Starting over again! 75g FW fun

[the schwa]

Hi!

New to the site, lots of info here. Thanks! I'm starting to get back into keeping fish after many years off, and I'm glad to have found this forum.

I used to have a couple red-eared slider turtles a few years ago, starting from rubbermaid terrariums to a 75 gal tank. They finally got too big and I couldn't see keeping them in there, so I set them free and transitioned to African Cichlids, but when I left the Army and moved 2000 miles I had to give them away. We resettled, and between the new job, kiddo, etc, I never got around to setting it back up. I had a 75 gal tank on a custom-made stand sitting empty in the front room. My wife kept threatening to give away the "dustquarium", and my daughter loves looking at "FISHIES!!!" so I'm starting over.

I never heard of fishless cycling before, but it makes sense, so that's what I have going on. I'm at day 2. I put one hearty shake of fish flake in, but didn't like the mess, so now I am dosing up with liquid ammonia. I don't have my filter (Magnum 350 deluxe canister) running yet because a part broke in storage and it'll be here tomorrow.

NH4 is at 4 ppm (yes, I have the master kit) but now my water is CLOUDY. Like I put milk in it. Is this normal and will it clear up once bioload catches up and the filter runs, or should I start doing PWCs to clear the water?

Also, I used to have a TOM aquatics surface skimmer intake for my filter, but alas, it too was broken (awesome moving company) in the shipment. Is this something worth getting again, or should I go with the standard mid-water level intake?

thanks in advance!

 

[the schwa]

ok. parts are in, filter is up and running. Water is still SUPER cloudy, like can't see the back of the tank cloudy.

80-81 deg F
NH4 - 6-7 ppm
NO2 - 0.25 ppm
pH - 8.2

I'm not too worried about the pH at this point, particularly given the high amount of NH4, but I started dosing it with Stability today to see if it gets the bioload going. How high of an ammonia concentration is too high for the nitrifying bacteria? Should I pwc it to bring it down or just keep rolling with it?

I'm also going to fix my surface skimmer and put it back in operation.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

ok. parts are in, filter is up and running. Water is still SUPER cloudy, like can't see the back of the tank cloudy.

80-81 deg F
NH4 - 6-7 ppm
NO2 - 0.25 ppm
pH - 8.2

I'm not too worried about the pH at this point, particularly given the high amount of NH4, but I started dosing it with Stability today to see if it gets the bioload going. How high of an ammonia concentration is too high for the nitrifying bacteria? Should I pwc it to bring it down or just keep rolling with it?

I'm also going to fix my surface skimmer and put it back in operation.

For one I would lower your temp to around 76-78 for starters.

For two I wouldn't really worry about adding anything to the water, just let the filter run with it for awhile and keep testing water, then if you dont see changes you start adding things in like your liquid ammonia.

For three I would just give your tank time to clear up. That happened to one of my large cichlid tanks I use to have, stayed cloudy for around a week then just started clearing up on its own.

 

[krap101]

It seems like you've done your research. For a 75 gallon tank, canisters usually work best. They're quieter and require less maintenance. People usually recommend fluvals, eheims, and renas filstars, but theres some made by a Chinese company called SunSun which are sold by a guy in California. I got mine two days ago and I'm loving it (upgraded from HOB), and it was $54. The reason I tried this one out is it got great reviews online, and it's silent.

I think 7ppm is a bit too high, maybe try to bring it down to 3-5ppm. Otherwise, I think you'll be done in 2ish weeks.

Also, check if your ammonia has surfactants or detergents. Given that you already have nitrites, I would assume no, but it never hurts to check

Also, you can start planning on what you're going to put in it!

 

[the schwa]

thanks for the tips!

So - I should lower the temp for the fishless cycle? I saw people recommending 80-85 deg. F until cycled, then lowering for the fish if appropriate.

Also, the ammonia I have has no surfactants; it's the Ace hardware plain jane stuff.

As for fish, the only thing I know for sure is we're gonna start with a pleco of one variety or another. We had 2 when we had fish before, but they were eaten by more aggressive fish. This one will be "suck-o-lux the third"!

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

thanks for the tips!

So - I should lower the temp for the fishless cycle? I saw people recommending 80-85 deg. F until cycled, then lowering for the fish if appropriate.

Also, the ammonia I have has no surfactants; it's the Ace hardware plain jane stuff.

As for fish, the only thing I know for sure is we're gonna start with a pleco of one variety or another. We had 2 when we had fish before, but they were eaten by more aggressive fish. This one will be "suck-o-lux the third"!

Should look into a predator setup, they are fun fish with awesome personalities.