ok - got my water tested - time to plan while cycling.

[55gallons]

ok- got my water tested - they said everything is fine -- except the ph is down to 6 the clerk said to up it with some ph buffer- She didn't give me the peramiters but said its ok-


YAY! I'm ready to start setup- i need a plan- what can i put in my tanks :



review from past post for reminder-


tank #1
55 gallon hex tall -

(nothing in it - at all )

tank #2
20 gallon tall -

(nothing at all)


plan is to borrow or get the used filter media from neighbors 10gallon tank - and hope to jump start my tank cycling - Jump starting with another media would cut my cycling to 3 wks instead of 6 correct? would the 10 gallon's media be enough to jump start it ? or can i go ahead and get some fish to help jump it along for the 20g then i'll work on the 55gallon using the 20 gallons' media to jump that as well ..


fish:

i want color ful i want peaceful- , i also want community - NO aggressive fish if i can help it . this plan is for the 20 gallon tall for now- the fish plan for the 55 will come in 3wks.


top :
Gaint danios : 4-6 ?
What other top mids ?

middle (or) semi :
I heard platy's last time i asked-
i like tetras' im thinking black and silver ones . A Skool of 6
neon goupies? 6-? (For the jump start??)

Bottom :

bottom dwellers i was thinking corys' 6?
and some cherry shrimp or wood shrimp ( i forget the actual name )

 

[ksfishguy]

I cycled a 55 gallon using media from two cycled aquariums in exactly two weeks. Keep in mind, that is a "fragile" cycle. Keep your bio-load down for another month or two before fully stocking your tanks.

One thing that helped, I added seeded filter media at the beginning of the cycle and then after another 5-7 days.

Good luck!

 

[TomK2]

Interesting that your water has such a low pH. Was it tested with a quality liquid reagent test kit? No need to take your water to the LFS for testing, a good kit can be bought online for a lot cheaper than at the LFS. Such a kit really helps you monitor water quality, especially during a cycle. Last year the kits were something like $15 on line.

Make sure your water was exposed to air for overnight (in a glass right out of the tap let stand overnight, or test water that has been running in your tank) when testing pH. It is possible for water right out of the tap to have a high CO2 content and low pH, and the pH will raise as CO2 out-gasses.

I would not mess around with the buffers in a bottle from the LFS. pH stabiblity is more important than an actual pH value, and those buffers are notorious for causing large pH swings. If your pH needs to be raised because it stays at 6 even after running in your tank for a day, then I suspect you have very soft water, and adding some crushed coral to the tank to add carbonate, increase hardness, and raise the pH will be a more stable and consistant way to raise the pH.

 

[55gallons]

i took it to thatfishplace in lancaster pa.cause i didn't have a water test kit - and they didn't charge to test it - i don't even know what thier test kit consists of either -- .. as they had thier testing supplies in ziploc containers- .. i live on a old farm that is now a mobile home park - and i wasn't sure if the water would be safe -- I'll run the water in the tank for a couple weeks with media from neighbors tank (old filter) to help seed the tank along.then i'll do another sample - it was just convient that i was going to walk around to check what is out there supply wise at thatfishplace ..i grabed a bottle and filled it with tap water b4 i left - to go -. I PLAN on a communitty tank setup .


what fish can i put in the tank to help start it up and along with the filter media from friends tank?? guppies? i want to have a community tank and and want to have upper/middle /and bottom color in fish and activity . thanks.

 

[TomK2]

Ah. then to be certain of your pH you have to let the tap water sit exposed to air overnight. Letting the CO2 out-gas can cause the pH to increase. I have even heard of some tap water with so much CO2 it needed an airstone to get it to out-gas overnight. If you seed the tank with colonized biomedia from the neighbors tank, then you need a source of ammonia to keep the seed bacteria alive, but I figure you have been around AA long enough to have picked up that info. You would be doing yourself a favor to order an AP test kit online and have it deliverd to your door from BigAl's online or petsolutions.com.

 

[JustOneMore20]

A good stocking for a 20g high community, is 2 schools of 6 fish each, some smaller cories (less than 2 inches as adults), and maybe a centerpiece fish (dwarf or honey gourami or male betta...depending on what schooling fish you get).

Giant danios are far too large and too active for a 20 high. I would say the minimum for them would be a 40g, maybe a 30 long for the bare minimum. So they are out...

I'd pick 2 peaceful schools of fish, most tetras would work. I like Harlequin rasboras as well. They will occupy the top-middle area. Some lemon, neons, glowlights, black neons, flame, rummynose, cardinals, or pristellas would occupy the middle area of the tank. And you could get a shoal of 6 smaller cories (avoid albinos, peppered, or bronze, as they'd get too large IMO) and a centerpiece dwarf or honey gourami.

So you are looking at:
6 of schooling fish #1
6 of schooling fish #2
6 small cories
1 dwarf or honey gourami

If you like 1 big school of fish, you can certainly have 10-12 of one type, the centerpiece fish, and the cories. Its up to you though! One large school of tetras/rasboras looks awesome though.

 

[7Enigma]

OP,

Any way you can return the 20gallon high and get a 20galllon long? I have a 20 high and would much rather now in hindsight have purchased a long tank.

If you can get media from a friends tank I'd do a fishless cycle. No one can tell you how long your cycle will take or be cut down. Using established media we CAN say it will cut it down a lot, but there is no timeframe. That's why you need to pick up a test kit. You can measure the water conditions yourself, and you'll know exactly when the cycle is finished to add fish.

Check this out if you want to give fishless a shot:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=89185


ksfishguy,

You cycle would have completed even faster had you added ALL of the biomedia at once. Staggering additions of seed material only slows down the cycle (compared to adding in all at the beginning).

 

[55gallons]

OP,

Any way you can return the 20gallon high and get a 20galllon long? I have a 20 high and would much rather now in hindsight have purchased a long tank.

If you can get media from a friends tank I'd do a fishless cycle. No one can tell you how long your cycle will take or be cut down. Using established media we CAN say it will cut it down a lot, but there is no timeframe. That's why you need to pick up a test kit. You can measure the water conditions yourself, and you'll know exactly when the cycle is finished to add fish.

Check this out if you want to give fishless a shot:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=89185

ha - no can't return the 20 tall - i got it free- why not? altho its not highly wanted by other ppl - but you can't beat free with a stick- GOT everything except testing supplies with it -


i am still tryin to catch the drift of all the wording that is going on in here- aka "fish language " lol . but im working on it - ya my ph is 6 according to thier tests . ya when i get some $ i'll get a test kit - altho i can't order online - no credit cards . The saying goes its about 6wks to cycle a tank -normally from what i understand - and supposivly if you borrow a filter media from another tank it cuts it by 2wks.

btw - i also have a 55gallon tall hex . that will be started shortly after this one .

 

[7Enigma]

If you get enough filter material from another tank you can have no cycle at all! We can't tell you an average per se, unless you tell us you are definitely not going to be using any seed material. Then yes starting with something like a raw shrimp will probably take 4-8 weeks depending on how much bacteria the starting material had.

Definately can't touch free! More swimming room for most fish in a long rather than a tall.