Tank set up tips

[BondStreet]

Hi again!

I am SLOWLY setting up my tank and I wanted to know what the best next few steps are.

So far, I have:

-Treated the 75 gallon tank with Stress Coat and Stress Zyme.
-Set up the Epheim filter and have it running(should it run 24 hours a day by the way?) for a few days.
-Added 10 small tetras that the pet store said was a good idea cause they are hardy and they will start releasing things necessary to start the biological growth in the tank.
-Added 4 live plants and treat the water everyday with Iron drops. I also added fertilizer to the gravel as recommended by the pet store. (this is getting super expensive!)
-Have a new lamp that stimulates live plant growth that I have on 8-10 hours a day(is that right as well?).

My questions now are:

-When should I start testing the water for Nitrite/ate levels.
-Should the filter be running 24 hours a day?
-I was told that I can't add fish in the middle of the cycling process. When exactly is that?
-I feel like I am spending a fortune on this tank and there are barely any fish in it! Are there more economical ideas in terms of buying supplies, food, etc?

Thanks for helping me out!
Bondstreet

 

[jollyone11]

Well let me see . Now , is the anwser ,But not so much Nitrite at first .Ammonia will be the first to peak . It important to also know what to do if the levels go to high. Nitrite will be next to peak . You need to know when this all happens to know where your tank is in the cycle procress. I keep a log on my tank with things like that in it just a thought .
Next should the filter be running 24/7? The anwser is yes thats how it made to run you will not get the water filtered if it is not running.
The cycling process is done when the ammonia and nitrite levels have peaked out and fallen back to 0.0.
Yard sales ,paper , and sales in stores are good ways to save ,but shop around and know what you are buying .
As for the tetras being good for cycling ,I'm not so such . Danios are a better choice I think . Much harder to kill

 

[aimeovaldi]

Lights should be kept on approximately 12 -16 hours a day. Remember thsat the fish as well as the plants are tropical (near the equator) with maximum solar exposure. Filter should be 24hrs a day. I also agree that danios would be a better cycle fish. Get a good test kit (nitrate, ph, ammonia) and wwatch your numbers as noted in the instructions with the kit. Do not add too many chemicals, better to allow the tank to cycle naturally and it will stabilize. Best of luck to you.

 

[Guest]

Lights should be kept on approximately 12 -16 hours a day

This is incorrect, you will be asking for an algae bloom. 10 hours a day, on a timer, so the fish and plants have a regular schedule.

Sorry, but I'm the plant guy around here and I went through all kinds of algae problems before setting my tank for 10 hours.

Anthony, I agree with everything else you said in your post.

 

[Grant R]

Remeber, you don't have to cycle your tank with fish at all, you could just let it happen the natural way, it'll just take a week (give or take) longer.

 

[Grant R]

I should add, if you don't use fish, you will need something to kick start the Nitrogen cycle, most commonly some sort of Ammonia additive.

 

[Thaiboxer]

I cycled with Zebra Danios, they're very hardy! I only killed one!

I later managed to kill off a whole school of Rummy Nose Tetras... watch your ammonia level right away, you'll see it skyrocket and then fall within a week to 10 days. Your nitrites will then go through the roof and fall in about 3 weeks... maybe a little more or less. Don't add more fish while the tank is going through those 2 processes, and afterwards only add a few fish at a time - this process repeats (much more quickly however) each time you add fish while the aquarium adjusts to the new bio load.

Good luck!

 

[BondStreet]

Hi Again...
Thanks for all the good advice!
So far, so good I think....
My tank has been running with the same amount of tetras in the tank for about 2 weeks now. I just checked the Ammonia and it is at zero for the meantime. I guess that is good huh? However, I checked the pH and it is at about 8.5. I am afraid that is too basic. A couple of leaves on my live plants look like they are dying out. Is this because of the basicity of the water? What can I do to get the pH to a good level for most community fish? I assume partial water change?
Also, I am extremely patient when it comes to adding fish, but since my tank is 75gal, is it better to have a few more hardy fish in the tank to help the cycle process along? I guess I am worried that too few small fish won't do anything to the water enough to help the cycle process peak and settle.
The 10 tetras I have in there are still going strong(however skittish).
Really appreciate the help!
Bond street

 

[minx]

Don't forget to check your nitrites too!

I tested my water every other day while I was cycling & never saw the ammonia peak. However after about 2 weeks, my nitrites went through the roof & took a good week to come back down again.

Probably best not adding any more fish till you know your nitrites are down.

Re the pH - mine's about 8, I have some Tiger Barbs, Corys and Yo Yo loaches which seem to be thriving happily, despite the Tigers apparently liking more acid water.

I don't know a great deal about lowering the pH artificially, but I get the impression it's probably better to leave things be if you can.

 

[loganj]

What is the pH of your source water? Also, what kind of substrate are you using? 8.5 is kinda high for tetras, although they may be able to adjust and live in it OK. Although I have used the PH 7.0 before, I don't think much of the pH altering additives...it's pretty easy to go up with the pH, much harder to get it to come down and stay there. The one thing you don't want to do is have your pH swinging up and down...this is very stressful for the fish and will likely result in fatalities.
If your source water is alkaline, you might want to think about using some RO/DI water. You can use straight RO/DI water with the appropriate buffer or you can mix it with your tap water to achieve the desired pH. If you decide to alter the pH, do it very slowly over a period of several weeks so you don't stress the fish too much. If your fish are doing OK, I'd probably leave it alone though. You might want to look into some of the African Cichlids since they do very well in hard, alkaline water. They are beautiful, hardy fish and you have room for some in a 75g tank.
Logan J

 

[BondStreet]

Thanks for the advice, however, in a cichlid tank aren't you supposed to only have cichlids in the tank and nothing else?
Curious..

 

[loganj]

Yeah...that's pretty much the case. Not many other fish are mean enough to live with Af Cichlids. Not saying it can't be done of course. I like Af Cichlids a lot so I guess I've got a bad habit of suggesting them to anyone who will listen . If your fish are doing OK, I'd try to leave the pH alone. You might add some driftwood to lower it some naturally, but I'd stay away from the additives...too easy to get the yo-yo effect going. The biggest problem I see here is adding new fish. There is going to be such a large difference in your water and the water they were in at the store that it's going to be tricky to acclimate them without any deaths. Keep us posted on how things go...maybe there are other solutions if it doesn't work out well.
Logan J

 

[BondStreet]

That is terrific advice Logan J...The driftwood idea. I will do that. Not a lot of it of course. I wanted to know how much the pH in my tank as of now will affect the live plants in my tank. What do you think? So far I have about 10 live plants and only one of them is showing signs of dying(brown leaves). Is that cause of the pH? I am using Durarit fertillzer in the gravel and Dura(something or other)drops in the water(2 drops a day). Does that sound pretty ok? All this chemical/pH stuff concerns me cause it seems like with all this testing a tank will never fully be settled! I am sure this is not the case, huh? Just takes a lot of time. One last thing, is it ALWAYS bad to buy fish/plants from a tank where there is a sick fish? I am sure this is the case, however, I just want to make sure. I was at Petco the other day and saw a dude buy a fish from a tank where there were other sick fish in it. They had ich but the one he bought looked really healthy. There were also live plants in the tank which brought up the question of buying things from a suspect tank. I am paranoid about infesting my tank with anything that could "sicken" my tank.
Thanks for your advice...
Rod

 

[Guest]

I am paranoid about infesting my tank with anything that could "sicken" my tank.

As well you should be. Never buy fish/plants from a "sick" tank, even if the fish you want looks healthy. It's just asking for trouble.

Insofar as your plants, how much light do you have? this is crucial to plant success.

Another idea for lowering ph and softening water, is to use peat in your filter. it may slightly stain your water, but will drop the ph some, and plants like peat too.

 

[f250god]

In my opinion most additives are a waste. The PH fluctuation by adding these things will do more harm than good. One thing I have done in the past that seemed to have moderate success is adding peat moss to your filter if you have that ability. But its probably best to just leave it alone unless you want to spend even more money.
Its best to match the fish to your particular water parameters than it is to match the water parameters to the fish.