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Ok interesting, i'll definitely be sure to keep tabs on the lighting. I did stock a few small Dario Botia a couple of days ago and so far the levels have maintained. I'm keeping a close eye on it all and so far so good.

Yeah it's gonna be a tough go finding the patience while stocking but keeping an eye on the big picture should help.

Excellent, much love for the loaches.

Thanks, and that's exactly the plan as well. I figure we'll let it go for a week with the pleco and then maybe add one or two smaller fish every week to 2 weeks. Does that sound reasonable or would we be best to wait longer? The plan is to eventually have: the bristlenose pleco, about 5-7...

Oops there's a typo there that i missed. I meant the nitrites were getting near 1 ppm not 3, sorry i had been up way too late and gotten up way too early a few days in a row there :lol: "It may have even gone above that level since you were testing infrequently." Actually i tested every day...

Ah hah, i never even thought of checking the tapwater to see what the nitrate levels were, this is why i'm really growing to love this place. Just checked as per the advice and the tapwater is indeed lower than the tank. We're adding a small 1-1/2" Bristlenose pleco and will keep checking the...

Just tested tonight and it's now showing nothing at all for nitrites and ammonia.

Thanks! Yes it's a liquid reagent test kit. The ammonia and nitrites are showing at zero, just if i look at an angle at the meniscus in the tube i can see the slightest hint of colour which leads me to believe i have some trace amounts. I dunno if i'm just trying too hard to see some colour...

This seems very odd to me, i've been quite prepared for a month to 6 weeks minimum for my tank to cycle but it seems like it's either done or very very close to after just over two weeks. I hadn't tested for a couple of days since i expected the nitrite spike to last a while, but when testing...

Thanks for the tips all :) I'm gonna hold off on fertilizing for a bit, already starting to see some algae halfway through the cycle.

Oh ok it makes more sense now. The literature with the test kit had mentioned that a high nitrite reading meant high levels of ammonia and that i should test for that immediately etc, then having low to no ammonia kinda threw me off. Good to know it's progressing properly and thanks for the info...

So i'm about 9 days into the cycle, with 4 comets and some plants, and i'm getting: Just trace ammonia maybe .2 at the most ppm my Nitrites are reading 1.6 ppm Nitrates are reading 10 ppm PH has been a steady 7.5-7.6 the whole time so far. Haven't checked it every day but when i do it seems...

Ok so i have just over 1wpg in a currently cycling lightly planted 75 gal aquarium (is it considered a 75 tall or an 80 gal with dimensions of 48" x 16" x 24" ? I get 79.79 gal at this size by my calculations). Ideally it will be sort of medium planted with a fair amound of free swimming space...

Good tip to check, but the instructions inside the box say not to submerge the unit beyond the water line. The text stamped onto the heater says "do not immerse beyond water line" with a water line stamped on. The text on the actual box says "submersible". I'm now very confident it's a...

I'm pretty positive that it can after reading several threads about this in several different boards. Right on the side of the box it even says "submersible", Big Al's and a few local pet stores all have them fully submerged in their tanks as well.

It's a Jaeger 3607 200W. Interesting about the different standards and whatnot, i am in Canada so that would make sense. I also noticed that the local Big Al's also had the same heaters and fully submerged. Would be nice to know for sure if i can submerge it again or not safely.

Well thanks! It's a good thing you gave me the tip about the heater because i went to look at moving it and noticed that it's NOT supposed to be fully submerged, there's a water level line. Luckily it's all working fine still, but i won't be able to lay it horizontally. Like a fool i listened...

Thanks again for all the helpful advice so far. It's 3 days into the first cycle and so far so good. The initial cloudiness is almost gone (bacteria bloom?) and i'm starting to see signs of ammonia and nitrites in small amounts so far in testing. I just wanted to share a few pics of how it's...

Ok after much reading, and wow does the info differ quite a bit on almost every site out there, we're thinking we definately want to go with probably 5 clown loaches. Now with the size of our tank at 75-80 gal (48 x 16 x 24 but with some sand makes me suspect closer to 75 usable gal) i want...

Thanks for the input, very helpful! The more i read up on the loaches the more i'm starting to think i may just go with a pleco and clown loaches for the cleanup crew and skip the corys, but i wonder how many clowns would be ideal for a tank my size. One or maybe a pair, or more? The...

Ok so i broke down, got myself a tank (yay) which is all set up and a day into the cycle (cycling with 4 comets). It was sold as a 75 gallon but my calculations have it at almost 80 gallons (48" x 16" x 24") but really it makes little difference imo. Went with the playsand substrate, some...

Wow lotsa great advice, thank you all very much. I've been in the reptile end of things for a lotta years so i'm not new to strange and possibly high maintenance requirements, i really like to be armed with all the right needs in mind. I definitely am planning on being excessively prepared...

Oops nm just read the C02 FAQ up above that i somehow missed... must get more sleep lol.