0.25-0. its been set up a week.i do a 10% change every other day w gravel siphoning, any suggestions to keep my tank healthy?
 
also, is it normal for the ammonia levels too be at around .25 while cycling?
 
also, is it normal for the ammonia levels too be at around .25 while cycling?

Well, for fishless cycling they can be anywhere from 1-4 ppm, but since you are cycling with fish in the tank you want your fish not to be exposed to any amount of ammonia, so I would do a water change when you see an ammonia reading.
 
okay, thanks for the info, just siphoned almost all my tanks gravel and did a 15% change
 
i just tested and the color if the liquid test is much lighter but not quite at 0..
 
0.25 is fine in a fish in cycle, as long as you dose prime to detoxify it, need the ammonia to produce bacteria. No ammonia, no cycle.

Would not let get over that much.
 
Last edited:
0.25 is fine in a fish in cycle, as long as you dose prime to detoxify it, need the ammonia to produce bacteria. No ammonia, no cycle.

Would not let get over that much.



and how often during the cycle should i change and siphon the tank? more often?
 
When it gets dirty, feed lightly. Extra food will produce ammonia, fish will produce plenty by themselves.
 
Change water when ammonia gets over 0.5, Prime only detoxifies to a certain amount. Same for nitrites when they begin to form. Fish in cycle can be a slow process because 0.25 ammonia or nitrites are toxic. Both will spike well above that. Your gonna need lots of prime and do lots of water changes. This is why we advocate fishless cycling.
 
Change water when ammonia gets over 0.5, Prime only detoxifies to a certain amount. Same for nitrites when they begin to form. Fish in cycle can be a slow process because 0.25 ammonia or nitrites are toxic. Both will spike well above that. Your gonna need lots of prime and do lots of water changes. This is why we advocate fishless cycling.



thank you, and prime is dechlorinator correct?
 
Yes, removes chlorine (and other chemicals) and detoxifies ammonia and nitrites.
 
Are you vacuuming all of your gravel when you do a water change and are you going deep when you vacuum?

I don't know about vacuuming when cycling but I thought vacuuming an established tank, the thinking is to deep clean by thirds to avoid disrupting the biological filter... I might be wrong there and given the biological filter is not yet established, it may not matter, but wanted to throw that out there.
 
no i am just kinda skimming about half too 3/4 of the gravel with a 10-15% change
 
but getting help from you guys makes me feel better, im nervous about the cycle and i dont want my fish to die..[emoji52]
 
Well, fish-in cycles are tricky... which is why most people advocate against them, aside from the potential for fish loss....

As long as you are prepared to act quickly on water changes as needed and use Prime, you should be able to gut it out. Just check the water twice a day (given your stock level) and change water as ammonia and/or nitrite gets any higher than .25. It will take a little longer to cycle than a fishless since you cannot get crazy with ammonia but you will get there. I have done fish-in cycles three times and it can be done.

I would also recommend getting some used filter media from another aquarist or from a good LFS.... make sure it is from a healthy established aquarium and add it to your filter.

Deep breaths.... you're fine.
 
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