A handful of questions.. sorry if i rambled..

[danielle82069]

Hello all. I am very new to this forum. I am not completely new to fish keeping however I have not had a tank set up in several years. I recently inherited a 80 gallon tank. I am in the midst of a fishless cycle. I am somewhat stuck in the tail end of the cycle. The last time I did a fishless cycle I remember the nitrites and nitrates spiking and then everything zeroing out almost instantly (a few days). This time that's not been the case My Nitrites and nitrates are off the charts and have been for nearly 2 weeks. I did a water change and no change really. then I read somewhere that I just need to be patient and the water changes are only if you have fish in the tank. I currently don't have an ammonia testing kit and fear i may have used too much ammonia. I have stopped adding ammonia and have been adding a small pinch of flake food every 3 days or so. I also added a couple of real plants that are not doing so good. (thinking it would help my cycle along.)

Like I said it is an 80g I have an auquaclear 500 and a whisper running. i have an 80 watt heater that is at about 83 degrees It is completely set up half the tank is gravel and the opposite half is sand.Additionally I also added a bunch of my boyfriends rock collection that I boiled. I have hopes of stocking it with peacock cichlids. The tap water here in Phoenix runs very hard.

this is where my water stands currently

Nitrates 200+
Nitrites 10+
GH 300
KH 70
PH 7.2

So on top of this a friend of mine just gave me a 125gallon and I want to set it up instead.,I want to transfer all the substrate, rocks and decorations,I have another auquaclear 500 to add to the filtration. Is there an easy way to transfer the sand? I am under the impression that I wont have to start over with the cycle it will just continue in the new tank. so I wont mess with the current filters Ill just put them on the back and hope it continues. Do I transfer the water that's in the 80 to the 125 or just start off fresh with new dechlorinated tap water?

finally.. So I mentioned i would like to keep African cichlids. Preferably peacocks but am open to any. How many can I keep in a 125? and what chichlids can i keep together? I have some experience with some cichlids I have oscars and jack dempseys and convict cichlids as well as electric yellow labs. So I am not put off by the aggressive cichlids I just don't want a train wreck either..thank you in advance Any assistance with my questions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Delapool]

Hi, are you using strips or a liquid test? I think you are right, really need an ammonia test to see what is going on. If you are using the cardboard strips, they can under read.

 

[Glene20]

Yeah definitely use the api liquid test kit. If you use too much ammonia it can stall your cycle may e that could be happening. And your really cycling your filter not the tank. I would test the water and if ammonia isnt sky high I'd transfer the water into the new tank shouldn't be a problem

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[danielle82069]

yes I am using the test strips. So I moved everything over to new 125 and added the other auquaclear 500 I stuck the filter media from the whisper in the back of it. I added new water and added chlorinator then put the filters on once the tank warmed up a bit. added the gravel and the sand from the 80 and all the fake plants and the couple real ones its been 2 days now and my readings are nitrates in safe zone at like 5 and nitrites are at 2.5. (stress) I am adding leslies pool sand today and then will be buying an amonia kit i think its almost done. but wont know for sure until i have the amonia kit..

any stocking suggestions for african cichlids? I would like peacocks and any others that are compatible.. not sure which have heard that its hit and miss..

 

[Delapool]

yes I am using the test strips. So I moved everything over to new 125 and added the other auquaclear 500 I stuck the filter media from the whisper in the back of it. I added new water and added chlorinator then put the filters on once the tank warmed up a bit. added the gravel and the sand from the 80 and all the fake plants and the couple real ones its been 2 days now and my readings are nitrates in safe zone at like 5 and nitrites are at 2.5. (stress) I am adding leslies pool sand today and then will be buying an amonia kit i think its almost done. but wont know for sure until i have the amonia kit..

any stocking suggestions for african cichlids? I would like peacocks and any others that are compatible.. not sure which have heard that its hit and miss..

The tank sounds great and a good size. Much easier with a larger tank I think. Unfortunately I can't comment much on cichlids as have never really kept them and have just ventured in to buying angelfish. I would buy online the API master kit which covers ph, ammonia, nitrite and and nitrate as I've found buying the whole lot doesn't work out too much more. I've had and seen the strips regretfully say 0 when there might be 1 to 3 ppm of ammonia or nitrite. Since 0.5 will cause issues better I think to have a test that can measure accurately at low levels. Sorry to sound like beating a dead bush but better to pass on.