Fastest setup ever

[hockeydude15]

I have had a 55 gallon tank sitting in my room and i have an aquaclear 500 filter and heater. But today my mom rold me taht her friend is giving me fish and i have to pick them up tommorrow.Meaning i need to setup the tank tonight. I have setup tanks quickly before but never within one day. THe problem is that the water needs to cycle and all that. So how can i go about doing this. (apparently these are hundreds of dollars worth of fish) . So i need to do this right. I never got to talk to the owner so im guessing they are cichlids.

Also im getting tahitian moon sand ( the black sand) and putting it in the tank but i dont have that yet. Should i fill the tank with water today and pour the sand in tommorrow or wait.

 

[tetrin]

one word - biospira.

several words - daily pwc's (30-50%, but not if cichlids from tanganyika).

was the ac500 running on an established tank, or just sitting dry?

 

[hockeydude15]

the ac500 is still in the box

 

[talloulou]

See if you can get some filter media and gravel from the person who is giving you the fish.

 

[tetrin]

hmm, do you have any other tanks running with some filter in them?

 

[hockeydude15]

yes i have a tank with an ac 500 that is housing two ac500 sponges

 

[tetrin]

woo hoo...
use one sponge in the new ac500.
but i'd still advise 2pwc's in the first week to keep the wastes down.
good luck.

and great deal on the cichlids .

 

[hockeydude15]

ok cool

As for the sand, i always put that in first. Should i fill the tank and put that sand in after?(afterall i only have till tommorrow)

 

[crazycat]

just a note on the biospira--i tried it and was quite disappointed with it -- it did very little to "instantly" cycle my tank which was quite unstable (ammonia spikes) for about a month.

i just set up a new tank using filter media, gravel and water (from a water change) from an already established tank. i did daily water changes and monitored the water params very closely -- i had no cycling issues. it been up and running for a month and a half--and has been quite stable.

 

[tetrin]

i have put sand in a tank later. but i'd advise putting it in first. a lot less clouding that way.
the water needs to run with the heater on for about a couple of hours for the temperatures to stabilize.
run the filter on the tank, but don't put in the used sponge till you are ready to put the fish in. otherwise the bacteria will die.

i love quick setups .

 

[flipz]

just a note on the biospira--i tried it and was quite disappointed with it -- it did very little to "instantly" cycle my tank which was quite unstable (ammonia spikes) for about a month.

While everyones experiences are different, a LOT of people swear by biospira. It is possible that maybe a batch you had was expired, or it went too long without being refrigerated, or any number of things.

 

[m249saw]

Ive used Biospira numerous times and never had a problem. Like flipz said probably got too warm.

 

[Toirtis]

OK...

Sand first, next water, any aquascaping, then the filter (with the cycled sponge plus a new sponge), then a small pack of Biospira, and you should be ready to go. BUT.....just to be on the safe side, do a batch of water tests about 24 hours after adding the fish, and again after 48 and 72 hours respectively, doing PWCs as necessary.

I have done this (sans Biospira) more times than I can count, and I have yet to have it work anything short of brilliantly.

 

[severum mama]

yes i have a tank with an ac 500 that is housing two ac500 sponges

There ya go. I agree with Tetrin. I've started multiple tanks this way and it has always worked great for me. It will not be an instant cycle, but it will be quick. I set up a 55 gallon this way with a Biowheel and an Emperor cartridge from one of my established tanks and it cycled in 3 days. I would put the sand in, fill the tank, and start running the filter. When you are ready to add the fish, swap a new foam block for an old one. Does the AC 500 come with 2 Biomax bags (the largest AC I've used is the 300)? If so, swap out one of the Biomax bags too. Keep an eye on perams in both tanks for a while just to make sure they are ok. The last time I did this, I had no ammonia spike, but had .25 nitrite on the second day. By day 3, I had just under 20 ppm nitrate and 0 ammonia and nitrite. If you do a pwc on the second day I think you'll be fine. If you can borrow some gravel from your old tank as well, that will be better. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I would put the sand in right away, before adding the water. Clean the sand very well and you shouldn't have much cloudiness. If you have the sand in the tank before the fish, you will be able to scape it and it will give time for it to settle. If they are cichlids, be prepared for digging.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Oops, didn't realize there was a second page. Sorry for the repetitive post.

 

[hockeydude15]

So im off to get the fish and somehow my tank is still cloudy. I washed the sand out real good and put it in. But i didnt buy enough so i got some of my left over arogonite (about 4 lbs) and rinsed that off, put it in and filled the tank. Once i added the arogonite the water turned cloudy. The filter has been running since 1 am,which was when i finished . I also have a powerhead filter running.

im definitley going to be pressed for time.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The arogonite is going to increase the pH in your tank. What is the pH of your water after its been sitting out?

 

[hockeydude15]

the ph is 7.6 and the water is still cloudy can i put the fish in like that?(i have the fish in bags already)

 

[Fishyfanatic]

fish can go into cloudy tanks without a problem. I take it the tank is uncycled? What kind of Cichlids are you acclimating?