Fluval 406

[LandLocked]

I just picked up a ^ to get it started cycling it I hope, then use it in an upcoming swap. Does this thing really come with 2 media trays of carbon, it's freakin awesome it comes with 4 trays but carbon in half of them??? My plan is to use some xport bio stuff in one tray then polishing media in the last. You guys are just using regular poly fill used for pillows stuffing right?

 

[gravereaper0]

Yes get a bag of Polly fill for a few bucks and it'll last you a long time. Don't know how many trays got the carbon but there's no need for it, mainly its used to take meds out of the water. Fill em up with more bio media (bio balls, ceramic rings, plastic pot scrubbers, etc)

 

[LandLocked]

Yes get a bag of Polly fill for a few bucks and it'll last you a long time. Don't know how many trays got the carbon but there's no need for it, mainly its used to take meds out of the water. Fill em up with more bio media (bio balls, ceramic rings, plastic pot scrubbers, etc)

No one of the first things I read said carbon is almost only used to pull meds back out of the water, I have all the new carbon from all my filters ready for when I really do need them. My media configuration ended up as follows: First stage; stock white foam, Second; stock black foam, Third; I put a layer of bio bale down first then the stock ceramic, Forth; layer of bio bale then xport bio to the top, Fifth; bio bale then x bio then on top the stock thin white "foam" all sound good? I have it running in a bucket with ro water and bio enzyme starter so tomorrow I'll probably move it to my main tank and let it run on that for a couple weeks while I get a plan together.

 

[gravereaper0]

Is your tank cycled?

 

[LandLocked]

Is your tank cycled?

? Not sure. My 60g has never shown any nitrite or nitrate I have only seen the ammonia up to less then .25, 5g wc weekly, the tank is almost 4 weeks with fish in it I think. My 30g was a train wreck, no reading or research just lfs advice, NO TEST KIT, tap water with chloramine, I'm sorry fish. It's better now.
I know this sounds really stupid but how do I know if a tank is cycled, I have retested my tap water to check the test and all 3 show. I only use RO water, testing the tap was to show me the test still work.

 

[gravereaper0]

What test kit do you use, api? Is it fw or sw.

If its over 4 weeks more then likely its cycled, or almost cycled. First you get an ammonia spike, then the nitrite and lastly nitrate spike. Once everything is at 0 except nitrate, you're cycled. Nitrate is never 0 in an established tank.

 

[LandLocked]

Api fresh.




Maybe the nitrate is just too low to notice a clear color change.

 

[gravereaper0]

The nitrate solution you gotta shake up bottle 2 real good first. And you gotta do bigger water changes.

 

[LandLocked]

The nitrate solution you gotta shake up bottle 2 real good first. And you gotta do bigger water changes.

Bigger water changes will help get my tank cycled even with the test showing almost nothing? I'm using RO so I'm not really adding nitrogen via typical method-being chlorinated (chloramines) treated by something in a bottle, any or most any nitrogen in my system is coming from fish food right.

 

[gravereaper0]

If you have left over fish food you're over feeding.
Not sure if the water source changes anything, its just "regular" practice to do 50% weekly water changes. Nitrogen comes from the fish waste through the nitrogen cycle, ammonia > nitrite > nitrate.

 

[LandLocked]

If you have left over fish food you're over feeding.
Not sure if the water source changes anything, its just "regular" practice to do 50% weekly water changes. Nitrogen comes from the fish waste through the nitrogen cycle, ammonia > nitrite > nitrate.

The pigs I have ,2 opaline gourami and 3 dwarf gourami, na no such thing as extra food, I'm pretty sure they would just eat till they burst. I'm thinking I need to easy up on the wc to try and get the levels up. I'm fine with how it is now I'm just worried it's going to crash.