New 46gal. FW tank.

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Last night I finished installing my 46gal. FW tank. To start the fishless cycle I added some frozen food, that I use to feed my nano reef. I've been reading around that the cycle can take up to, two or six weeks. So I will test my tank's water after the two weeks to see how it is doing and keep adding the frozen food now and then, or when the food has dissolved completely and is no longer in sight.

I'm planning on keeping mostly livebearers, maybe a few bottom dwelling fish(recommendations?), perhaps some types of catfish(recommendations?).

The tank so far won't be running a filter(unless recommended otherwise by AA members), I'm thinking of adding two PHs for water movement and surface agitation(Maxi-Jet 1200).

The tank currently has several rocks, plastic plants(green), one or two inches of gravel(several sizes) and a 200 watt heater set at 82F. Lighting (I hope you are sitting down ) 400W MH, which will be turned on a few hours at night.

Comments, suggestions?

TIA

 

[Allivymar]

Definitely get a filter, especially if you plan on keeping cats. You'll need some sort of mechanical filtration to pull the debris out of the water. Plus, as you prob know, the filter media makes a great home for the nitrifying bacteria.

LOL 400w MH? Looking to cook the fish?

Start testing the water after a few days; you may be surprised how quickly rotting food will kick up ammonia levels. Don't want them to get TOO high, or it may stall the cycle.

 

[roadster3043]

Thanks Allivymar.

Would the Emperor 280 be a good choice?

Boiled fish for sale! LOL The MH was originally to make a reef in that tank. I still have the original light hood stored away, if you guys think it would be better to use the NO fluors, please let me know.

How often should I test the water for ammonia, and at what ppm should I do a water change(10% or 20%)?

TIA

 

[Warfire80]

I have an Emperor 400 on my 46gal and it works great. Got it cheap from http://www.bigalsonline.com/. I recommend it.

 

[roadster3043]

Thanks Warfire80, I will check it out.

Yesterday I performed a 20% water change. I noticed an unusual foaming in the water as it was being poured from the tank to the bucket.

What could it be the cause?

I'm going to test for ammonia today to see how are the levels.

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

I just tested my water's PH 7.4+ and ammo 0ppm.

When should I be seeing in the tests the ammo spike?

TIA

 

[roadster3043]

Well, I added a pair of fancy guppies this past sunday. So far everything is going well.

I made a 33% water change. The pair of guppies are eating well, no visible signs of stress or disease.

Any recommendations on what should I add next and how many?

TIA

 

[Allivymar]

Ok wait LOL I thought you were doing a fishless cycle? *all confuzzled* No patience eh

I don't know if 2 guppies will be enough to cycle a 46g tank; flip side is you don't want to add too many fish and wind up with huge ammonia/nitrite spikes. With no starter (Bio-Spira, stuff from a mature tank) it can upwards of 2 weeks for bacteria to start colonising. You should start seeing at least a touch of ammonia shortly, unless the tank is really well planted (the plants will suck up the nitrogenous waste to some extent).

I wouldn't have water changed while just the food was in there, but I would now that there is fish; I'd wait until there is a need tho; if ammonia gets above .5 ppm a 20% water change isn't out of the question. You don't want the fish to be affected by the ammonia but you want enough to feed the starting bacterial colony (which you prob know anyway).

As to what to add, thats a tough one. Lots of fish just don't handle going thru the cycle well. What fish did you have in mind? Also, I wouldn't add too many (see above). Plus, now that you have fish in there, you'll really want to QT any new guys (wouldn't want to wind up bringing ickies into your new tank and getting whats in there ill).

LOL see what impatience gets ya?

Btw, I have an Emperor400 on my 55g; love it. Especially the dual bio-wheels. Means I can change filters to my hearts content without messing with the nitrogen cycle *grin*

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

LOL

Well, I added the two guppies because, so far I haven't seen any changes in water chemistry(could it be the water changes?), the times I have tested it so far, and wanted to at least have a small constant supply of fish poop for the tank.

I'm not adding any other fish until the cycle is completely done. I'm planning on making it a community tank, so I need to look for fish that live well together.

Could it be possible that the rock I added to the tank contain some bacteria that is consuming the ammonia and the water changes thus not showing up in my water tests?

TIA

 

[grimlock3000]

Where did the rock come from? It is possible there could have been baceria on the rock if you took it from another tank or from outside in a stream/river/wherever. It is always good practice to make sure anything you add to the tank is designed for fish use, and also that you clean it very well before putting it in the tank.

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

The rock was used as base rock for a SW tank. Before using the rock I had it in a pail filled with FW for a few months in my backyard, replacing the water once in a while to make sure the rocks didn't have any large amounts of salt.

Everything I have added to the tank so far has been cleaned throughly and rinsed with alot of water.

I just tested my tank's water again, Ph is apparently between 7.5 to 7.7, ammo is at 0.

 

[Allivymar]

If there was a supply of ammonia, there may have been a new small bacteria colony. I haven't researched this yet, but I think its diff nitrifying bacteria for SW, so I doubt they survived (could be wrong here). If there WERE nitrifying bacteria you would have possible signs of nitrites and definitely some nitrates. I think the water changes were what kept things from getting started.

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Getting started the cycle or getting started the high levels of them(ammo, nitrite, nitrate)?

Could it be possible that the ammo spike occurred during the time I added the food? The food amount had a size all around of half an inch and it contained several types of foods, blood worms, brine shrimp, flake food, tiny shrimp, daphnia(I think), fish pellets, among others.

I forgot to mention that when I did my first water change(20%) the water had a very faint ammo odor to it, but I had not tested for ammo previous to the water change. :?

 

[Alivymar]

Tis quite possible, especially since you could smell some ammonia and you didn't actually test it *smacks roadster's hand* Should have left it! Or tested it; as long as it was under 5ppm it wouldn't have stalled the cycle and there would be plenty of ammonia for the bacteria to chow on.

What I mean by getting started is BOTH levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and the bacteria themselves making an appearance. The cycle is dependent on the nitrogenous waste so they are linked. Have you tested for nitrites or nitrates yet? That might give a clearer picture as to whether the cycle has started, especially nitrates as its the end result.

 

[roadster3043]

The last time I tested for nitrites, they were at 0, I'm going to test both nitrites and nitrates and post the results.

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

I just tested the water again. Ammo is at 0, nitrite at 0 and nitrates at 5.0

 

[Allivymar]

Whoohooo! It sure looks like its cycled! Awesome, and I have to admit I'm surprised LOL

Keep a really close eye on the parameters just in case, but you may well be on your way

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Thank you all for your help, specially Allivymar.

Yesterday I added two male fancy guppies since I already had two females, and noticed a guppy fry hiding in the gravel. So far I've just seen one.

I also added to the tank an Emperor 400.

What should be the minimum amount of time to have the lights on?

TIA

PS. I forgot to mention, I have running on the tank two Maxi-Jets MP1200 would that be too much water flow?

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Well, the tank and fish are doing great. I added three orange mollies(I think), two females and one male(he will be definately busy ).

This past Sunday I performed a 22% water change, adding some table salt to each bucket a few days earlier with some dechlorinator.

Some of the frys are a lot bigger now and saw, so far one tiny orange fry. Let's hope they survive to adulthood.

 

[tkos]

You mentioned before that you are not growing plants in the tank (plastic I think). If that is the case then I wouldn't bother with those MH lights. Any light source will do and those will end up producing a lot of heat. And if there is extra food in the tank then they will end up producing a ton of algae.

You mentioned catfish before. I know that a big school of cory catfish look great as they loosely school together and do a great job of keep the bottom of the tank clean. If you do get algae problems then you might consider SAE or even a smaller pleco like the bristlenose pleco. Stay away from most plecos as the big ones start out tiny but get almost 2 feet long in some cases!!