I have recently started a 36 gallon fishless cycle and thought I would keep a journal of the process. I am about 4 weeks into it and would like to add the journal here, for anyone interested.
It may be too detailed here, I hope you find it interesting rther than boring
I'll start with some info and follow up in a 2nd post.
Fishless Cycle journal
Some general info
--------------------------------------------------
I have only 1 LFS nearby where I plan to get livestock from. It is a small
independant shop with very good looking tanks and competitive pricing.
They only have 20 or so tanks but carry the most common FW fish and plants.
No rediculous fish that will outgrow the average home aquarium.
Other stores are Petsmart and BigAl's but too far to be bringing home livestock.
I decided on the type of fish I liked and tried to choose an appropriate setup,
without spending too much (under $200) for equipment.
Plan to add...
- 6-8 barbs (a mix of Tiger, Green and black ruby)
- 6-8 Harlequin Rasbora
- 4 panda corydora
Undecided about the tigers, depends on black ruby availability.
I am well aware of concerns with tiger barb fin nipping and still trying
to figure out if the 3 types will mix well and meet the schooling requirement.
If I'm still uncertain after cycling I'll forget about the tigers and use 8
greens/black rubies, and see how it goes.
Aqueon 36 Bowfront kit ($160 Petsmart)
- 36 Gallon (30x15x21)
- Aqueon QuietFlow 30 HOB (200 Gph)
- Aqueon 200watt submersible heater
- Aqueon Single strip T8 17watt Flourecent
(wish I had researched plants first)
- Fishfood samples
- water conditioner sample
Topfin 4000 Air Pump up to 80 gallons (using 3 airstones)
API Freshwater Master Test Kit ($40 BigAl's)
pwc = 2 gallon bucket with 5ml Nutrafin AquaPlus
Aqueon QuietFlow 30 filter uses cartridges (Mechanical/Chemical)
The cartridge slides into a 'bio-holster' (bio filtration)
Aquaclear 50 using sponge & bio-max only (Mechanical/Biological)
(Not using carbon insert during cycle)
Each filter claims 200 GPH (probablly lower when filled with media)
Filled tank with treated water on March 1st - Ph 8.2
Took about 1 week for water to clear.
It may be too detailed here, I hope you find it interesting rther than boring
I'll start with some info and follow up in a 2nd post.
Fishless Cycle journal
Some general info
--------------------------------------------------
I have only 1 LFS nearby where I plan to get livestock from. It is a small
independant shop with very good looking tanks and competitive pricing.
They only have 20 or so tanks but carry the most common FW fish and plants.
No rediculous fish that will outgrow the average home aquarium.
Other stores are Petsmart and BigAl's but too far to be bringing home livestock.
I decided on the type of fish I liked and tried to choose an appropriate setup,
without spending too much (under $200) for equipment.
Plan to add...
- 6-8 barbs (a mix of Tiger, Green and black ruby)
- 6-8 Harlequin Rasbora
- 4 panda corydora
Undecided about the tigers, depends on black ruby availability.
I am well aware of concerns with tiger barb fin nipping and still trying
to figure out if the 3 types will mix well and meet the schooling requirement.
If I'm still uncertain after cycling I'll forget about the tigers and use 8
greens/black rubies, and see how it goes.
Aqueon 36 Bowfront kit ($160 Petsmart)
- 36 Gallon (30x15x21)
- Aqueon QuietFlow 30 HOB (200 Gph)
- Aqueon 200watt submersible heater
- Aqueon Single strip T8 17watt Flourecent
(wish I had researched plants first)
- Fishfood samples
- water conditioner sample
Topfin 4000 Air Pump up to 80 gallons (using 3 airstones)
API Freshwater Master Test Kit ($40 BigAl's)
pwc = 2 gallon bucket with 5ml Nutrafin AquaPlus
Aqueon QuietFlow 30 filter uses cartridges (Mechanical/Chemical)
The cartridge slides into a 'bio-holster' (bio filtration)
Aquaclear 50 using sponge & bio-max only (Mechanical/Biological)
(Not using carbon insert during cycle)
Each filter claims 200 GPH (probablly lower when filled with media)
Filled tank with treated water on March 1st - Ph 8.2
Took about 1 week for water to clear.